Comparison

Textastic Code Editor vs ShaderMania

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

ShaderMania

Create, edit, and share Metal shaders with a live coding environment and real-time preview. Explore a database of public and tutorial shaders, connect nodes to build complex effects, and export your creations. A physical keyboard is recommended for optimal use.

Highlights
  • Live coding of Metal fragment shaders
  • Real-time preview and playback
  • Node-based shader creation
  • Public shader database
  • Tutorial shaders with video links
  • Export shader output to PNG
  • Syntax checking and error display
Read full description

Create, edit, render, share, and learn Metal shaders with ShaderMania for iPad. ShaderMania is a visual Metal shader editor for iPadOS. Write fragment shaders with realtime preview and playback, organize shaders and images as nodes, connect shader inputs, expose parameters as sliders, and export rendered images. ShaderMania also includes a public shader library with examples and tutorial shaders, including links to explanation videos where available. ShaderMania is free to use. Optional tips are available if you want to support development. A physical keyboard is recommended for coding shaders on iPad. Features • Live Metal fragment shader editing with realtime preview and playback. • Visual node graph for shader and image nodes. • Connect shader nodes to build reusable shader chains. • Named shader input slots declared directly in shader source code. • Parameter annotations for sliders and live UI controls. • Realtime syntax checking, compiler errors, and warnings. • Render to custom resolutions and export PNG images. • Undo and redo for common node graph edits. Shader Library • Browse public shader examples and tutorial shaders. • Add shaders from the library to your own projects. • Upload useful, inspectable shader work to the public library.

Screenshots

Textastic Code Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: ShaderMania at free against Textastic Code Editor's subscription. ShaderMania also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 69%). Textastic Code Editor's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 16 months) and chart position (#10 vs unranked). On price, ads, 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 ShaderMania sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Textastic Code Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, ShaderMania every 16 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Textastic Code Editor versus ShaderMania: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTextastic Code EditorShaderMania
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.6K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews68.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.6K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 16 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
Best chart rank#10 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPad, Mac
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexander BlachMarkus Moenig

Customer experience

Textastic Code Editor

All ratings2,552 ratings
Positive93.1%
Neutral1.5%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews603 reviews
Positive68.8%
Neutral8.6%
Negative22.6%

ShaderMania

Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

ShaderMania

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
3 purchases

ShaderMania

One-time3
  • Small Tip$1.99
  • Medium Tip$4.99
  • Large Tip$9.99

Questions

Is Textastic Code Editor free?
Textastic Code Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ShaderMania free?
ShaderMania is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Textastic Code Editor or ShaderMania have ads?
Neither Textastic Code Editor nor ShaderMania shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Textastic Code Editor or ShaderMania?
Textastic Code Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, and ShaderMania every 16 months. Most recently, Textastic Code Editor was updated on November 6, 2026 and ShaderMania on November 3, 2026.

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