Comparison

Textastic Code Editor vs Simple_TextEdit

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

Simple_TextEdit

This app provides a native plain text editing experience for iOS devices. It allows users to open, edit, and save plain text files like .txt, .md, and .json directly from the Files app, offering a streamlined alternative to rich text editors.

Highlights
  • Native plain text editing
  • Opens and saves .txt, .md, .json
  • Integrates with Files app
  • Prettify JSON functionality
  • Clipboard integration
  • Supports 39 languages
Features
Read full description

A native plain text editor for iOS. No accounts, no bloat, just text. **WHY NOTES ISN'T ENOUGH** Apple's Notes is rich text. It can't open or write actual plain text files. If you need to edit a .txt, .md, or .json from your Files app, Notes won't open it. **THE SOLUTION** SimpleTextEdit opens any plain text file from Files (iCloud, On My iPhone, third-party providers), edits it, and saves it back. One tap to prettify JSON. One tap to paste from or copy to the clipboard. Simple. Fast. Native. 39 languages.

Screenshots

Textastic Code Editor4 screens
Simple_TextEdit1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Simple_TextEdit at ad-supported against Textastic Code Editor's subscription. Simple_TextEdit also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Textastic Code Editor's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (2.6K vs 1). 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 Simple_TextEdit sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Simple_TextEdit holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Textastic Code Editor has 2.6K ratings behind it against 1, 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 67% of Simple_TextEdit'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, Simple_TextEdit every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Textastic Code Editor versus Simple_TextEdit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTextastic Code EditorSimple_TextEdit
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.6K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.8% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings2.6K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionAd-supported — better
Best chart rank#10 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexander BlachSeung-Un Ham

Customer experience

Textastic Code Editor

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

Simple_TextEdit

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
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

Simple_TextEdit

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
1 purchases

Simple_TextEdit

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99

Questions

Is Textastic Code Editor free?
Textastic Code Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Simple_TextEdit free?
Simple_TextEdit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Textastic Code Editor or Simple_TextEdit?
Simple_TextEdit is rated higher. Textastic Code Editor averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.6K ratings, while Simple_TextEdit averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Textastic Code Editor or Simple_TextEdit have ads?
Simple_TextEdit shows ads; Textastic Code Editor does not.
Which is updated more often, Textastic Code Editor or Simple_TextEdit?
Textastic Code Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, and Simple_TextEdit every 2 months. Most recently, Textastic Code Editor was updated on October 22, 2026 and Simple_TextEdit on October 9, 2026.

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