Runestone Text Editor vs GDevelop
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
GDevelop
Discover and play a wide variety of indie games created by a global community. This platform also empowers users to design and publish their own 2D and 3D games using a no-code, AI-assisted engine, suitable for all skill levels.
- Unlimited indie game access
- Create 2D/3D games
- No-code development
- AI-assisted game building
- Game templates and assets
- Publish and share games
- Leaderboards and multiplayer
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Play a growing world of quirky, joyful indie games. Discover, play and support games made by independent creators from around the world... and create your own! Play and help shape the next indie gem: - Unlimited indie games instantly in-app, no install needed - Sharing feedback with creators - Explore new games every week, from around the world Every game in the app was built with GDevelop: the no-code and AI powered, open-source game engine used by thousands of creators, artists, and independent developers. Start exploring. Play something small. Or weird. Or wonderful. Create your own games. Or play any game you're dreaming of! It's fast, easy, and no technical knowledge is required to get started. Try it, or get a GDevelop subscription to unlock every feature! - Explore dozens of game templates or start from scratch. - Use AI to help you build your game step by step. - Use your own characters, or choose from a library of pre-made objects such as characters, animations, sounds, and music. - Quickly add pre-made logic to your game objects with GDevelop's Behaviors. - Write game logic with GDevelop's innovative event system based on "if / then" actions and conditions. - Publish your game in a few seconds and share it with your friends, colleagues, or customers. - Allow players to submit their scores with ready-to-use leaderboards or make online multiplayer games. Dozens of thousands of games are made every month with GDevelop. Unleash your creativity, and create all kinds of games: platformers, shoot’em up, strategy, 8-bit, or hyper-casual games... the sky is the limit. GDevelop is a powerful game engine that will transform you into a game designer: - Add explosions and effects with particles. - Use visual effects ("shaders"). - Pathfinding and advanced movements (bounce, elliptic movement, screen wrap, projectiles...). - Advanced rendering engine that can handle pixel-art games, modern 2D games, 2.5D isometric games and 3D games. - Text objects for scores, dialogues, with optional typewriter effects. - Transitions and smooth movement for objects. - Leaderboards and Real-time Multiplayer. - Platformer engine. - Realistic 2D and 3D physics engine. - Sound effects and music handling. - Ready-to-use objects for your game interface: text input, buttons, joysticks, progress bars... - Complete documentation available for each feature. - Dozens of extensions that give new behaviors, new actions, and new conditions: checkpoints, object shaking, 3D flip effects... GDevelop makes game development easy, even for those with no prior experience. Download the app and join a community of 400k+ monthly creators: gamers, hobbyists, teachers, and professionals. GDevelop's unique design makes game creation fast and fun! Our Terms & Conditions: https://gdevelop.io/page/terms-and-conditions Our Privacy Policy: https://gdevelop.io/page/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Runestone Text Editor at none against GDevelop's shown. Runestone Text Editor also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (76% vs 49%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Runestone Text Editor sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and GDevelop sells 21 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Runestone Text Editor holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2K and 2.3K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Runestone Text Editor's written reviews are positive against 49% of GDevelop's.
Runestone Text Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, GDevelop every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Runestone Text Editor | GDevelop |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (2K ratings) — better | 4.3 (2.3K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 76.1% of reviews — better | 49.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2K | 2.3K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 11 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #44 | #39 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 64 MB | 376 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Simon B. Støvring | GDEVELOP FRANCE |
Customer experience
Runestone Text Editor
GDevelop
User reviews
Runestone Text Editor
From 2K App Store ratingsWhat 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
GDevelop
From 2.3K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Powerful game engine
- 🤑 Can make great games
- 🤩 Awesome app
- 🤖 Impressive no-code features
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and bugs
- 💰 Subscription model too restrictive
- 🤔 Limited free features
- 🤯 Confusing and complex
- 🤖 Mobile version not as capable as PC
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
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- 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
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- Improved undo/redo functionality
GDevelop
Reported bugs
5 issues- Crashes when changing sprites
- Keyboard issues on mobile
- Saved projects not loading properly
- Frequent crashes and loss of progress
- Importing assets causes issues
Requested features
5 requests- Sprite editor
- More programming features (e.g. switches, loops)
- Ability to organize code/actions better on mobile
- Reduce subscription limits
- Add daily rewards or free currency
In-app purchases
Runestone Text Editor
- Premium$9.99
GDevelop
- GDevelop Silver3 Days trial$6.991 Month
- GDevelop Gold3 Days trial$12.991 Month
- GDevelop Pro3 Days trial$39.991 Month
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- GDevelop Silver - 1 year$49.991 Year
- GDevelop Gold - 1 year3 Days trial$95.991 Year
- GDevelop Pro - 1 year3 Days trial$399.991 Year
- Sci-Fi Space Village$3.99
- Sci-Fi Space Characters$3.99
- Sci-Fi Space Animals$3.99
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Pixel Dark Fantasy Level 3$4.99
- Pixel Dark Fantasy$5.99
- Pixel Dark Fantasy Level 2$5.99
- 500 Credits$5.99
- 1000 Credits$9.99
- Platformer Bundle$14.99
- GDevelop Mega Bundle$17.99
- 2000 Credits$18.99
- From Zero to Creator$24.99
- From Zero to Creator$34.99
- 5000 Credits$44.99
- 10000 Credits$89.99
Questions
Is Runestone Text Editor free?
Is GDevelop free?
Which has better reviews, Runestone Text Editor or GDevelop?
Do Runestone Text Editor or GDevelop have ads?
Which is updated more often, Runestone Text Editor or GDevelop?
Which is more popular, Runestone Text Editor or GDevelop?
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