Comparison

Textastic Code Editor vs JSBox

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

JSBox

This app is a mobile JavaScript IDE that allows users to learn and write JavaScript code. It provides tools to create native iOS utilities, widgets, extensions, and more, catering to both beginners and experienced developers.

Highlights
  • Mobile JavaScript IDE
  • Create native iOS utilities
  • Design widgets and keyboards
  • Siri/Shortcuts integration
  • Beautiful code editor
  • Advanced development tools
  • iOS extension support
Features
Read full description

* JSBox is featured by: sspai.com, Price Tag, AppSolution etc # What's JSBox? JSBox is an Integrated Development Environment for JavaScript. You can learn to code JavaScript here, as we provide tons of utilities to enhance the development experience. JSBox is amazing for both beginners and experienced engineers. Don't you wanna try it out? Don't hesitate to create cool stuff—do it now! # What can JSBox do? Of course you can write JavaScript, but the most important thing is that you can create native iOS utilities, such as: - Upload photos you have just taken to the server - Create a widget to check bus information - Schedule tasks by leveraging date-based or location-based notifications - Design an extension for the Photos app to search photos directly - Design your own widget and keyboard - Make a real-time tool to query the exchange rate - Collect your most important contacts and handle it on the widget There are many possibilities; we believe you can create coolest stuff. # What's in JSBox? JSBox is not only a full-fledged environment for standard JavaScript, but also provides many utilities: - A safe environment to run JavaScript natively with incredible performance - A beautiful editor to write JavaScript, multiple themes, auto-completion, and snippets... - Many advanced development tools: lint, prettier, diff viewer and database viewer... - A desktop extension to write code extremely fast and comfortable - Almost all the cool tech in iOS: Siri/Shortcuts, Today Widget, Action Extension, 3D Touch, Home Screen Shortcut... - A lot of awesome examples for beginner We are still working on it and will introduce cooler features in the future. # Terms of Use https://jsboxbbs.com/d/1035-terms-of-service # Privacy Policy https://jsboxbbs.com/d/1034-privacy-policy # Contact us! Please contact us in the following ways. Don't hesitate to report any issues. Thank you! - [Community](https://en.jsboxbbs.com) - [Email](mailto:log.e@qq.com) - [Twitter](https://twitter.com/cyanapps) - [Weibo](https://weibo.com/0x00eeee)

Screenshots

Textastic Code Editor4 screens
JSBox4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Textastic Code Editor at 4.7 against JSBox's 4.0. Textastic Code Editor also leads on review sentiment (69% vs 50%) and ratings volume (2.5K vs 85). JSBox's advantage is monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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 JSBox sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per year. 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 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Textastic Code Editor has 2.5K ratings behind it against 85, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of Textastic Code Editor's written reviews are positive against 50% of JSBox's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Textastic Code Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, JSBox fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Textastic Code Editor versus JSBox: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTextastic Code EditorJSBox
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.5K ratings) — better4.0 (85 ratings)
Positive reviews68.9% of reviews — better49.5% of reviews
Number of ratings2.5K — better85
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#17 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB178 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexander Blach颖 钟

Customer experience

Textastic Code Editor

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

JSBox

All ratings85 ratings
Positive74.1%
Neutral1.2%
Negative24.7%
Written reviews107 reviews
Positive49.5%
Neutral3.7%
Negative46.7%

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

JSBox

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

JSBox

Subscriptions2
  • JSBox Pro$7.991 Year
  • JSBox Pro - Discount$7.991 Year

Questions

Is Textastic Code Editor free?
Textastic Code Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is JSBox free?
JSBox is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Textastic Code Editor or JSBox?
Textastic Code Editor is rated higher. Textastic Code Editor averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while JSBox averages 4.0 from 85 ratings.
Do Textastic Code Editor or JSBox have ads?
Neither Textastic Code Editor nor JSBox shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Textastic Code Editor or JSBox?
Textastic Code Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, and JSBox fortnightly. Most recently, Textastic Code Editor was updated on September 23, 2026 and JSBox on September 24, 2026.

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