Comparison

Textastic Code Editor vs UCoW

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

UCoW

This app provides a unified interface to access various online code editing and development environments. It enhances usability with custom keybars, shortcut access, and improved cursor control for mobile devices.

Highlights
  • Unified access to online code instances
  • Customizable keybar with cursor control
  • Full keyboard shortcut support
  • Optimized performance for iPad
  • Quick switching between instances
  • Multi-instance and window support
Features
Read full description

The Ultimate Code Wrapper gives you the ability to access all your Code-Server, OpenVSCode Server, gitpod, github.dev, vscode.dev*, github codespaces, github1s, jupyter notebooks, jetbrains projector and stackblitz online instances in one place "with tweeks". That means you can use all defined and global shortcuts without the limitation of a browser. UCoW also adds a custom Keybar, including an innovative new "cursor control stick" to the virtual keyboard. Short features overview: • Access to all keyboard shortcuts (physical keyboard required) • Extra Key-bar with many onscreen shortcuts (including a virtual stick to move the cursor without a trackpad/mouse) • Best possible performance on iPad devices • Quick switch between multiple code-server instances • Optimized Trackpad support • Multi instance and window support • Editor scale/zoom support ••• ! ••• This app requires a self hosted code-server instance or an account at one of the supported services ••• ! ••• Supported Services: • Code-Server (self-hosted) You can download code-server at: https://github.com/cdr/code-server • NEW! OpenVSCode Server (self-hosted) Download it at: https://github.com/gitpod-io/openvscode-server • NEW! Support for VSCode and Jupyter Notebook Add-On in Home Assistant (www.home-assistant.io) • NEW! Join a live share (VSCode Extension) on https://VSCode.dev via URL or Liveshare id • Gitpod (gitpod.io) • Github Codespaces (github.com/features/codespaces) • Github1s (github1s.com) • Stackblitz (stackblitz.com) • VSCode.dev* (github.dev) • Jetbrains Projector (jetbrains.com/projector) • Jupyter Notebooks (jupyter.org) • more services will follow soon * IMPORTANT! for VSCode.dev (VS Code Server & Liveshare) there is an new separate App available on the AppStore. Please check out: "VSCoW - Code Wrapper" for this case. ••• ! ••• An internet connection is required to work ••• ! ••• An external keyboard is recommended to use the app since selection with the touch cursor is not supported in VSCode at this moment. This is a wrapper app only and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft Corporation.

Screenshots

Textastic Code Editor4 screens
UCoW4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Textastic Code Editor at Free against UCoW's $3.99. Textastic Code Editor also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.8) and ratings volume (2.5K vs 12). UCoW's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (14.5 vs 16.0). On update cadence, ads 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

Textastic Code Editor is free to download; UCoW costs $3.99 up front. Textastic Code Editor sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. UCoW asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Textastic Code Editor holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Textastic Code Editor has 2.5K ratings behind it against 12, 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 54% of UCoW's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Textastic Code Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, UCoW every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Textastic Code Editor versus UCoW: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTextastic Code EditorUCoW
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.7 (2.5K ratings) — better3.8 (12 ratings)
Positive reviews68.9% of reviews — better54.2% of reviews
Number of ratings2.5K — better12
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionPaid — better
Best chart rank#16 — better#131
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.014.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexander BlachChristoph Gogolin

Customer experience

Textastic Code Editor

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

UCoW

All ratings12 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral8.3%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive54.2%
Neutral12.5%
Negative33.3%

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

UCoW

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
None

UCoW

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Textastic Code Editor free?
Textastic Code Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is UCoW free?
UCoW costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Textastic Code Editor or UCoW?
Textastic Code Editor is rated higher. Textastic Code Editor averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while UCoW averages 3.8 from 12 ratings.
Do Textastic Code Editor or UCoW have ads?
Neither Textastic Code Editor nor UCoW shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Textastic Code Editor or UCoW?
Textastic Code Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, and UCoW every 3 weeks. Most recently, Textastic Code Editor was updated on September 23, 2026 and UCoW on September 23, 2026.
Which is more popular, Textastic Code Editor or UCoW?
Textastic Code Editor currently peaks at #16 in the App Store charts, and UCoW at #131. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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