Comparison

Pyto IDE vs a

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Pyto IDE

This app offers a powerful integrated development environment for Python, C, and C++ on iOS devices. It includes a Python interpreter with extensive libraries, a C/C++ compiler, a terminal, and a code editor with advanced features like code completion and debugging.

Highlights
  • Python 3.10 Interpreter
  • C/C++ Compiler
  • Code Editor with Completion
  • Terminal with UNIX Commands
  • Graphical Interface Builder
  • Debugging Support
  • Shortcuts and Picture in Picture
Features
Read full description

Pyto is an IDE for iPhone and iPad with a Python 3.10 Interpreter and all of the standard libraries plus more than 100 third party packages, as well as a C & C++ compiler and bitcode interpreter. Includes a terminal with standard UNIX commands, a code editor with code completion, support for Shortcuts, Picture in Picture, a graphical interface builder and a debugger. * Full version exclusive third party modules * - Cython, cryptography, typed_ast, cv2, _cffi_backend, kiwisolver, matplotlib, numpy, pandas, lxml, Bio, sklearn, skimage, scipy, erfa, pywt, nacl, bcrypt, statsmodels, zmq, regex, gensim, astropy, emd, wasm3, yaml * Built-in UNIX commands * - alias, awk, cat, chflags, chmod, cksum, clang, compress, cp, curl, date, diff, dig, du, egrep, env, fgrep, find, grep, gunzip, gzip, head, host, ifconfig, link, lli, llvm-link, ln, ls, md5, mkdir, mv, nc, nslookup, open, openurl, pbcopy, pbpaste, ping, printenv, pwd, readlink, rlogin, rm, rmdir, say, scp, sed, sftp, sort, ssh, ssh-keygen, stat, sum, tail, tar, tee, telnet, touch, tr, unalias, uname, uncompress, uniq, unlink, uptime, wc, whoami, whois, wol Take advantage system features with the following modules: - pyto_ui - Build an user interface - widgets - Home Screen Widgets - file_system - iOS file system - notifications - Schedule notifications - remote_notifications - Receive remote notifications - background - Run code in background - pasteboard - Clipboard access - userkeys - Save values on disk - sound - Play sounds - music - Access the Apple Music library - photos - Accessing photos and the camera - location - Access user's location - motion - Motion sensors - multipeer - Peer to peer wireless connection - apps - Open third party apps - xcallback - Interact with other apps - sf_symbols - A list of SF Symbols names - watch - Complications and static user interfaces for the Apple Watch

About

a

Run a full Unix-like terminal environment on your iOS device. Execute a wide range of commands, edit files, and even program using included interpreters and compilers. Supports multitasking and integration with Shortcuts.

Highlights
  • Local Unix terminal emulator
  • SSH client
  • File transfer (scp, curl)
  • Text editing (vim, ed)
  • Scripting languages (Python, Lua, Perl, JS)
  • C/C++ compiler
  • TeX distribution
Features
Read full description

a-Shell is a complete local terminal emulator, allowing to run most Unix commands on your iOS device. You can transfer files using scp and curl, edit them with vim and ed, process them using grep, awk and sed. You can work with git repositories using lg2.  Most commands are compiled for iOS native Arm64 format, making them fast and well integrated with the BSD Unix that powers iOS/iPadOS. a-Shell includes Python, Lua, Perl, JavaScript, C, C++ for programming and TeX (texlive 2025, with Tikz and LuaTeX) for text processing. There are also multiple network utilities: nslookup, ping, whois, ifconfig... Type help for help, help -l to get the full list of commands. a-Shell can be controlled from Shortcuts: run commands in order, process files in a-Shell, get the results as text or files, transfer files to other apps... a-shell uses iOS 13+ “multiple windows” ability, so you can run multiple shells at the same time, with different commands, in different directories. You can edit a file in one window with vim and process it in the other with python. Compile your C or C++ programs to webAssembly using clang or clang++, and execute the resulting binary. A complete webAssembly SDK is included (WASI-libc). a-Shell is the complete version. If you need a smaller app, and you don't need a C compiler, a TeX engine, or numpy and matplotlib, there is a-Shell mini.

Screenshots

Pyto IDE4 screens
a4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: a at 79% against Pyto IDE's 35%. a also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.7) and in-app purchases (none vs 4). Pyto IDE's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs monthly). On price, ratings volume, ads and chart position 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. Pyto IDE sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. a asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

a holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 995 and 553 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 35% of Pyto IDE's written reviews are positive against 79% of a's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pyto IDE ships an update every 8 days, a monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Pyto IDE versus a: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPyto IDEa
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (995 ratings)4.6 (553 ratings) — better
Positive reviews35.3% of reviews78.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings995 — better553
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#29#20 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.014.0
Further details — not scored
Size922 MB1.9 GB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperDevelobile S.p.A.Nicolas Holzschuch

Customer experience

Pyto IDE

All ratings995 ratings
Positive64.8%
Neutral6.0%
Negative29.1%
Written reviews563 reviews
Positive35.3%
Neutral11.9%
Negative52.8%

a

All ratings553 ratings
Positive88.1%
Neutral4.5%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews294 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral10.2%
Negative11.2%

User reviews

Pyto IDE

From 995 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app for Python development on iOS
  • 👍 Supports many Python libraries like Pandas, NumPy
  • 💡 Integrates well with Shortcuts and Apple Watch
  • 👍 Paid version offers good value

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • 👎 Confusing user interface and poor documentation
  • 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscription/trial
  • 💰 Paid-only access to core functionality

a

From 553 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful terminal with Linux commands
  • 👍 Useful for programming and development
  • 🔒 Secure and reliable
  • 💡 Impressive capabilities for an iOS app
  • 👍 Helpful documentation and developer support

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔍 Limited customization options
  • 🔍 Missing some basic terminal features
  • 🔍 Compatibility issues with certain packages

Bugs and requests

Pyto IDE

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to run scripts after a few executions
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between apps
  • Paywall issues - app asking to repurchase after prior purchase

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved code editor with better keyboard support
  • Ability to read/write external files (CSV, TXT, etc.)
  • Support for more Python libraries like Selenium, Tensorflow
  • Longer trial period for new users

a

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Toolbar buttons not accessible in portrait mode on some devices
  • Pasting from clipboard can insert unexpected characters
  • Sourcing certain script files causes crashes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for package managers like Homebrew or APT
  • Implement more advanced shell features like job control and better tab completion
  • Integrate Git for version control
  • Allow installing additional packages and libraries
  • Improve clipboard and file management integration

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Pyto IDE

One-time4
  • 3-day TrialFree
  • Upgrade to Full Version$6.99
  • Lite Version$7.99
Show 1 more
  • Full Version$14.99
None

a

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pyto IDE free?
Pyto IDE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is a free?
a is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pyto IDE or a?
a is rated higher. Pyto IDE averages 3.7 out of 5 from 995 ratings, while a averages 4.6 from 553 ratings.
Do Pyto IDE or a have ads?
Neither Pyto IDE nor a shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pyto IDE or a?
Pyto IDE ships an update every 8 days, and a monthly. Most recently, Pyto IDE was updated on September 28, 2026 and a on September 26, 2026.
Which is more popular, Pyto IDE or a?
Pyto IDE currently peaks at #29 in the App Store charts, and a at #20. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons