Comparison

Textastic Code Editor vs phpwin

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

Head to head
About

Textastic Code Editor

A powerful text and code editor for mobile devices, offering syntax highlighting for over 80 languages, code completion, and formatting tools. It allows connection to various servers and cloud storage for seamless file management and editing.

Highlights
  • Syntax highlighting for 80+ languages
  • SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, and Dropbox client
  • Built-in SSH terminal
  • Code completion and formatting
  • External keyboard and trackpad support
  • Split View and Slide Over multitasking
Features
Read full description

Textastic is a comprehensive and versatile text and code editor for iPad and iPhone. It supports syntax highlighting for more than 80 programming and markup languages. Connect to SFTP, FTP, and WebDAV servers or to your Dropbox account. Use the built-in SSH terminal to work directly on your server. Features: - Syntax highlighting for more than 80 languages, including HTML, JavaScript, CSS, C++, Swift, Objective-C, Rust, XML, Markdown, PHP, Perl, Python, Ruby, Lua, YAML, JSON, SQL, shell scripts, and many more (full list available on the website) - Compatible with Sublime Text 3 and TextMate 1 syntax definitions and themes - Code completion for HTML, CSS, JavaScript, C, Objective-C, and PHP - SFTP (SSH), FTP, FTPS (FTP over SSL), WebDAV, and Dropbox clients - SSH terminal connections - Code formatter for HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and JSON - Git repositories from the Git client app Working Copy can be opened as external folders in Textastic - Emmet support - JavaScript console - iCloud Drive file synchronization - WebDAV server for easy file transfer between Textastic and your Mac or PC over Wi-Fi - Symbol list for quick navigation within a file - Full support for external keyboards, trackpads, and mice - Configurable keyboard shortcuts - Additional keys above the virtual keyboard for frequently used programming characters - Cursor navigation wheel for easy text selection - Move the cursor using swipe gestures - Split View and Slide Over multitasking on iPad - Open multiple files in tabs - Multiple windows on iPadOS - Dark Mode support - Support for common text encodings such as UTF-8, UTF-16, and ISO-8859-1 - Support for different tab widths and soft tabs (spaces instead of tabs) - Custom fonts - Find and Replace, including regular expression search - Find in multiple files - File information such as character and word counts - Local and remote web preview for HTML and Markdown files Pricing: Textastic requires a monthly or yearly subscription or a one-time purchase. Each subscription includes a 7-day free trial with full access to all features. Privacy Policy: https://www.textasticapp.com/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

phpwin

Develop and debug PHP files offline with a built-in web server and Git client. This app provides a comprehensive environment for managing PHP projects, including code editing, file management, and support for popular frameworks.

Highlights
  • PHP 8 with extensions
  • Offline web server
  • Git client
  • Code editor with auto-complete
  • File manager
  • Standalone web app support
Features
Read full description

Turn your device into a web server with php support. With phpwin, you can develop, debug and manage PHP files offline without an internet connection using Scintilla script editor phpwin is a complete web server environment with PHP including POST/GET, sessions,openssl, libxml, curl, cookies... App features: - PHP 8 with most extensions (such as MySQL, SQLite, Curl, OpenSSL, SOAP, ImageMagick, PostgreSQL...) - Custom URL rules - Set iCloud drive as document root - Git client - Code editor - Auto-Complete - Image editor - Latest version of Composer - In-App Safari Web browser - html/js/css beautifiers in script editor - Multi-tabbed script/image editor - File manager - Set as standalone web application (Wordpress and Laravel supported) - Remote file manager (access multiple accounts) - FTP/SFTP/FTPS/iCloud managers - phpMyAdmin to access remote MySQL - phpLiteAdmin - Eruda (Console for Mobile Browsers) - Profiler - Syntax validator for PHP, HTML, JS & CSS - PHP lessons - "PHP: The Right Way" Book - Split screen on iPad - Multitasking on iPad Standalone web application feature allows you to use your web application in fullscreen at startup, similar to PhoneGap but with the support of PHP. Note: phpwin doesn't include MySQL server, only phpMyAdmin. For more information & inquiries please contact me through phpwin's website

Screenshots

Textastic Code Editor4 screens
phpwin4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: phpwin at free with in-app purchases against Textastic Code Editor's subscription. Textastic Code Editor's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (2.5K vs 37). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and device support 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. Textastic Code Editor sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and phpwin sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Textastic Code Editor holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Textastic Code Editor has 2.5K ratings behind it against 37, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 69% of Textastic Code Editor's written reviews are positive against 75% of phpwin's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Textastic Code Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, phpwin every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Textastic Code Editor versus phpwin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTextastic Code Editorphpwin
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.5K ratings) — better4.4 (37 ratings)
Positive reviews68.9% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.5K — better37
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#17 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015 — better
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB172 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexander BlachFiras Moussa

Customer experience

Textastic Code Editor

All ratings2,510 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral1.6%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews599 reviews
Positive68.9%
Neutral8.7%
Negative22.4%

phpwin

All ratings37 ratings
Positive86.5%
Neutral5.4%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews116 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral8.6%
Negative16.4%

Bugs and requests

Textastic Code Editor

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Issues with SSH/SFTP connectivity and authentication
  • Problems with handling large files or files with certain extensions
  • Inconsistent text selection and editing behavior

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for more cloud storage providers (e.g. Google Drive, OneDrive)
  • Implement a more seamless remote file editing and syncing workflow
  • Improve code editing features like code folding, multi-cursor support, and code beautification
  • Add a built-in terminal or ability to run code directly within the app

phpwin

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Textastic Code Editor

Subscriptions2
  • Textastic Pro (Monthly)7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Textastic Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Textastic Pro (One-Time)$69.99
2 purchases

phpwin

One-time2
  • Unlock all features$4.99
  • Standalone Web Application$9.99

Questions

Is Textastic Code Editor free?
Textastic Code Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is phpwin free?
phpwin is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Textastic Code Editor or phpwin?
Textastic Code Editor is rated higher. Textastic Code Editor averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while phpwin averages 4.4 from 37 ratings.
Do Textastic Code Editor or phpwin have ads?
phpwin shows ads; Textastic Code Editor does not.
Which is updated more often, Textastic Code Editor or phpwin?
Textastic Code Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, and phpwin every 6 weeks. Most recently, Textastic Code Editor was updated on September 23, 2026 and phpwin on September 21, 2026.

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