Comparison

LispPad Go vs PharoSmalltalk

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

Head to head
About

LispPad Go

This app is a lightweight development environment for writing and running Scheme code on iOS. It features a Scheme interpreter, a console for interaction, and a text editor with syntax highlighting and smart indentation. It supports R7RS standard Scheme with a wide range of libraries, including iOS-specific ones.

Highlights
  • Integrated Scheme interpreter
  • Read-eval-print loop console
  • Syntax highlighting text editor
  • R7RS standard Scheme support
  • iOS-specific libraries
  • Hygienic macros
  • Full numerical tower support
Features
Read full description

LispPad Go is a simple, lightweight, integrated development environment for developing and running Scheme code on iOS. The language supported by LispPad Go is based on the R7RS standard of the Scheme programming language. LispPad Go provides the following components: • A fully integrated Scheme interpreter • A console with a read-eval-print loop to interact with the interpreter • A text editor for writing Scheme code, supporting syntax highlighting, smart indentation, parenthesis matching, etc. • A large range of libraries, including iOS-specific libraries e.g. for networking, graphics, audio, databases, archival, text processing, etc. • Support for the Shortcuts app, allowing the execution of LispPad programs as standalone applications The Scheme dialect supported by LispPad Go provides the following features: • R7RS-compliant libraries • Hygienic macros based on syntax-rules • First-class environments • call/cc, dynamic-wind and exceptions • Dynamically-scoped parameters • Multiple return values • Delayed execution via promises and streams • Support for the full numerical tower consisting of arbitrary size integers, rationals, real numbers, and inexact complex numbers. • Unicode strings and characters • Vectors and bytevectors • Text and binary ports • R7RS-compliant extensible records • R6RS-compliant hashtables and enumerations • Threads

About

PharoSmalltalk

Features
Read full description

Pharo on iOS brings the complete Pharo 13 Smalltalk programming environment to your Apple devices. Browse classes, write code, inspect objects, and debug — all running natively with Metal-accelerated graphics. FULL PHARO DESKTOP Run unmodified official Pharo 13 images. The System Browser, Playground, Inspector, Debugger, and every tool you know from desktop Pharo works here. No special images required. BUILT FOR TOUCH Intuitive gesture mapping makes Pharo comfortable on a touchscreen. Tap for left-click, long-press for right-click, two-finger tap for middle-click. Pinch to zoom. Full hardware keyboard support with modifier keys on iPad. NATIVE PERFORMANCE A clean-room interpreter written in C++ with Metal GPU rendering. Smooth 30fps display, efficient memory management, and full foreign function interface support. IMAGE LIBRARY Download official Pharo 13 images directly from the app. Import your own .image files from the Files app. Keep multiple images organized and switch between projects easily. WORKS EVERYWHERE Universal app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac (via Mac Catalyst). Your Pharo environment goes wherever you do. PRIVACY FIRST No accounts, no telemetry, no data collection. Your code stays on your device. Period. OPEN SOURCE The VM is MIT-licensed and open source. Contributions welcome.

Screenshots

LispPad Go4 screens
PharoSmalltalk1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: PharoSmalltalk at weekly against LispPad Go's every 2 months. PharoSmalltalk also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LispPad Go ships an update every 2 months, PharoSmalltalk weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
LispPad Go versus PharoSmalltalk: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLispPad GoPharoSmalltalk
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (37 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews96.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings37 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size128 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMatthias ZengerAaron Wohl

In-app purchases

None

LispPad Go

No in-app purchases

None

PharoSmalltalk

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LispPad Go free?
LispPad Go is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PharoSmalltalk free?
PharoSmalltalk is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do LispPad Go or PharoSmalltalk have ads?
Neither LispPad Go nor PharoSmalltalk shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LispPad Go or PharoSmalltalk?
LispPad Go ships an update every 2 months, and PharoSmalltalk weekly. Most recently, LispPad Go was updated on September 24, 2026 and PharoSmalltalk on September 21, 2026.

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