Comparison

Spectre VPN vs Runestone Text Editor

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

Head to head
About

Spectre VPN

This app provides secure internet access using Shadowsocks and Trojan protocols. It offers strong encryption to protect your privacy from third parties and features an intuitive design for ease of use. It is available for free.

Highlights
  • Shadowsocks and Trojan protocol support
  • Strong encryption for privacy
  • Lightweight and efficient proxy
  • Intuitive and simple design
  • Free to use
Features
Read full description

A multi-protocol VPN and proxy client for your own servers. Import subscriptions, control traffic with routing rules, and connect from your Home Screen. IMPORT ONCE, KEEP SERVERS TOGETHER Add a server by scanning its QR code, pasting a link, or entering the details yourself. Import subscriptions to manage multiple nodes in one place. Check server latency before choosing a connection. CHOOSE WHAT GOES THROUGH YOUR PROXY Use Global mode for proxy routing, or Rule mode to choose which traffic connects directly and which uses your proxy. Edit your own rules or import a rule list from a URL. CONNECT FROM YOUR HOME SCREEN See the active server and connection status in the widget, then use its switch to connect or disconnect. On iOS 18 and later, add Spectre VPN to Control Center for another quick way to control your connection. USE THE PROTOCOL YOUR SERVER NEEDS - Shadowsocks and Trojan - VMess and VLESS - Hysteria2 and TUIC - SOCKS and HTTP For advanced setups, use a complete custom sing-box JSON configuration. The app interface supports 14 languages. BRING YOUR OWN SERVER Spectre does not include VPN servers or sell VPN service subscriptions. A compatible server configuration or subscription link is required.

About

Runestone Text Editor

A powerful plain text and code editor for iPhone and iPad. Offers syntax highlighting, line numbers, find and replace, and extensive customization options for developers and writers.

Highlights
  • Syntax highlighting for many languages
  • Customizable themes and fonts
  • Advanced find and replace
  • Line numbers and cursor location
  • Code formatting with Prettier.js
  • Multiple windows on iPad
Features
Read full description

A plain text editor with syntax highlighting, line numbers, search and replace, page guide, and much more. It's like TextEdit but more powerful and optimised for iPhone and iPad. Runestone is made by a single person with a love for text editors and a vision of building the most lightweight text editor for iPhone and iPad that still has the core features for editing code. Features: - Syntax highlighting of many languages including HTML, JavaScript, JSON, Markdown, Swift, Python, PHP, YAML, and many more. - Select one of the twelve standard themes including popular themes like Tomorrow, Dracula, Solarized, and One Dark Pro. - Innovative find and replace for searching and modifying text while still viewing your file. - Choose font and font size, including support for custom fonts imported using another third-party app. - Show the line and column the cursor is located on. - Uses the standard document browser for an experience similar to the Files app. - Quickly navigate to a specific line. - Automatically close opening brackets and quotes. - Multiple windows on the iPad. - Format code using Prettier.js. Supported languages include CSS,HTML, JavaScript, JSON, PHP and more. - Choose text encoding between popular encodings like UTF-8, UTF-16, ISO Latin 1, and many more. - Enable or disable autocorrection, autocapitalization, and smart punctuation. - Set default file extension of new files. - Open files in Runestone from the Share Sheet. - Print documents. Premium features: - Choose between eight app icons. - Show line numbers. - Highlight the selected line. - Increase line height and letter spacing. - Disable line wrapping to allow horizontal scrolling. - Show tabs, spaces, and line breaks using a selected symbol. - Enable page guide at a specific column to easily tell when lines are getting too long. - Add vertical and horizontal overscroll. - Remember the selected language per file. - Save file extensions and filenames that should always be treated as plain text files. - Enable soft tabs and choose the width of the tab character. - Specify whether pressing the tab key should insert a tab or indent the line. - Adjust the scaling of Markdown headings and disable highlighting of code blocks in Markdown. Runestone was built on the open-source framework with the same name. Find more information on the Runestone framework at github.com/simonbs/runestone

Screenshots

Spectre VPN4 screens
Runestone Text Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Runestone Text Editor at 4.7 against Spectre VPN's 3.9. Runestone Text Editor also leads on ratings volume (2.1K vs 251) and review sentiment (76% vs 68%). Spectre VPN's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, update cadence, 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. Runestone Text Editor sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Spectre VPN asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Runestone Text Editor holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Runestone Text Editor has 2.1K ratings behind it against 251, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of Spectre VPN's written reviews are positive against 76% of Runestone Text Editor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Spectre VPN versus Runestone Text Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpectre VPNRunestone Text Editor
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (251 ratings)4.7 (2.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.1% of reviews76.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2512.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#100#46 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size136 MB64 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPassion OnlySimon B. Støvring

Customer experience

Spectre VPN

All ratings248 ratings
Positive72.2%
Neutral4.8%
Negative23.0%
Written reviews216 reviews
Positive68.1%
Neutral5.6%
Negative26.4%

Runestone Text Editor

All ratings1,962 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral2.3%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews365 reviews
Positive76.2%
Neutral9.6%
Negative14.2%

User reviews

Spectre VPN

From 251 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Reliable and efficient app
  • 🚀 Smooth and fast performance
  • 🔒 Secure and trustworthy
  • 💡 Lightweight and easy to use

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Video loading issues
  • 🐛 Connectivity problems after updates
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and timeouts
  • 🔋 High battery consumption

Runestone Text Editor

From 2.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💎 Excellent text editor
  • 🚀 Smooth and responsive
  • 🎨 Customizable themes and appearance
  • 🔒 Secure file storage and sync
  • 👍 Clean and intuitive interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
  • 🔍 Difficulty navigating files/folders
  • 📝 Limited functionality without premium
  • 🔌 Performance issues on older devices
  • 🔒 Difficulty accessing files in cloud storage

Bugs and requests

Spectre VPN

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes on iOS 12.5.5 and older
  • Incompatibility with certain devices and OS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Support for more protocols (e.g., VMess, VLESS, SSTP)
  • Server sorting by ping/latency
  • Websocket connection support
  • Manual server configuration
  • Multiple server import from clipboard

Runestone Text Editor

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Disappearing files
  • Difficulty pasting text
  • Scroll position not saved
  • Hangs on startup
  • Trouble opening large files
Show 1 more
  • Issues after iOS updates

Requested features

6 requests
  • Markdown preview
  • Code folding
  • Syntax highlighting for more languages
  • Ability to run/execute code
  • Multiple file/window support
Show 1 more
  • Improved undo/redo functionality

In-app purchases

None

Spectre VPN

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Runestone Text Editor

One-time1
  • Premium$9.99

Questions

Is Spectre VPN free?
Spectre VPN is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Runestone Text Editor free?
Runestone Text Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Spectre VPN or Runestone Text Editor?
Runestone Text Editor is rated higher. Spectre VPN averages 3.9 out of 5 from 251 ratings, while Runestone Text Editor averages 4.7 from 2.1K ratings.
Do Spectre VPN or Runestone Text Editor have ads?
Neither Spectre VPN nor Runestone Text Editor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Spectre VPN or Runestone Text Editor?
Spectre VPN ships an update every 2 weeks, and Runestone Text Editor every 2 weeks. Most recently, Spectre VPN was updated on November 3, 2026 and Runestone Text Editor on November 3, 2026.
Which is more popular, Spectre VPN or Runestone Text Editor?
Spectre VPN currently peaks at #100 in the App Store charts, and Runestone Text Editor at #46. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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