Comparison

Textastic Code Editor vs GlassCode

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

GlassCode

Features
Read full description

GlassCode is a native code editor for iPhone and iPad, designed around Apple's Liquid Glass interface and a real, on-device Git engine (libgit2) — not a web wrapper. OPEN & EDIT • Open any local folder and browse the file tree. • Syntax highlighting for Swift, C/C++, C#, TypeScript, Kotlin, HTML, CSS, JSON, YAML, XML, Markdown and more. • Auto-closing brackets and quotes, and indentation that follows your code. • Line numbers, changed-line indicators and a scrollable minimap. • Tabs, quick open, project-wide search and a command palette. NATIVE GIT • Clone repositories over HTTPS (token/password) or SSH (private key). • View status, stage and commit, push and pull. • Switch and create branches, review per-file diffs, discard changes. • Browse commit history with the files and diff of each commit. • Your credentials stay on your device. THEMES • Six editor color themes, each with a light and a dark variant. LIVE PREVIEW • Rendered preview for data and markup files (JSON, YAML, HTML, XML). • Markdown live preview (Pro). DESIGNED FOR iPHONE AND iPAD • Side-by-side layout on iPad, single-column layout on iPhone. GLASSCODE PRO GlassCode is free to use. GlassCode Pro unlocks advanced Git (side-by-side diff, discard, branch management), commit history, clone & commit/push, project-wide search, advanced symbol outline,Markdown live preview and four premium editor themes. Pro is available as a monthly subscription, an annual subscription, or a one-time Lifetime purchase.

Screenshots

Textastic Code Editor4 screens
GlassCode4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Textastic Code Editor at #12 against GlassCode's unranked. Textastic Code Editor also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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 GlassCode sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 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, GlassCode monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Textastic Code Editor versus GlassCode: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTextastic Code EditorGlassCode
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.6K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews68.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings2.6K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscription—
Best chart rank#12 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB13 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperAlexander BlachJUAN DE DIOS FRAUSTO RAMIREZ

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

GlassCode

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

GlassCode

Subscriptions2
  • GlassCode Pro Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • GlassCode Pro Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • GlassCode Pro Lifetime$59.99

Questions

Is Textastic Code Editor free?
Textastic Code Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is GlassCode free?
GlassCode is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Textastic Code Editor or GlassCode have ads?
Neither Textastic Code Editor nor GlassCode shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Textastic Code Editor or GlassCode?
Textastic Code Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, and GlassCode monthly. Most recently, Textastic Code Editor was updated on November 1, 2026 and GlassCode on October 31, 2026.

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