Comparison

Runestone Text Editor vs Dev Keyboard

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

Dev Keyboard

A terminal-styled keyboard designed for programmers, offering quick access to essential symbols and a PC-style layout. It supports multiple programming languages and prioritizes user privacy by not requiring full access.

Highlights
  • PC-style modifier row
  • One-tap developer symbols
  • Long-press for extra symbols
  • Multiple language packs
  • Terminal aesthetic
  • Privacy-first design
Features
Read full description

Dev Keyboard is a terminal-styled coding keyboard that puts the symbols you actually type one tap away. A PC-style layout (Esc, Ctrl, Shift, Alt, Cmd, Tab, Caps) sits above quick rows of developer symbols and brackets. FEATURES - PC-style modifier row and key layout - One-tap brackets and symbols: {} [] () => ; / \ | and more - Long-press letters for extra developer symbols - Language packs: JavaScript / TypeScript, Python, Java, C / C++, Kotlin - Terminal aesthetic: monospace, dark, distraction-free - Privacy-first: no Full Access required, nothing leaves your device Type code faster in any app - notes, chat, editors, terminals.

Screenshots

Runestone Text Editor4 screens
Dev Keyboard1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Runestone Text Editor at 4.7 against Dev Keyboard's 1.0. Runestone Text Editor also leads on ratings volume (2K vs 1) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Dev Keyboard sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Runestone Text Editor holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Runestone Text Editor has 2K ratings behind it against 1, 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 67% of Dev Keyboard's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Runestone Text Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, Dev Keyboard every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Runestone Text Editor versus Dev Keyboard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRunestone Text EditorDev Keyboard
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2K ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews76.0% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings2K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#33 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size64 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSimon B. StøvringAnshika Maurya

Customer experience

Runestone Text Editor

All ratings1,962 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral2.3%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews363 reviews
Positive76.0%
Neutral9.6%
Negative14.3%

Dev Keyboard

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

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

Dev Keyboard

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Runestone Text Editor

One-time1
  • Premium$9.99
1 purchases

Dev Keyboard

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99

Questions

Is Runestone Text Editor free?
Runestone Text Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dev Keyboard free?
Dev Keyboard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Runestone Text Editor or Dev Keyboard?
Runestone Text Editor is rated higher. Runestone Text Editor averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2K ratings, while Dev Keyboard averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Runestone Text Editor or Dev Keyboard have ads?
Neither Runestone Text Editor nor Dev Keyboard shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Runestone Text Editor or Dev Keyboard?
Runestone Text Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, and Dev Keyboard every 5 weeks. Most recently, Runestone Text Editor was updated on October 16, 2026 and Dev Keyboard on October 8, 2026.

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