Comparison

Runestone Text Editor vs Advanced JSON Viewer

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

Advanced JSON Viewer

This tool enhances JSON data viewing and editing within Safari and on your device. It offers beautiful formatting, syntax highlighting, and an interactive editor for efficient JSON management.

Highlights
  • Open and save JSON files
  • Beautiful JSON formatting
  • Syntax highlighting
  • Interactive editor
  • Light & dark modes
  • Error detection
Features
Read full description

Advanced JSON Viewer transforms raw JSON data into an elegant, interactive viewing experience right in Safari and now supports opening and saving JSON files directly from your device. Key Features: • Open JSON Files: Open and view JSON files from your device with powerful formatting • Save JSON Files: Edit and save your JSON data directly to your device • Beautiful JSON Formatting: Instantly transforms unformatted JSON into a clean, readable format • Syntax Highlighting: Makes JSON structure easily readable with color-coded elements • Light & Dark Modes: Automatically switches between themes based on your system preferences • Customizable Themes: Choose from a wide selection of professional color schemes • Interactive Editor: Edit JSON directly in the browser with the powerful Ace editor • Settings Toolbar: Quick access to all viewing preferences in one convenient panel • Adjustable Settings: Customize font size, tab width, and other viewing preferences • Invisible Characters: Option to display invisible characters for precise editing • Fast & Efficient: Works instantly on any JSON page or file without slowing down your experience • Error Detection: Highlights JSON syntax errors as you type • Toggle Views: Switch between raw and formatted views with a single click Perfect for developers, QA engineers, API testers, and anyone who works with JSON data. Advanced JSON Viewer makes reading, editing, and saving JSON in Safari and local files a delightful experience. Built with attention to detail and performance, this app seamlessly enhances your JSON workflow whether you're browsing API responses online or examining and editing local configuration files. Available as a universal purchase - buy once and use it on Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Vision Pro.

Screenshots

Runestone Text Editor4 screens
Advanced JSON Viewer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Runestone Text Editor at Free against Advanced JSON Viewer's $1.99. Runestone Text Editor also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.3) and review sentiment (76% vs 40%). Advanced JSON Viewer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Runestone Text Editor is free to download; Advanced JSON Viewer costs $1.99 up front. Runestone Text Editor sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Advanced JSON Viewer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Runestone Text Editor holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Runestone Text Editor has 2K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Runestone Text Editor's written reviews are positive against 40% of Advanced JSON Viewer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Runestone Text Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, Advanced JSON Viewer every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Runestone Text Editor versus Advanced JSON Viewer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRunestone Text EditorAdvanced JSON Viewer
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.7 (2K ratings) — better3.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews76.2% of reviews — better40.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2K — better3
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#33 — better#193
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision ProiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size64 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSimon B. StøvringAcrogenesis LLC

Customer experience

Runestone Text Editor

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

Advanced JSON Viewer

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative40.0%

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

Advanced JSON Viewer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Runestone Text Editor

One-time1
  • Premium$9.99
None

Advanced JSON Viewer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Runestone Text Editor free?
Runestone Text Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Advanced JSON Viewer free?
Advanced JSON Viewer costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Runestone Text Editor or Advanced JSON Viewer?
Runestone Text Editor is rated higher. Runestone Text Editor averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2K ratings, while Advanced JSON Viewer averages 3.3 from 3 ratings.
Do Runestone Text Editor or Advanced JSON Viewer have ads?
Neither Runestone Text Editor nor Advanced JSON Viewer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Runestone Text Editor or Advanced JSON Viewer?
Runestone Text Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, and Advanced JSON Viewer every 6 weeks. Most recently, Runestone Text Editor was updated on October 15, 2026 and Advanced JSON Viewer on October 10, 2026.
Which is more popular, Runestone Text Editor or Advanced JSON Viewer?
Runestone Text Editor currently peaks at #33 in the App Store charts, and Advanced JSON Viewer at #193. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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