Textastic Code Editor vs Tracer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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/
Tracer
Monitor all network requests your iPhone makes in real-time, locally on your device. Identify third-party services, inspect request details, and understand where your data is going without it ever leaving your phone.
- Real-time network request monitoring
- Inspect headers, bodies, and timing
- Identify third-party services
- Visualize server locations on a globe
- Local data processing for privacy
- No account required
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Ever wonder what your apps are actually doing? Tracer lets you watch every network request your iPhone makes in real time. See where your data goes, who’s receiving it, and exactly what’s being sent - all without your traffic ever leaving your device. WATCH TRAFFIC LIVE * Every request flies across a live 3D globe * Inspect headers, bodies, timing, status codes, and more * See exactly where each server lives SEE WHO’S REALLY BEHIND AN APP * Instantly identify analytics, ads, payments, crash reporting, AI, and other third-party services * See who’s hosting them: AWS, Google Cloud, Cloudflare, and more PRIVATE BY DESIGN * Everything runs locally on your iPhone * Traffic is never uploaded * Your certificates are generated on-device and never leaves it * No account required BUILT FOR * App-curious who want to learn what apps are built with * Developers debugging APIs * QA teams testing apps on real devices * Privacy nerds who want receipts Setup takes just a few minutes. Install Tracer’s certificate, start a capture, and open any app. Your phone. Your traffic. Your business. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tracer is free to use. Certain features require a paid subscription. Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Textastic Code Editor at 4.7 against Tracer's 4.0. Textastic Code Editor also leads on ratings volume (2.6K vs 1) and chart position (#14 vs #151). Tracer's advantage is monetization model (freemium vs subscription) and review sentiment (100% vs 69%). On price, ads, 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
Both are free to download. Textastic Code Editor sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Tracer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Textastic Code Editor holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. 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 100% of Tracer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Textastic Code Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, Tracer daily. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Textastic Code Editor | Tracer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (2.6K ratings) — better | 4.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 68.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.6K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Freemium — better |
| Best chart rank | #14 — better | #151 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alexander Blach | Ryan Kotzebue |
Customer experience
Textastic Code Editor
Tracer
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
Tracer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Textastic Code Editor
- Textastic Pro (Monthly)7 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Textastic Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- Textastic Pro (One-Time)$69.99
Tracer
- Pro access$4.997 Days
- Pro access7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Pro access$199.00
Questions
Is Textastic Code Editor free?
Is Tracer free?
Which has better reviews, Textastic Code Editor or Tracer?
Do Textastic Code Editor or Tracer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Textastic Code Editor or Tracer?
Which is more popular, Textastic Code Editor or Tracer?
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