Comparison

Textastic Code Editor vs GitHub

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

GitHub

Manage your code projects, review changes, and collaborate with your team on the go. This app allows you to stay updated with notifications, respond to issues, and browse files and code from anywhere.

Highlights
  • Browse notifications
  • Read, react, and reply to Issues and Pull Requests
  • Review and merge Pull Requests
  • Organize Issues with labels and assignees
  • Browse files and code
  • Discover trending repositories
Read full description

There’s a lot you can do on GitHub that doesn’t require a complex development environment – like sharing feedback on a design discussion, or reviewing a few lines of code. GitHub for iOS lets you move work forward wherever you are. Stay in touch with your team, triage issues, and even merge, right from the app. We’re making these tasks easy for you to perform, no matter where you work, with a beautifully native experience. You can use GitHub for iOS to: • Browse your latest notifications • Read, react, and reply to Issues and Pull Requests • Review and merge Pull Requests • Organize Issues with labels, assignees, projects, and more • Browse your files and code • Discover new and trending repositories ——— Terms of Service: https://docs.github.com/en/github/site-policy/github-terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://docs.github.com/en/github/site-policy/github-privacy-statement

Screenshots

Textastic Code Editor4 screens
GitHub4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: GitHub at free with in-app purchases against Textastic Code Editor's subscription. GitHub also leads on ratings volume (37K vs 2.5K) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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 GitHub sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Textastic Code Editor against 4.8 for GitHub. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: GitHub has 37K ratings behind it against 2.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of Textastic Code Editor's written reviews are positive against 63% of GitHub's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Textastic Code Editor versus GitHub: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTextastic Code EditorGitHub
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.5K ratings)4.8 (37K ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.9% of reviews — better63.3% of reviews
Number of ratings2.5K37K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#19#2 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB174 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperAlexander BlachGitHub

Customer experience

Textastic Code Editor

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

GitHub

All ratings36,862 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral1.7%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews910 reviews
Positive63.3%
Neutral9.1%
Negative27.6%

User reviews

Textastic Code Editor

From 2.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Highly performant
  • 👍 Versatile and feature-rich
  • 💡 Excellent integration with other apps (e.g. Working Copy)
  • 👍 Customizable and intuitive UI
  • 👍 Reliable and stable

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
  • 🔒 Restrictive paywall for basic functionality
  • 👎 Confusing file management and upload/download workflow
  • 👎 Lack of modern code editing features (e.g. auto-indent, code folding)

GitHub

From 37K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app design
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 👍 Helpful for on-the-go tasks
  • 🚀 Efficient for reviewing PRs and issues

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 🔍 Limited functionality compared to website
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find features
  • 🔍 Lacks key features like code editing and wiki support
  • 🔍 Intercepts GitHub links, forcing use of app

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

GitHub

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Login issues and inability to switch accounts
  • Inconsistent behavior when navigating between app and website
  • Notifications not always loading correctly
  • Inability to view all files in large pull requests
  • Crashes when trying to perform certain actions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for multiple accounts
  • Improve search and filtering capabilities
  • Implement code editing and file management
  • Integrate GitHub Actions and Insights
  • Allow viewing and managing GitHub projects

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
4 purchases

GitHub

Subscriptions4
  • GitHub Pro$3.991 Month
  • Copilot Pro$10.001 Month
  • Copilot Pro+$39.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Copilot Max$99.001 Month

Questions

Is Textastic Code Editor free?
Textastic Code Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is GitHub free?
GitHub is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Textastic Code Editor or GitHub?
GitHub is rated higher. Textastic Code Editor averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while GitHub averages 4.8 from 37K ratings.
Do Textastic Code Editor or GitHub have ads?
Neither Textastic Code Editor nor GitHub shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Textastic Code Editor or GitHub?
Textastic Code Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, and GitHub weekly. Most recently, Textastic Code Editor was updated on September 23, 2026 and GitHub on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Textastic Code Editor or GitHub?
Textastic Code Editor currently peaks at #19 in the App Store charts, and GitHub at #2. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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