RegEx Lab vs Subtext
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RegEx Lab
This app allows users to test and experiment with regular expressions. It offers syntax highlighting, customizable match colors, and a detailed results list. Features include a replace function, dark and light themes, and a helpful cheatsheet for quick reference.
- Regex syntax highlighting
- Match and capture group highlighting
- Customizable highlight colors
- Results list view
- Replace feature
- Dark and light themes
- Regular expression cheatsheet
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RegEx Lab - test regular expressions • Highlighting of regex syntax and of matches and capture groups. • Choose the color of the match highlights • Results List View which lists all the matches and capture groups. • Replace feature • Dark theme (by default) based on the Solarized color palette • Themes to choose from (light/dark) • A handy cheatsheet which tells you about the different operators, option flags and metacharacters. • An extra row of keyboard keys for common special characters • Undo / Redo quick access buttons • Support for Dynamic Type (iOS Settings Text Size) • Export / Import feature Questions, suggestions, issues? regexlab@sovio.co Made by Nikolay Suvandzhiev
Subtext
A straightforward text editor for iPhone and iPad, allowing direct creation and editing of files within iCloud. It offers advanced controls for line endings and character encoding, ideal for on-the-go code or data file modifications.
- Direct iCloud file editing
- No import/export required
- Line ending control
- Character set encoding control
- Quick edits for code and data
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Subtext is a simple, no-frills text editor for iPhone and iPad. Create or edit files directly on your device or in iCloud, with no need to import or export. Includes advanced features such as line ending and character set encoding control. Perfect for making quick edits to code or data files on the go!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Subtext at Free against RegEx Lab's $0.99. RegEx Lab's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (95% vs 83%). On ratings volume, 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
Subtext is free to download; RegEx Lab costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
RegEx Lab holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 172 and 79 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 95% of RegEx Lab's written reviews are positive against 83% of Subtext's.
RegEx Lab ships an update monthly, Subtext every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on September 26, 2026.
| Parameter | RegEx Lab | Subtext |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (172 ratings) — better | 4.5 (79 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 95.0% of reviews — better | 83.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 172 — better | 79 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #46 — better | #80 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 14.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | sovio | Charcoal Design |
Customer experience
RegEx Lab
Subtext
User reviews
RegEx Lab
From 172 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Beautifully designed UI
- 🚀 Simple and easy to use
- ⚡ Gets regular expression tasks done quickly
- 💡 Useful offline Regex tool
- 🛠️ Essential text tool for devs and writers
Room to improve
- 🐛 Files are hidden and not found in Files app
- 🐛 Export option makes a mess
- 🐛 Mac version has no effort put into it
- 🐛 Takes a long time for load screen to go away
- 🐛 'Select this match' option often doesn't work
Subtext
From 79 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Simple and efficient
- 🚀 Fast and lightweight
- 🆓 Free and no ads
- ✨ Clean and intuitive UI
- 📂 Seamless Files app integration
Room to improve
- 🐛 Fails on network drives
- 🐛 Data corruption risk
- 🐛 Difficulty unselecting text
- 🐛 Buggy Chinese input method
- 🐛 Random capitalization issues
Bugs and requests
RegEx Lab
Reported bugs
14 issues- iPad's Files app cannot find the app or Regex files
- Export option creates messy files
- Mac version lacks developer effort
- Slow load screen when creating new expressions
- Select this match option is unreliable
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Replace function is difficult to understand
- Cheat sheet accessibility issues
- Poor highlighting options
- Keyboard behavior issues
- Import functionality is broken
- Highlighted errors persist
- Difficulty with sequential regex application
- Lack of named group support
- Interface is entirely in English
Requested features
11 requests- Make app and Regex files visible in Files app
- Improve export option for Regex files
- Add a button to clear the text window
- Allow simultaneous viewing of text and replacement text
- Add a button to copy and replace text on the previous screen
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Add more examples to the cheat sheet
- Add a user manual
- Automatically jump to matched text
- Add a Chinese language option
- Add 'snippets' or templates
- Add a special keyboard for common expressions
Subtext
Reported bugs
11 issues- Fails to save work
- Jumps to top of document on blank lines
- Poor network behavior leading to data corruption
- Cannot open or create new text files
- Error when saving to network drive
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Cannot edit .tex files without renaming
- Chinese input method errors
- Random capitalization after paste
- Large text files cause errors
- File saving issues, creates extra copies
- Bug when using Chinese input method with delete key
Requested features
20 requests- Add 'Unselect all' option
- Add 'Replace all' function
- Add font size settings
- Add tab key
- Allow editing of non-text files
Show 15 moreShow fewer
- Improve network drive handling
- Option to disable auto-save
- Add highlighter
- Add character count
- Add JetBrains Mono font
- Add 'reopen last file' option
- Add widget support
- Add highlighting
- Add font and background color settings
- Add distraction-free mode
- Add swipe to close gesture
- Option to release focus for collapsing skb
- Fix Chinese input method bugs
- Allow editing of files with arbitrary extensions
- Add Chinese input method bug fixes
In-app purchases
RegEx Lab
No in-app purchases
Subtext
No in-app purchases
