Comparison

Textastic Code Editor vs TextNova

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

TextNova

A powerful text transformation tool for developers, offering over 107 built-in transformers for encoding, decoding, formatting, and hashing text. It features on-device AI for text manipulation and a developer-friendly editor with advanced functionalities.

Highlights
  • 107+ text transformers
  • On-device AI for text manipulation
  • Developer-friendly editor
  • Bidirectional transforms
  • Command palette for quick access
  • Universal app for Mac, iPhone, iPad
Features
Read full description

TextNova is a fast, native text toolbox for developers. Convert, encode, decode, hash, and format text with 151 built-in transformers, all in one clean interface on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. HIGHLIGHTS • 151 transformers in 7 categories: JSON/YAML/TOML/XML conversion, Base64/Hex/URL encoding, MD5/SHA hashing, case conversion, text and data utils, and date/time tools • Markdown preview: see your document rendered, with tables, task lists, images, and syntax highlighted code. Select blocks and copy them with their formatting intact • Change history: every transform, paste, and file load is recorded, per tab. Compare any point against your current text, or revert to it • On-device AI: summarize, fix grammar, translate, or rewrite with Apple Intelligence. Your text never leaves your device • Developer-grade editor: monospace type, line numbers, syntax highlighting, search and replace, and a built-in diff view • Command Palette: find and run any transformer without leaving the keyboard • Favorites and Recents: your most-used transformers always within reach • Private by design: works fully offline. No accounts, no servers, no tracking Whether you're decoding a JWT, pretty-printing JSON, or turning CSV into a Markdown table, TextNova gets it done in seconds. Available in English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Spanish, French, and German.

Screenshots

Textastic Code Editor4 screens
TextNova4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Textastic Code Editor at Free against TextNova's $1.99. Textastic Code Editor also leads on chart position (#13 vs unranked). TextNova's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (100% vs 69%). On ads, 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

Textastic Code Editor is free to download; TextNova costs $1.99 up front. Textastic Code Editor sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. TextNova asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Textastic Code Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, TextNova every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Textastic Code Editor versus TextNova: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTextastic Code EditorTextNova
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.7 (2.5K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews68.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.5K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionPaid — better
Best chart rank#13 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexander BlachHWAN LEE

Customer experience

Textastic Code Editor

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

TextNova

Written reviews2 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

TextNova

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

TextNova

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Textastic Code Editor free?
Textastic Code Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TextNova free?
TextNova costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Textastic Code Editor or TextNova have ads?
Neither Textastic Code Editor nor TextNova shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Textastic Code Editor or TextNova?
Textastic Code Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, and TextNova every 6 days. Most recently, Textastic Code Editor was updated on September 29, 2026 and TextNova on September 21, 2026.

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