Comparison

Textastic Code Editor vs Text Editor

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

Text Editor

This powerful text editor allows real-time editing and previewing of various file formats across numerous cloud and server storage services. It offers advanced features like syntax highlighting for many languages, invisible character display, and file management tools. AI integration provides summarization, rephrasing, and translation capabilities.

Highlights
  • Supports 10 storage types (cloud, server, local)
  • Previews 16 file formats with real-time updates
  • Syntax highlighting for 20+ languages
  • Advanced editor features (invisible chars, guides)
  • Multiple tabs and split-screen view
  • File manager with search and backup history
  • AI-powered text summarization, rephrasing, translation
Features
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PWEditor Next is a powerful text editor that lets you edit text files directly across a wide range of storage services. You can edit in real time while viewing a preview tailored to each file format. Based on the original PWEditor app, PWEditor Next has been redesigned for the latest iOS and iPadOS environments. ・Supports 10 storage types  Supports local files, five cloud storage services (iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and Box), and four server types (FTP, SFTP, SMB, and WebDAV).  - SFTP supports username and password authentication.  - WebDAV supports username and password authentication and connects over HTTP or HTTPS. ・Previews 16 file formats  - Dedicated previews: PDF and images  - Document formats: HTML, Markdown, and AsciiDoc  - Diagram and chart formats: Mermaid, PlantUML, Graphviz, D2, and Pikchr  - Tree formats: JSON, YAML, XML, and PropertyList  - Table formats: CSV and TSV  The 14 formats other than PDF and images also support real-time previews.  For CSV and TSV, you can configure whether the file has a header row and choose the delimiter. ・Advanced editor features  - Syntax highlighting  - 20 languages: Arduino、Bash/Shell、C、C++、C#、Dart、GO、Java、JavaScript、Kotlin、Lua、Objective-C、PHP、Python、R、Ruby、Rust、SQL、Swift、TypeScript  - 13 formats: AsciiDoc, CSS, D2, Graphviz, HTML, JSON, Markdown, Mermaid, Pikchr, PropertyList, PlantUML, XML, and YAML  - Display of invisible characters (half-width spaces, full-width spaces, tabs, and line breaks)  - Status information (character encoding, line endings, character count, and line count)  - File path display  - Line numbers  - Horizontal and vertical guide lines  - Auto-indentation  - Symbol input, including Undo and Redo  - Cursor movement  - Character encoding and line ending conversion ・Multiple tabs and split-screen view  Open and edit multiple files at the same time in tabs. The free plan supports up to two tabs; the Pro plan removes the tab limit.  In split-screen view, you can display two files or a file and its preview side by side within a single tab. Split-screen view is available on the free plan for local files and iCloud Drive. The Pro plan is required for all other storage services. ・Three types of search  - Find and replace within a file  - Search for file and directory names  - Search across multiple files ・File manager features  - File list  - Rename, copy, move, and delete files and directories  - Export files  - Recently opened files  - Favorites ・Backup history  Files are backed up before saving, before converting character encoding or line endings, and before restoring from backup history. You can use the history to restore an earlier version of a file. ・AI features  Use Apple Intelligence to summarize, rephrase, and translate text. ・Other features  - Switch the display language (Japanese, English, Spanish, or Chinese)  - Switch between light and dark themes  - Support for cloud storage sharing links  - Support for files shared from other apps ・Free plan and Pro plan  Basic features are available for free. The following features require the Pro plan:  - More than two tabs across all storage services  - Split-screen view, AI features, copy, move, and export for storage services other than local files and iCloud Drive  - Search within subdirectories and search filters for some storage services ・Terms of Use (Apple’s Standard EULA):  https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Textastic Code Editor4 screens
Text Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Text Editor at free with in-app purchases against Textastic Code Editor's subscription. Text Editor also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). Textastic Code Editor's advantage is review sentiment (69% vs 33%) and ads (none vs shown). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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 Text Editor sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Textastic Code Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, Text Editor every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Textastic Code Editor versus Text Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTextastic Code EditorText Editor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.6K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews68.8% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings2.6K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#9 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB165 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexander BlachMasatsugu Futamata

Customer experience

Textastic Code Editor

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

Text Editor

Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
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

Text Editor

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
4 purchases

Text Editor

Subscriptions4
  • Ad-Free (Monthly)$0.991 Month
  • Pro (Monthly)2 variants$1.991 Month
  • Ad-Free (Yearly)$5.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pro (Yearly)2 variants$11.991 Year

Questions

Is Textastic Code Editor free?
Textastic Code Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Text Editor free?
Text Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Textastic Code Editor or Text Editor have ads?
Text Editor shows ads; Textastic Code Editor does not.
Which is updated more often, Textastic Code Editor or Text Editor?
Textastic Code Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, and Text Editor every 2 days. Most recently, Textastic Code Editor was updated on November 2, 2026 and Text Editor on November 4, 2026.

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