# Subtext — Simple, elegant text editor

> Simple, elegant text editor for iOS with iCloud integration and advanced controls. (iPhone/iPad app by Charcoal Design.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/subtext/id1606625287 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Charcoal Design](https://appshunter.io/developer/325046949)
- Category: Developer Tools, Utilities
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.50/5 from 77 App Store ratings · 93 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 14.4 · 3 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2022-02-01
- Data updated: 2026-08-26
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/subtext/id1606625287/reviews.md

## What is Subtext?

Subtext is a simple, no-frills text editor for iPhone and iPad.

Create or edit files directly on your device or in iCloud, with no need to import or export.

Includes advanced features such as line ending and character set encoding control.

Perfect for making quick edits to code or data files on the go!

## Key features

- Direct iCloud file editing
- No import/export required
- Line ending control
- Character set encoding control
- Quick edits for code and data

## Chart rankings

- #75 in Top Free · Developer Tools (US App Store)

## What do users think of Subtext?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 👍 Simple and efficient
- 🚀 Fast and lightweight
- 🆓 Free and no ads
- ✨ Clean and intuitive UI
- 📂 Seamless Files app integration
- 🔢 Line numbers included
- 💡 No bloatware
- 🌍 Works well on iPad
- 🔒 Privacy-respecting
- 📝 Great for plain text editing
- 👆 Easy to use
- 🌟 Minimalist design
- 🔄 Supports various encodings
- 📂 Integrates with iCloud/Dropbox
- ♿ Accessible with VoiceOver

**Cons**

- 🐛 Fails on network drives
- 🐛 Data corruption risk
- 🐛 Difficulty unselecting text
- 🐛 Buggy Chinese input method
- 🐛 Random capitalization issues
- 🐛 Large files cause errors
- 🐛 No cancel option for save/exit
- 🐛 Picky about file extensions
- 🐛 Cannot edit non-text files
- 🐛 Autosave can be problematic
- 🐛 No always-on tab key
- 🐛 Default focus to EOF
- 🐛 Chinese input method errors
- 🐛 File saving issues

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Fails to save work
- Jumps to top of document on blank lines
- Poor network behavior leading to data corruption
- Cannot open or create new text files
- Error when saving to network drive
- Cannot edit .tex files without renaming
- Chinese input method errors
- Random capitalization after paste
- Large text files cause errors
- File saving issues, creates extra copies
- Bug when using Chinese input method with delete key

**Most requested features**

- Add 'Unselect all' option
- Add 'Replace all' function
- Add font size settings
- Add tab key
- Allow editing of non-text files
- Improve network drive handling
- Option to disable auto-save
- Add highlighter
- Add character count
- Add JetBrains Mono font
- Add 'reopen last file' option
- Add widget support
- Add highlighting
- Add font and background color settings
- Add distraction-free mode
- Add swipe to close gesture
- Option to release focus for collapsing skb
- Fix Chinese input method bugs
- Allow editing of files with arbitrary extensions
- Add Chinese input method bug fixes

## Recent user reviews (10 of 93)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/subtext/id1606625287/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Awesome - but missing something

*2026-08-24*

absolutely incredible feel and look, but personally what’s stops me using it more is that there is no syntax highlighting for code, that feature would be incredible and would make me use it more. Also think that the option for Vim Motions would make the keyboard experience so much nicer but overall love the app. thank you for your amazing work

### 5/5 — Simple Text Editor

*2026-08-22*

I wanted a simple text editor so I could edit text files in the Files app. It works as intended and meets my needs.

### 5/5 — a must for ios

*2026-08-20*

a must to compensate ios Files app deficiency. ty sir 👍👍👍🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
just a comment to improve it even better: i wish to edit nontext files without changing them to text file
———————————————-
got your kind reply 
great thanx  and looking forward the PERFECT 1.2.5 version  🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

**Developer response:** Thanks for the great review! I've added support for all file types in version 1.2.5

### 3/5 — One flaw

*2026-07-22, version 1.2.4*

Subtext is a perfect example of a developer successfully coding a slim, efficient, easy to use, and very popular text editor. UPDATE: minus two stars - no way to copy/paste without line numbers.

### 5/5 — Perfect for all text editing

*2026-07-14*

I used this to quickly edit small CSS and JavaScript files too. Despite the small size this is the best simple text edit app by far. Tried 3 other apps today and deleted them all to return to Subtext. Don’t bother with others, this is what you want.

**Developer response:** Thanks so much for the great review!

### 3/5 — You will lose your work

*2026-07-13*

How am I supposed to review this?  It is, in fact, the only .txt editor on the app store without an insane price tag, or clearly unneeded fluff added.  But three times now, it has failed to save my work, and I’ve lost what I was working on.  It’s not a crash, the app doesn’t close, it just randomly decides everything you typed in the last 20 minutes never happened.  There’s no way to communicate with the developer, to try and figure out what’s happening, or how to fix it.  So - my first review.

**Developer response:** I'm so sorry to hear you've had this issue, that sounds incredibly frustrating. I've added some fixes to version 1.2.5 that should hopefully prevent this from happening again, but if you do encounter this issue again with the new version please contact support@charcoaldesign.co.uk

### 5/5 — a must for ios

*2026-07-10, version 1.2.4*

a must to compensate ios Files app deficiency. ty sir 👍👍👍🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
just a comment to improve it even better: i wish to edit nontext files without changing them to text file

### 3/5 — Pros & Cons

*2026-06-27*

Bad news: 
the review regarding poor network behaviour is making me feel like I want to delete the app forthwith. 😖

I couldn't find a cancel option, the 'X' to exit is a save&exit; no always what I want to do. A duplicate option used every time before editing should take care of screwed editing. 🤔

Good news. 
I program in MacOs Bash which occasionally spits out script line numbers in its error messages: no other method but to count the lines! Subtext has line numbering ❤️

The UI is clean, well designed and intuitive. 
Turning my phone on its side, the display rotated with it 🙂

It connected to the Files app seamlessly for selecting the file to edit. 🙂

The ... & V menu options and are just what I would expect, untested but 🙂

I hope the author of my review takes this in the spirit it is given, constructive feedback. 

Yes, I'm keeping it. The are many I've investigated, this is the best I've seen

**Developer response:** Thanks for the review! Please get in touch at support@charcoaldesign.co.uk and I'll try to help with your networking and autosave issues

### 4/5 — bug jumps to top of doc

*2026-06-16, version 1.2.4*

jump to top of page when trying set cursor on a blank line...

### 5/5 — Excellent text editor

*2026-06-13*

Subtext is ideal for me as a text editor. Simple interface, line numbers, line wrap or not, encoding choices. It shows in the share sheet. 

Subtext is a terrific editor, no ads, completely free.

**Developer response:** Thanks for the great review!

## Frequently asked questions about Subtext

### What does Subtext do?

Subtext is a simple and elegant text editor designed for iPhone and iPad. It allows users to create and edit text files directly on their device or within iCloud without the need for importing or exporting.

### What are the key features of Subtext?

Key features include direct editing of files within iCloud, eliminating import/export steps. It also offers advanced controls for line ending types and character set encoding, making it suitable for technical users.

### Is Subtext free to use?

Yes, Subtext is a free application. The provided information indicates it does not have in-app purchases or advertisements, suggesting a completely free user experience.

### What devices is Subtext compatible with?

Subtext is designed for Apple devices, specifically compatible with iPhone and iPad. It leverages iCloud for file management, suggesting integration with the Apple ecosystem.

### Who would find Subtext useful?

This app is perfect for users who need to make quick edits to code or data files while on the go. Its simplicity and direct iCloud integration make it ideal for developers or anyone managing text-based files on their mobile devices.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.2.6 — 2026-08-22

- Documents on network drives now use a manual save flow
- Fixed keyboard tracking issues on iPad
- Fixed crashes and improved overall stability

### 1.2.5 — 2026-08-20

- Improved reliability when saving documents, including automatic recovery from save failures
- Subtext can now open or create text documents with any file type or extension
- Open documents now update automatically if the file is moved or renamed
- Window titles on iPad now match the open document

### 1.2.4 — 2026-05-30

- Updated for iOS 26 and Liquid Glass
- Fixed crash when typing punctuation at the start of a document

### 1.2.3 — 2025-09-04

- Inline math expression evaluation now works again
- Typeface no longer changes when switching text encoding or line endings
- Fixed input glitches when using Simplified Chinese keyboard

### 1.2.2 — 2025-08-25

- Fixed end of line being cut off after app returns from background
- Fixed display of last line number in wrapped mode
- Fixed blank document after disabling text wrap
- Fixed non-lossy ASCII encoding
- Improved undo behavior after changing text encoding
- Various other bug fixes

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## More apps by Charcoal Design

- [Rainbow Blocks](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rainbow-blocks/id355313284)
- [Rainbow Blocks Lite Edition](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rainbow-blocks-lite-edition/id515802017)
- [ShapeScript Mobile](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shapescript-mobile/id1606439346)

All apps by Charcoal Design: https://appshunter.io/developer/325046949

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-26.*