TextEdit vs Padster
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TextEdit
A fast and versatile text editor for mobile devices, offering compatibility with various file formats and editors. It provides a distraction-free writing experience with advanced formatting, organization, and sharing features.
- Supports TXT, RTF, Markdown, TeX, and PDF formats
- Cross-device and computer syncing via iCloud/Files
- Distraction-free writing interface
- Customizable keyboard extension for faster typing
- Visual rich text formatting and one-tap options
- Syntax highlighting for Markdown and TeX
- Instant statistics and counters
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TextEdit+ is the text editor your iPhone and iPad were missing. Like TextEdit on the Mac, it opens to a clean page and stays out of your way. Unlike it, it also speaks Markdown and LaTeX, marks up PDFs and puts an AI assistant right inside your document. Jot down a quick TXT, format a rich-text letter, write a README in Markdown or compile a LaTeX paper. One lightweight app, no clutter. ONE EDITOR, EVERY TEXT FORMAT • Create and edit TXT, RTF, RTFD, Markdown and LaTeX files • Open RTF files from macOS TextEdit, WordPad, Word and Scrivener, and keep working on them on your Mac or PC • Open PDFs and mark them up with highlights, notes and text • Work on files right where they live: Files, iCloud Drive or your cloud storage • Organize your documents in folders and subfolders A CLEAN PLACE TO WRITE • Distraction-free editor with Full Screen and Typewriter modes • Keep several documents open in tabs and switch with a tap • Extended keyboard row for cursor moves, selection and the characters you use most • Keyboard shortcuts for hardware keyboards • Read Aloud with your choice of voice and speed • Light and dark appearance, plus custom document colors RICH TEXT WITHOUT THE BLOAT • Fonts, sizes, colors, highlights, bold, italic, underline and strikethrough • Alignment, indents, lists, line and paragraph spacing, superscript and subscript • Insert images, tables and inline equations • Install your own fonts and use them in any document MARKDOWN AND LATEX, DONE PROPERLY • Syntax highlighting for Markdown and TeX • Live Markdown preview: edit, preview or split view side by side • Compile LaTeX right on your device and preview the PDF next to your source • Article, report, book and letter templates, command completion, error diagnostics and a document outline • Multi-file projects with included files and bibliographies AI THAT WORKS IN YOUR DOCUMENT • Turn a prompt into a first draft • Rewrite, shorten, expand, summarize or translate the selected text • Fix grammar, spelling and punctuation, or switch the tone between casual, concise, friendly and professional • Ask the assistant about your own documents and get answers with sources • Prefer to write without AI? Hide every AI feature with one switch TOOLS FOR EDITING • Find and replace across the whole document • Word, character, sentence, paragraph, line and page counts with reading time • Readability scores: Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch–Kincaid Grade, SMOG and Automated Readability Index • Automatic backups, so an edit is never lost • Scan paper documents with the camera EXPORT AND SHARE • Export to PDF, Word (DOCX), RTF, RTFD, Markdown, TXT, TeX and PNG • Print, email or send your work to any app • Send text, links and files to TextEdit+ from other apps with the share sheet • Shortcuts actions to create, open, search and rename documents Built for iPhone, iPad and iPhone Duo, and localized in more than 70 languages. Privacy Policy https://www.noteswriter.com/Kairoos_Privacy_Policy.html Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Padster
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Padster is a fast, offline-first notes app with a built-in password vault and secure secret sharing — built for developers and technical teams. Everything is encrypted on your device before it syncs. Your recovery passphrase never leaves your phone, so nobody can read your data — not even us. Every feature listed below is free. Padster has no subscription, no paid tier, and nothing to purchase inside the app. NOTES • Markdown notes with tags, folders and pinning • Daily notes and a calendar view • Full-text search and version history • Works completely offline VAULT • Passwords and credentials encrypted on your device • Built-in password generator • Encrypted backup, so losing your phone does not lose your logins DOCUMENTS • A personal wallet for passports, ID cards, bank cards and certificates • Attach scans and track expiry dates • Masked by default, revealed only when you tap SHARE SECRETS SAFELY • Send a password with a link and a PIN • Choose how long it lives: view once, one hour after opening, 24 hours, or 7 days • View-once secrets are destroyed the moment they are read • Revoke any share at any time, and see when it was opened SHARED WORKSPACES • Invite people to a space with its own notes, passwords and temporary secrets • Shared content is end-to-end encrypted, and removing a member rotates the keys • Members join with a single-use code — no email required SYNC AND WEB ACCESS • Sync across your devices, and open your notes in any browser at padster.ai • Encrypted cloud backup you can restore onto a new phone Your notes stay yours. Padster is offline-first by design and encrypted end to end. Privacy Policy: https://padster.ai/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Padster at 15.1 against TextEdit's 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
Both are free to download. TextEdit sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and Padster sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
TextEdit ships an update weekly, Padster every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TextEdit | Padster |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (380 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 17.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 380 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 461 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kairoos Solutions SL | Splat Apps Ltd. |
Bugs and requests
TextEdit
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes when opening certain file types
- Formatting issues when copying/pasting text
- Inconsistent behavior across devices
Requested features
3 requests- Allow users to choose iCloud directory
- Offer one-time purchase option instead of subscription
- Restore previous paid versions without AI
Padster
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
TextEdit
- Weekly$1.997 Days
- TextEdit+ Monthly3 Days trial$3.991 Month
- TextEdit+ Annual3 Days trial$14.991 Year
- TextEdit+ Full Unlock$14.99
Padster
- Padster PRO$5.991 Month
- Padster PRO$29.991 Year









