Apple Shortcuts vs Hazel
We give Apple Shortcuts a 3.0 GPA and Hazel a 2.8, out of 4.0. Apple Shortcuts grades higher on the free plan and platforms. Hazel grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Apple Shortcuts
Free automation app for iPhone, iPad and Mac, built by Apple
Free
Hazel
Rule-based automatic file organization for the Mac
Free trial · from $42 one-time
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAApple ShortcutsVery good | 2.8GPAHazelGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree. The US App Store lists it with no in-app purchases shown, so there's no paid tier waiting further in. In a category where paid plans usually start around $19 a month, that's hard to beat. | A$42 once for a single-user licence, with free upgrades inside version 6. That's a touch under a year of a typical paid utility here, and you keep it. The Family Pack is $65 for up to 5 people at home. Coming from an earlier version, the upgrade is $20. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe whole app is free: over 300 built-in actions, the Gallery of ready-made shortcuts, personal and home automations, and iCloud sync. You do need the hardware, mind: an iPhone or iPad on iOS 12 or later, or a Mac. | CNo free plan. You get 14 days of Evaluation mode with every feature except rule export. After that an unlicensed copy falls back to Demo mode, which is 1 folder and 2 active rules. |
| Features | BOver 300 built-in actions, triggers like a time of day, an alarm or arriving at a place, and real scripting when you want it: variables, If and Repeat, and requests to web APIs. The gap is other people's apps. One appears only if its developer supports Shortcuts, and the rest you reach through API requests. | ARules match files by name, date, type, source website and even the text inside PDFs and images. Then Hazel moves, renames, tags, archives or uploads them, or runs a script or Shortcut. It also empties old Trash and offers to clear out the leftovers of apps you bin. That's the whole filing job. |
| Ease of use | C4.2 from about 8,500 App Store ratings, which lands in our C band. The Gallery helps, since you can add a ready-made shortcut and edit it to see how it's built. Making your own means chaining actions one step at a time. | BNo store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. The rules work much like the ones in Apple Mail, so they'll look familiar. One thing to watch: syncing rules to a second Mac overwrites that Mac's rules for the folder. |
| Platforms and integrations | CiPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, with shortcuts kept in step through iCloud. That's one family of devices. There is no Windows, Android or web version, so nothing you build travels outside Apple's world. | DMac only, and Hazel 6 needs macOS 13.0 Ventura or later. It hooks into Apple Shortcuts, AppleScript, Automator, Photos and Music, and uploads to FTP, SFTP or WebDAV servers. One operating system, though. |
| Best for | free automation on iPhone, iPad and Mac | automatic filing of the folders on your Mac |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Apple Shortcuts and Hazel. How we grade
Where they differ
- Apple Shortcuts is free. Hazel starts at $42 one-time purchase (single-user license).
- Apple Shortcuts has a free plan. Hazel does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Apple Shortcuts lists an iOS app.
- Hazel can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Apple Shortcuts also covers templates and no-code.
- Hazel also covers disk cleanup and file management.
In commonmacOSWorkflow automation
At a glance
| Apple Shortcuts | Hazel | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free trial |
| Starts at | Free | $42 one-time purchase (single-user license) |
| Free plan | The US App Store lists Shortcuts as free, with no in-app purchases shown. It needs an iPhone or iPad on iOS 12 or later, or a Mac. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day Evaluation mode with every feature except rule export, then Demo mode: 1 folder and 2 active rules |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Apple Inc. | Noodlesoft, LLC |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | store.noodlesoft.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Apple Shortcuts
- iPhone, iPad and Mac owners automating tasks across Apple's apps
- Routines tied to a time, a place or an alarm on iPhone
- Anyone who wants automation on Apple devices at no cost
Hazel
- Mac users whose Downloads and Desktop folders fill up with unsorted files
- Filing scanned bills and statements by the text inside them
- People who want file automation bought once instead of by subscription
Worth knowing
Apple Shortcuts
- Shortcuts runs only on Apple devices: the App Store lists it for iPhone and iPad, and Apple documents a Mac app. There is no Windows, Android or web version.
- A third-party app appears in Shortcuts only if its developer supports it; other services have to be reached through web API requests.
- Keeping shortcuts in step across devices depends on iCloud Sync and on being signed in with the same Apple account.
Hazel
- macOS only; Hazel 6 requires macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later.
- After the 14-day evaluation, an unlicensed copy drops to Demo mode: one monitored folder, two active rules and no import or export.
- A license covers one major version. Moving from any earlier version to Hazel 6 is a $20 paid upgrade.
- Rule sync works per folder and cannot merge rule sets: a second Mac's existing rules for that folder are overwritten.
Key features
Apple Shortcuts
- Actions
- Each shortcut is a series of actions, and each action is one step. The App Store listing cites over 300 built-in actions, and apps that support Siri Shortcuts add their own.
- Gallery
- A curated collection of ready-made shortcuts. Any of them can be added to your own collection and then edited to suit, which also shows how they are built.
- Personal and home automations
- On iPhone and iPad, an automation is triggered by an event instead of being started by hand. Triggers include a time of day, an alarm, a sleep schedule and arriving at a place.
- Many ways to run a shortcut
- On iPhone and iPad: the app, Siri, the Home Screen, a widget, the share sheet, Control Center or an Apple Watch. On a Mac: Finder, Spotlight, the menu bar, a keyboard shortcut or the command line.
- iCloud Sync
- With iCloud Sync turned on, a shortcut added, changed or removed on one device is updated on the others signed in to the same Apple account, including Apple Watch.
- Scripting and web APIs
- Advanced actions cover variables, If and Repeat logic, menus and prompts, running JavaScript on a web page, URL schemes and requests to web APIs with JSON parsing.
Hazel
- Folder rules
- Hazel monitors the folders you pick and applies rules, much like those in Apple Mail, that match items by name, size, date, type, source website and other attributes.
- File actions
- A matching item can be moved, copied, renamed, sorted into subfolders, tagged, commented, archived or synced, with patterns that build names and tags from its attributes.
- Reading file contents
- Hazel 6 uses on-the-fly text recognition to read text in PDFs without OCR and in image files, and reads encrypted PDFs when you supply a password.
- Trash management and App Sweep
- Deletes items from the Trash by age or when it grows too large. App Sweep notices a discarded application and offers to remove its support files as well.
- Scripts, Shortcuts and uploads
- Rules can run Shortcuts, AppleScript or JavaScript, Automator workflows and shell scripts, and can upload files to FTP, SFTP or WebDAV servers.
- Revert and rule sync
- Revert returns a file to its original place and name, with its tags and comments. A folder's rules can sync through a shared file to other Macs or user accounts.
Plans
Apple Shortcuts
ShortcutsFree
The whole app: over 300 built-in actions, the Gallery of ready-made shortcuts, personal and home automations, and iCloud sync.
Hazel
Hazel 6$42
one-time purchase, single-user license
Includes free upgrades within version 6. The license keeps unlocking the version you bought after a new major version ships.
Hazel 6 Family Pack$65
one-time purchase, up to 5 household members
One license for up to 5 members of your household. For private households only.
Ways to pay less
Apple Shortcuts
No public discounts listed.
Hazel
- Other savings
$20 upgrade from any previous version
Owners of any earlier Hazel version can upgrade to Hazel 6 for $20. The price is the same for single-user and family pack licenses.
- Other savings
Volume pricing on request
The store page asks buyers interested in volume pricing or with other special pricing needs to contact Noodlesoft.
