Comparison

RegExp vs Npp

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

Head to head
About

RegExp

This tool allows developers to test and explore regular expression patterns across various programming language syntaxes. It offers advanced configuration options and synchronization across devices, making it ideal for learning and building complex patterns.

Highlights
  • Multiple regex engine support
  • Advanced Swift regex engine
  • Save and organize regex patterns
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Supports Swift, Objective-C, ECMAScript, and Go regex flavors
Features
Read full description

RegExp is a regular expression tester for developers, on Mac, iPhone and iPad. Write a pattern, paste your text, and see every match and capture group as you type, with the same engine your code uses. Six flavors, real engines: • Swift Regex • NSRegularExpression (Objective-C and Swift) • JavaScript (ECMAScript) • PCRE2, the engine of PHP • Go and Go (POSIX) Write and understand patterns: • Matches and capture groups highlighted in the test string, with their names • Errors marked right in the pattern, unbalanced brackets too • Substitution with each engine's replacement syntax, and a list mode that extracts one line per match • A quick reference of each flavor's syntax: select an item to insert it • Copy the pattern as ready-to-use Swift, Objective-C, JavaScript, Go or PHP code • Jump between matches; slow patterns time out instead of freezing the app Keep your patterns: • Sessions and folders, your own regex notebook, synced with iCloud across your devices • Search, duplicate, export and import sessions, or open one in its own window • Shortcuts actions, Spotlight search, and a Services menu item on the Mac for selected text Most of RegExp is free. RegExp Pro, a one-time purchase that works with Family Sharing, adds: • Explain: what every part of a pattern does, in plain language, and what the selected flavor doesn't support • Test cases: strings a pattern must or must not match, checked on every run • Apple Intelligence: write a pattern from a description, or get a summary of one (on supported devices) • The advanced options of every flavor RegExp speaks English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Ukrainian, Russian, Japanese and Chinese. Made by an independent developer. Questions or ideas? Write to support@loshadki.app.

About

Npp

Features
Read full description

NPP — Notepad++ Inspired Code Editor A fast, lightweight code editor that treats your unsaved work as sacred. Whether you're a professional developer, a student, or a tinkerer, NPP gives you the essentials to write and edit code — without the weight of a full IDE, and without ever fearing lost changes. NEVER LOSE YOUR WORK This is what makes NPP different. Every tab and every unsaved edit is continuously saved to disk in the background. Close the app, swipe it away, run out of battery, or let it crash mid-sentence — it doesn't matter. Reopen NPP and every tab is exactly where you left it, down to the last character you typed. No "Save?" dialogs, no warnings, no anxiety. Commit to a real file only when you're truly done. MULTI-TAB EDITING Work on many files at once with intuitive tabs. Spin up as many scratch tabs as you like — for quick notes, snippets, or full drafts — without touching your file system. Switch between them instantly. BUILT FOR BIG FILES A rebuilt editing engine keeps typing smooth and responsive even in very large files, where other mobile editors stutter. SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING FOR 60+ LANGUAGES • Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Dart, Vue • Java, Kotlin, Swift, Objective-C • C, C++, C#, Go, Rust, Assembly • Ruby, PHP, Perl, Lua, R • Elixir, Erlang, Haskell, Clojure, OCaml, F#, Julia • HTML, CSS, SCSS, JSON, XML, YAML, TOML • SQL, GraphQL, Protocol Buffers, Diff/Patch, LaTeX • Bash, PowerShell, Dockerfile, Makefile, nginx & Apache configs, .env • Markdown and many more VIEW & EDIT CSV AS A TABLE Open any CSV or TSV and see it as a clean spreadsheet with automatic delimiter detection. Tap a cell to edit it, and search across all cells with the matching cell highlighted — then switch back to raw text anytime. MORE THAN A PLAIN EDITOR • Live Markdown preview with clickable links • One-tap JSON formatting / beautify • Find & Replace with case-sensitivity and regular expressions • Automatic bracket matching FILE OPERATIONS • Open files from your device • Save, Save As, and export scratch tabs to real files • Automatic UTF-8 detection with fallback for legacy files • Open files directly from other apps MADE YOURS • Light, dark, and system themes • Toggle line numbers and word wrap • Adjustable font size • Custom status bar color SUPPORTED DEVICES NPP runs on phones, tablets, and desktop computers, adapting its layout to each screen size for a comfortable editing experience everywhere. PRIVATE BY DESIGN NPP works fully offline. No account, no ads, no tracking — your code never leaves your device.

Screenshots

RegExp4 screens
Npp4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Npp at none against RegExp's 1. Npp also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.1). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. RegExp sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Npp asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RegExp ships an update every 6 months, Npp every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 5 level
RegExp versus Npp: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRegExpNpp
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.113.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB44 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperLoshadki, LLCIlia Bogdanovski

In-app purchases

1 purchases

RegExp

One-time1
  • Pro Features$2.99
None

Npp

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RegExp free?
RegExp is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Npp free?
Npp is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do RegExp or Npp have ads?
Neither RegExp nor Npp shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RegExp or Npp?
RegExp ships an update every 6 months, and Npp every 2 weeks. Most recently, RegExp was updated on October 10, 2026 and Npp on October 13, 2026.

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