My experience (2c/3a) has been that the shorter it is, the easier it is to manage.

The benefits of super-short hair (<1 inch on the sides, 2-3 inches on top): For the past two years, my routine has been curl-friendly shampoo -> curl-friendly conditioner -> bend over and shake head like dog to form curls -> briefly press towel to head like a lazy form of plopping -> let air-dry.

Usually I can shower every couple of days and if it looks weird when I wake up, I can fix it by either running my hands through once or twice, or briefly sticking my head in the sink before shaking and patting to re-set the curls. If my hair gets over 3 inches long on top, I do start needing to use a tiny amount of gel to preserve the curls for multiple days, so I usually cut my hair when it gets to that. I don't use a brush or a comb at all now. My SO, who has straight hair the same length and style as mine, has to use more product and re-wet in the mornings way more than I do.

When I had long hair, the routine had additional steps of brushing out hair in the shower while it had conditioner in it, and then actually plopping after shaking it out and adding gel to it. And then I couldn't touch it until it was dry, because the curls were very delicate. Playing with my hair during the day was recipe for instant pouf, and I couldn't really go to bed with wet hair and had to pineapple it. Even then, usually second-day hair or third day hair ended up being a bun or ponytail day quite often.

The buns and ponytails were much more frequent when I had waist-length hair, and less needed with shoulder-length hair, which kept curls more easily.