Comparison

Kodex vs Runestone Text Editor

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

Head to head
About

Kodex

An advanced code editor for iOS devices, offering desktop-class features like multi-caret editing, regex search, and syntax highlighting for over 150 languages. It integrates with the Files app and supports external keyboards for a seamless coding experience.

Highlights
  • Multi-caret editing
  • Regex search and replace
  • Minimap for navigation
  • Syntax highlighting (150+ languages)
  • External keyboard support
  • Files app integration
  • Customizable themes and fonts
Features
Read full description

Kodex is an advanced code editor which brings powerful and desktop-class editor features to your iPad or iPhone: * Multi-caret editing, to quickly transform code selections. * Regex search and replace, with template matching and replace-all-matches. * Minimap which allows quick scroll navigation though the document. * Multiple window support * Syntax highlighting for over 150 languages. * Trackpad support with custom gestures to add cursors (ctrl+shift+click). * Auto complete feature (currently only for HTML). * Add as many guide columns as you wish (default 80 and 120 characters). * Configurable tab size (default 4 spaces), or insert spaces when pressing tab. * Draw hints for invisible characters such as new lines, tabs, and spaces. * Customizable key bindings, so you can configure Kodex to use the same key combos you are already used to. * Kodex smartly preserves your open documents so that your work stays as you left it between launches. * Light and Dark modes. Kodex is integrated with the Files app, so you can easily open files from any other app, and from your iCloud documents folder. You can launch Kodex QuickEdit from any file sharing view in any app to edit its contents without launching the main Kodex App (be aware this functionality depends on the host app implementing the sharing activity properly). Included are 10 editor themes, and several monospaced fonts for code editing (you can install your own preferred fonts using system profiles). Font size and line spacing are adjustable, so you can configure Kodex to best fit your preferred screen size, arrangement, and orientation. Kodex is not a compiler, and you can not build or run the code you edit from it. Think of Kodex as a NotePad++ or Sublime Text substitute for iPhone and iPad. Kodex is currently optimized for external keyboards, such as Apple's Smart Keyboard for the iPad Pro, or any bluetooth/USB keyboard. More virtual keyboard features will be added in a future version.

About

Runestone Text Editor

A powerful plain text and code editor for iPhone and iPad. Offers syntax highlighting, line numbers, find and replace, and extensive customization options for developers and writers.

Highlights
  • Syntax highlighting for many languages
  • Customizable themes and fonts
  • Advanced find and replace
  • Line numbers and cursor location
  • Code formatting with Prettier.js
  • Multiple windows on iPad
Features
Read full description

A plain text editor with syntax highlighting, line numbers, search and replace, page guide, and much more. It's like TextEdit but more powerful and optimised for iPhone and iPad. Runestone is made by a single person with a love for text editors and a vision of building the most lightweight text editor for iPhone and iPad that still has the core features for editing code. Features: - Syntax highlighting of many languages including HTML, JavaScript, JSON, Markdown, Swift, Python, PHP, YAML, and many more. - Select one of the twelve standard themes including popular themes like Tomorrow, Dracula, Solarized, and One Dark Pro. - Innovative find and replace for searching and modifying text while still viewing your file. - Choose font and font size, including support for custom fonts imported using another third-party app. - Show the line and column the cursor is located on. - Uses the standard document browser for an experience similar to the Files app. - Quickly navigate to a specific line. - Automatically close opening brackets and quotes. - Multiple windows on the iPad. - Format code using Prettier.js. Supported languages include CSS,HTML, JavaScript, JSON, PHP and more. - Choose text encoding between popular encodings like UTF-8, UTF-16, ISO Latin 1, and many more. - Enable or disable autocorrection, autocapitalization, and smart punctuation. - Set default file extension of new files. - Open files in Runestone from the Share Sheet. - Print documents. Premium features: - Choose between eight app icons. - Show line numbers. - Highlight the selected line. - Increase line height and letter spacing. - Disable line wrapping to allow horizontal scrolling. - Show tabs, spaces, and line breaks using a selected symbol. - Enable page guide at a specific column to easily tell when lines are getting too long. - Add vertical and horizontal overscroll. - Remember the selected language per file. - Save file extensions and filenames that should always be treated as plain text files. - Enable soft tabs and choose the width of the tab character. - Specify whether pressing the tab key should insert a tab or indent the line. - Adjust the scaling of Markdown headings and disable highlighting of code blocks in Markdown. Runestone was built on the open-source framework with the same name. Find more information on the Runestone framework at github.com/simonbs/runestone

Screenshots

Kodex4 screens
Runestone Text Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Runestone Text Editor at 4.7 against Kodex's 4.2. Runestone Text Editor also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly) and review sentiment (76% vs 63%). Kodex's advantage is iOS requirement (13.4 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Kodex sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Runestone Text Editor sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Runestone Text Editor holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Runestone Text Editor has 2K ratings behind it against 207, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Kodex's written reviews are positive against 76% of Runestone Text Editor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kodex ships an update monthly, Runestone Text Editor every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Kodex versus Runestone Text Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKodexRunestone Text Editor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (207 ratings)4.7 (2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews63.1% of reviews76.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2072K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#81#40 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS13.4 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB64 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBruno Philipe Resende SilvaSimon B. Støvring

Customer experience

Kodex

All ratings207 ratings
Positive77.3%
Neutral8.2%
Negative14.5%
Written reviews222 reviews
Positive63.1%
Neutral10.4%
Negative26.6%

Runestone Text Editor

All ratings1,962 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral2.3%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews351 reviews
Positive76.1%
Neutral9.7%
Negative14.2%

User reviews

Kodex

From 207 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful code editor
  • 👍 Well-integrated with iPad features
  • 🎨 Excellent syntax highlighting and theming
  • 📁 Broad file format support
  • 💡 Useful QuickEdit mode

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • 🔍 Lack of search and replace functionality
  • 🔀 Difficulty navigating between files
  • 🚫 No option to run/compile code
  • 📏 Forced word wrapping with no toggle

Runestone Text Editor

From 2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💎 Excellent text editor
  • 🚀 Smooth and responsive
  • 🎨 Customizable themes and appearance
  • 🔒 Secure file storage and sync
  • 👍 Clean and intuitive interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
  • 🔍 Difficulty navigating files/folders
  • 📝 Limited functionality without premium
  • 🔌 Performance issues on older devices
  • 🔒 Difficulty accessing files in cloud storage

Bugs and requests

Kodex

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when opening certain file types
  • Loses data after copy/paste and undo/redo
  • Compatibility issues with latest iOS versions
  • Overlapping UI elements in search/replace

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add search and replace feature
  • Implement code execution/compilation
  • Improve file management and navigation
  • Provide option to disable word wrapping
  • Introduce more keyboard shortcuts

Runestone Text Editor

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Disappearing files
  • Difficulty pasting text
  • Scroll position not saved
  • Hangs on startup
  • Trouble opening large files
Show 1 more
  • Issues after iOS updates

Requested features

6 requests
  • Markdown preview
  • Code folding
  • Syntax highlighting for more languages
  • Ability to run/execute code
  • Multiple file/window support
Show 1 more
  • Improved undo/redo functionality

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Kodex

One-time1
  • Tip$4.99
1 purchases

Runestone Text Editor

One-time1
  • Premium$9.99

Questions

Is Kodex free?
Kodex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Runestone Text Editor free?
Runestone Text Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Kodex or Runestone Text Editor?
Runestone Text Editor is rated higher. Kodex averages 4.2 out of 5 from 207 ratings, while Runestone Text Editor averages 4.7 from 2K ratings.
Do Kodex or Runestone Text Editor have ads?
Neither Kodex nor Runestone Text Editor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Kodex or Runestone Text Editor?
Kodex ships an update monthly, and Runestone Text Editor every 2 weeks. Most recently, Kodex was updated on September 21, 2026 and Runestone Text Editor on September 23, 2026.
Which is more popular, Kodex or Runestone Text Editor?
Kodex currently peaks at #81 in the App Store charts, and Runestone Text Editor at #40. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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