Runestone Text Editor vs LaunchCut
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
LaunchCut
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Turn your app screenshots into a clickable prototype anyone can try in their browser. Import screens from your photo library, link them with tap zones, and export a shareable interactive demo in minutes. No Mac required. No simulator. Just the screenshots you already have. LaunchCut wraps your screens in beautiful device bezels and lets you define exactly which area on each screen navigates to the next. The result is an interactive prototype that looks and feels like the real app, shareable as a single HTML file or a hosted link. Perfect for sharing work in progress, investor pitches, portfolio presentations, and app showcases. How It Works 1. Import screenshots or video clips from your photo library 2. Choose a device bezel: iPhone 17, iPad Pro, or Apple Watch 3. Add hotspots by drawing tap zones that link to the next screen 4. Reorder and arrange your flow 5. Preview Demo directly in the app 6. Export as a self-contained HTML file 7. (Pro) Publish and get a shareable demo.launchcut.app link Key Features • Device Bezels. Wrap your screens in iPhone 17, iPad Pro M5, or Apple Watch frames • Hotspot Editor. Draw tap zones that navigate between screens • Video Support. Import screen recordings and trim to the perfect clip • Self-Contained Export. Fully offline HTML file with no dependencies (Free) • Publishing and Hosted Links. Generate a shareable demo.launchcut.app link (Pro) • Transparent Backgrounds. Embed demos seamlessly on any website (Pro) • Multiple Projects. Organize demos by product or client • iPad Optimized. Full side-by-side editing layout on iPad Embed Anywhere with Transparent Backgrounds (Pro) LaunchCut Pro includes transparent background export, perfect for embedding demos directly into marketing pages, documentation, and portfolios. Your device frames blend seamlessly with gradient backgrounds, brand colors, and complex designs without color matching or awkward frames. Export transparent demos that adapt to any background: hero sections, landing pages, case studies, and more. No chroma keying, no workarounds. Just clean professional embeds that look native to your site. Free vs Pro LaunchCut is free to use with full import and HTML export capabilities. Upgrade to LaunchCut Pro to unlock: • Hosted publishing with shareable links • Transparent backgrounds for clean embeds • Easy link-based sharing (no file handling) • Record full screen versions of your demo • Future Pro-only enhancements Perfect For • Designers building portfolio case studies • Developers showcasing apps without TestFlight • Product managers collecting stakeholder feedback • Indie hackers prepping for Product Hunt or App Store launches • Teams creating onboarding walkthroughs and app tours • Marketing pages and landing pages All processing happens on your device. No accounts required for free export. No tracking. Learn more at https://launchcut.app This app uses Apple's standard Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://launchcut.app/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: LaunchCut at daily against Runestone Text Editor's every 2 weeks. Runestone Text Editor's advantage is chart position (#38 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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 LaunchCut sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Runestone Text Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, LaunchCut daily. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Runestone Text Editor | LaunchCut |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (2K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 76.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | #38 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 64 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Simon B. Støvring | Andrew Hoffart |
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
LaunchCut
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Runestone Text Editor
- Premium$9.99
LaunchCut
- Pro$4.991 Month
- Pro - Yearly$49.991 Year
Questions
Is Runestone Text Editor free?
Is LaunchCut free?
Do Runestone Text Editor or LaunchCut have ads?
Which is updated more often, Runestone Text Editor or LaunchCut?
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