Comparison

Runestone Text Editor vs Replit

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

Head to head
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

About

Replit

Build and deploy apps, websites, and games directly from your phone. Utilize AI to generate projects from natural language prompts, collaborate in real-time, and host your creations instantly with zero setup. Suitable for both beginners and experienced developers.

Highlights
  • Build apps with natural language AI
  • Instant zero-setup hosting
  • Real-time multiplayer collaboration
  • Create in any language/framework
  • Clone and remix millions of projects
  • Custom domain setup
  • Integrated authentication and databases
Features
Read full description

Describe what you want. Replit builds it — websites, web apps, slides, videos, data dashboards, and more. No coding. No tools to learn. Just describe what you need in plain language, and Replit handles the building, testing, debugging, and hosting — all in one place. It's like having an entire team of engineers and designers on demand, available through a simple chat. Trusted by 50 million creators and builders worldwide. BUILD ANYTHING One platform for everything you want to make: - Web apps — live in minutes with a public URL - Websites and prototypes - Slide decks and presentations - Videos and animations - Data apps and dashboards DESIGN FREELY Design directly on a live canvas. No handoff. No gap between what you picture and what ships. BUILD TOGETHER Every request becomes a structured task your team can track. Add tasks anytime, see progress in real-time, and stay focused on what matters — while Replit handles the maintenance, updates, and complexity in the background. MOVE FASTER Multiple AI agents work across your project simultaneously — building infrastructure, integrating services, and refining features at once. What used to take cycles now happens in parallel. EVERYTHING BUILT IN — ZERO SETUP Authentication, database, hosting, and monitoring are all included from day one. No configuration, no infrastructure decisions. Build fully scalable web apps securely from the start. 100+ INTEGRATIONS, NO API KEYS NEEDED Connect to Google Drive, Gmail, Google Workspace, enterprise data warehouses, and more. Turn your project into a fully connected system in minutes, not days. SECURE BY DEFAULT Pre-deployment security screening, secure built-in services, and enterprise-grade controls — including SSO/SAML and SOC2 — so what you build stays protected. WHO USES REPLIT: - Founders and entrepreneurs building their first product or MVP - Designers who want to ship without depending on a developer - Product managers building internal tools and prototypes - Marketers who need campaign tools and dashboards - Students creating real projects for their portfolio - Anyone with an idea and no time to waste Creativity runs on Replit. Get started for free. Download and build something today.

Screenshots

Runestone Text Editor4 screens
Replit4 screens

Verdict

The call

Runestone Text Editor and Replit both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 76% of Runestone Text Editor's written reviews are positive against 59% of Replit's. Replit's advantage is chart position (#1 vs #26) and ratings volume (21K vs 2K). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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 and Replit sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $20.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Runestone Text Editor against 4.7 for Replit. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Replit has 21K ratings behind it against 2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Runestone Text Editor's written reviews are positive against 59% of Replit's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Runestone Text Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, Replit fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Runestone Text Editor versus Replit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRunestone Text EditorReplit
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2K ratings)4.7 (21K ratings)
Positive reviews76.2% of reviews — better58.8% of reviews
Number of ratings2K21K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#26#1 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size64 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSimon B. StøvringReplit

Customer experience

Runestone Text Editor

All ratings1,962 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral2.3%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews353 reviews
Positive76.2%
Neutral9.6%
Negative14.2%

Replit

All ratings20,737 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral2.5%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews1,883 reviews
Positive58.8%
Neutral7.1%
Negative34.1%

User reviews

Runestone Text Editor

From 2K 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

Replit

From 21K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Quick & easy to use
  • 🚀 Accelerates development
  • 👍 Comprehensive mobile IDE
  • 👍 Intuitive user interface
  • 👍 Seamless integration

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy, crashes, and lags
  • 🔋 High resource usage
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 🔒 Concerns about privacy and data usage
  • 👎 Lacks features compared to desktop version

Bugs and requests

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

Replit

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login issues
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between apps
  • Unreliable file management and saving
  • Compatibility problems with certain devices and frameworks

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add iPad/tablet support
  • Improve code editor functionality
  • Provide more tutorials and learning resources
  • Enhance collaboration and team features
  • Add offline/local development capabilities

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Runestone Text Editor

One-time1
  • Premium$9.99
4 purchases

Replit

Subscriptions4
  • Replit Core$20.001 Month
  • Replit Core (Hacker)$20.001 Month
  • Replit Core$219.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Replit Core (Hacker)$219.991 Year

Questions

Is Runestone Text Editor free?
Runestone Text Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Replit free?
Replit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Runestone Text Editor or Replit?
Runestone Text Editor and Replit are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2K and 21K ratings respectively.
Do Runestone Text Editor or Replit have ads?
Neither Runestone Text Editor nor Replit shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Runestone Text Editor or Replit?
Runestone Text Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, and Replit fortnightly. Most recently, Runestone Text Editor was updated on September 30, 2026 and Replit on October 1, 2026.
Which is more popular, Runestone Text Editor or Replit?
Runestone Text Editor currently peaks at #26 in the App Store charts, and Replit at #1. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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