Comparison

TextToSTL vs Shapely 3D

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

Head to head
About

TextToSTL

Features
Read full description

Turn any idea into a 3D-printable cookie cutter or clay jewelry. Type a prompt โ€” "butterfly," "race car," "wrestling outfit" โ€” and TextToSTL builds a clean silhouette, renders it in 3D, and exports a print-ready STL file in seconds. BROWSE FOR FREE Open the app and tap Browse designs to explore 200+ ready-made cookie cutter shapes. No account, no signup, no payment. Rotate, zoom, and resize any design right from the preview. CREATE YOUR OWN (free account) Sign up for a free account โ€” email or Sign in with Apple โ€” and generate three custom designs each month from any prompt you can imagine. Each free account also gets one STL export per month. UNLIMITED WITH A SUBSCRIPTION Upgrade to Starter (20 designs/month) or Pro (100 designs/month) and export as many STLs as you want. Monthly or annual, cancel anytime. FEATURES โ€ข Text-to-silhouette with live 3D preview โ€ข Cookie-cutter and jewelry modes โ€ข Adjustable dimensions and wall thickness โ€ข STL export sharable to any slicer โ€ข Library of your past creations (free account) โ€ข Photo-to-shape: upload a reference image โ€ข Clean, printable outlines tested on common slicers SUBSCRIPTION TERMS Subscriptions auto-renew at the price above for the same period unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Payment is charged to your Apple ID. Manage or cancel in Settings โ†’ Apple ID โ†’ Subscriptions. PRIVACY We don't track you across apps, we don't use advertising IDs, and we don't sell your data. Privacy Policy: https://www.texttostl.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.texttostl.com/terms

About

Shapely 3D

Create and sculpt 3D models directly on your iPad. Build scenes from primitives, refine them with intuitive tools, and export your creations for printing or digital use. Unlock advanced features with a Pro upgrade.

Highlights
  • Sketch and sculpt 3D models
  • Build scenes from primitives
  • On-screen gizmo for manipulation
  • Configurable grid and measurement tools
  • Export USDZ for AR and Quick Look
  • Advanced Pro features (CSG, STL export, smoothing)
Features
Read full description

Shapely 3D is a fast, native 3D modeling app built for iPad โ€” sketch, sculpt, and export real 3D models with just your finger or Apple Pencil. Build scenes from simple primitives, then move, rotate, and scale them with an on-screen gizmo. Snap to a configurable grid, measure distances as you work, and use the orientation cube to jump straight to any view. Shapely 3D saves your work as a native document you can open again anytime, right where you left off. Before you print, tap View in Room to see the model on your desk at its actual size, through the camera, or export a USDZ for Quick Look and any USD tool. Apple Pencil Pro's squeeze switches sketch modes mid-drawing and hover shows where the next shape will land. Every project is in Spotlight, Siri and Shortcuts. Shapely 3D Pro unlocks: โ€ข CSG boolean operations โ€” union, subtract, and intersect shapes to build more complex forms โ€ข STL export โ€” send your models straight to a 3D printer or another CAD tool โ€ข Sketch & Extrude โ€” draw a 2D profile and pull it into a solid โ€ข Smoothing โ€” round any object with adjustable, non-destructive subdivision โ€ข Cut tool โ€” slice objects apart along a face or a drawn line โ€ข Edit Faces โ€” move, extrude, and reshape the individual faces of any object, and give any face a color of its own Whether you're prototyping a part, teaching geometry, or just enjoy building things in 3D, Shapely 3D keeps the fundamentals simple and gets out of your way.

Screenshots

TextToSTL4 screens
Shapely 3D4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: TextToSTL at daily against Shapely 3D's every 2 weeks. TextToSTL also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. TextToSTL sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Shapely 3D sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TextToSTL ships an update daily, Shapely 3D every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 6 level
TextToSTL versus Shapely 3D: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTextToSTLShapely 3D
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviewsโ€”100.0% of reviews
Update frequencyDaily โ€” betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetizationโ€”Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.1 โ€” better26.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size24 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDaniel WalzakFabrizio Brancati

In-app purchases

4 purchases

TextToSTL

Subscriptions4
  • Starter Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Starter Annual$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pro Annual$99.991 Year
1 purchases

Shapely 3D

One-time1
  • Shapely 3D Pro$4.99

Questions

Is TextToSTL free?
TextToSTL is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shapely 3D free?
Shapely 3D is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do TextToSTL or Shapely 3D have ads?
Neither TextToSTL nor Shapely 3D shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TextToSTL or Shapely 3D?
TextToSTL ships an update daily, and Shapely 3D every 2 weeks. Most recently, TextToSTL was updated on September 29, 2026 and Shapely 3D on October 2, 2026.

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