Comparison

Liqua vs ShortKeys

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Liqua

Visually track important dates and events with customizable widgets for your home and lock screens. Create unlimited countdowns, personalize their appearance, and receive timely reminders for moments that matter.

Highlights
  • Home and Lock Screen widgets
  • Unlimited countdowns
  • Customizable colors and icons
  • Event reminders
  • Import from Apple Calendar
  • Count down and count up
  • Cloud Sync (Premium)
Features
Read full description

Make every day count with Liqua. Liqua brings a smooth Liquid Glass countdown experience to your Home Screen and Lock Screen, helping you track birthdays, trips, launches, milestones, and memories with clarity and style. Create unlimited countdowns, customize colors and icons, and watch time flow toward—or away from—the moments that matter most. Whether it is a big event or a small joy, Liqua keeps it beautiful. FREE FEATURES • Lock Screen and single-event widgets • Unlimited countdowns • No ads and a clean, distraction-free experience • Sort upcoming, past, or alphabetical events • Reminders on the day (9 a.m. for all-day events) • Import from Apple Calendar • Liquid Glass design for iOS 26 with adjustable opacity • Custom colors and text contrast • All-day or timed events • Personal notes for every event • Custom emoji icons • Two free wallpapers • Count down and count up • Built-in feature requests PREMIUM FEATURES — ONE-TIME PURCHASE • Extra widgets with 3- and 6-event lists • Reminders 24 hours before an event • Automatic daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly repeats • Built-in and custom tags • iCloud sync across all your devices Lifetime access with one simple payment. No subscriptions. Designed for iOS 26 with smooth glass effects. Liqua — countdown made beautiful. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

ShortKeys

Features
Read full description

Stop typing the same thing twice. ShortKeys is a text expansion keyboard for iOS. Create custom ShortKeys that instantly expand into full text — emails, addresses, phone numbers, code snippets, whole paragraphs — right as you type, in any app. FEATURES • Custom iOS Keyboard — your ShortKeys expand automatically as you type, with haptic feedback and keyboard sounds • Undo Expansion — expanded something you meant to type literally? One backspace puts back exactly what you typed • Favourites Bar (Premium) — star up to three ShortKeys to keep them in a bar above the keyboard, one tap away • Customisable Hotkey — a personalised key for quick access to your favourite symbol, from 9 popular options • Unlimited Text Expansion — from a quick email sign-off to entire paragraphs • Smart Keyboard Features — double-tap space for a period, auto-capitalisation, hold-to-repeat backspace, and the standard behaviours you expect • Smart Organisation — tag your ShortKeys and pin your most-used collections to the home screen • iCloud Sync — your ShortKeys and keyboard preferences sync automatically across devices • Deep Link Integration — connect ShortKeys to Shortcuts and other automation apps • Backup & Restore — export your ShortKeys as JSON to keep safe or share • Custom Appearance — light, dark or system mode, with a tint colour to match your style FREE PLAN Get started with up to 10 ShortKeys at no cost — enough to try text expansion and manage your essentials. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION (£7.99/year) Unlock unlimited ShortKeys and the favourites bar, and support continued development. TIP JAR Enjoying the free version? Leave a Small Coffee (£1.99) or Medium Coffee (£3.99) tip. Tip supporters get 5 bonus ShortKeys (15 total) — no subscription needed. PRIVACY FIRST All data is stored locally on your device and synced securely through your own iCloud account. We don't collect, store, or have access to your ShortKeys or personal information. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://thechels.uk/app/privacy FEATURES • Custom iOS Keyboard — your ShortKeys expand automatically as you type, with haptic feedback and keyboard sounds • Customisable Hotkey — a personalised key for quick access to your favourite symbol, from 9 popular options • Unlimited Text Expansion — from a quick email sign-off to entire paragraphs • Smart Keyboard Features — double-tap space for a period, auto-capitalisation, hold-to-repeat backspace, and the standard behaviours you expect • Smart Organisation — tag your ShortKeys and pin your most-used collections to the home screen • iCloud Sync — your ShortKeys and keyboard preferences sync automatically across devices • Deep Link Integration — connect ShortKeys to Shortcuts and other automation apps • Backup & Restore — export your ShortKeys as JSON to keep safe or share • Custom Appearance — light, dark or system mode, with a tint colour to match your style FREE PLAN Get started with up to 10 ShortKeys at no cost — enough to try text expansion and manage your essentials. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION (£7.99/year) Unlock unlimited ShortKeys and support continued development. TIP JAR Enjoying the free version? Leave a Small Coffee (£1.99) or Medium Coffee (£3.99) tip. Tip supporters get 5 bonus ShortKeys (15 total) — no subscription needed. PRIVACY FIRST All data is stored locally on your device and synced securely through your own iCloud account. We don't collect, store, or have access to your ShortKeys or personal information. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeif Privacy Policy: https://thechels.uk/app/privacy

Screenshots

Liqua4 screens
ShortKeys4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Liqua at 18.0 against ShortKeys's 26.1. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Liqua sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and ShortKeys sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Liqua ships an update every 9 days, ShortKeys every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Liqua versus ShortKeys: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLiquaShortKeys
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (3 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.1
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSzymon TadrzakMat Benfield

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Liqua

One-time3
  • Lifetime Access$2.99
  • Lifetime Access$4.99
  • Lifetime Access$9.99
3 purchases

ShortKeys

Subscriptions1
  • Annual Subscription$7.991 Year
One-time2
  • Small Coffee$1.99
  • Medium Coffee$3.99

Questions

Is Liqua free?
Liqua is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ShortKeys free?
ShortKeys is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Liqua or ShortKeys have ads?
Neither Liqua nor ShortKeys shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Liqua or ShortKeys?
Liqua ships an update every 9 days, and ShortKeys every 2 weeks. Most recently, Liqua was updated on October 24, 2026 and ShortKeys on October 28, 2026.

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