Comparison

Sub Cipher vs Kryptos Tools

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

Head to head
About

Sub Cipher

Easily encode and decode messages using simple substitution ciphers like Caesar and Atbash. Convert up to 2,000 characters at a time and save your cipher settings for later use. Ideal for fun educational purposes, not for serious secret messaging.

Highlights
  • Encode/decode simple substitution ciphers
  • Supports Caesar and Atbash cipher methods
  • Converts up to 2,000 characters at once
  • Save cipher settings as text
  • Create magic decoder wheels
  • No licensing or royalties required for published ciphers
Features
Read full description

Sub Cipher is an easy-to-use Encoder/Decoder app, which can encode or decode your text using various "simple substitution" cipher methods. * Simply type or copy-paste your encoded or decoded text to and from e-mail, messages, social media, and it is immediately converted for you. Up to 2,000 characters can be converted at a time. Sub Cipher offers you the encoded text, placeholder-text, and even a magic decoder wheel that you can add to your own books and publications. You can also capture the cipher settings you have dialed in (as lines of text) to save in another document. This can be useful if you are publishing a newsletter or book of ciphers, and want to keep a record of the settings you used with each cipher along with the cipher itself. Main Features: *Easy to use: Type into the plain-text or the cypher-text box, and the converted text is immediately displayed. *Easy to transfer: You can select all the converted text and paste it into any other text document. *Easy to adjust: Any substitution offset, forward or reverse can be dialed in. *Easy to save: The settings you dial in can also be saved as text for your notes. *Easy to publish: Any ciphers you make are 100% yours to publish and sell; no copyright restrictions or restrictive "commercial use" clauses here. *Forever Free: Download this software once and it is yours forever. You get all future new features and updates free. No upgrade costs or "subscription/rental" fees. Ever. *No Ads: You are never distracted from enjoying my software. *Human-Made: This software was completely and carefully hand-designed and written by me. No A.I. toys were allowed anywhere near this software. *Private: Your work is safely yours and always stays on your computer. You are never required to create internet accounts, and none of your information is ever stored in the cloud. * Caveat Emptor: It uses the "Caesar" and "Atbash" style cipher methods, which are simple offset-alphabet ciphers. The well-known "Rot13" cipher is one of these. These ancient styles of ciphers are very simple and easy to decode! This is simply a fun educational utility, and is not intended for serious "secret message" work.

About

Kryptos Tools

This app offers a comprehensive suite of classic cryptography tools, including Vigenère and Transposition ciphers, to help users explore and potentially solve complex puzzles. It consolidates features from previous versions and provides detailed information on famous unsolved codes.

Highlights
  • Classic cipher implementations
  • Vigenère cipher
  • Transposition Matrix
  • Detailed puzzle information
  • Sixteen classic ciphers
  • Future cipher additions
Features
Read full description

Kryptos Tools combines the best features of the previous two apps (Kryptos Tools - Vigenère and Kryptos Tools - Transposition) along with additional details, documents and photos consolidated into one great app. Kryptos Tools includes classic ciphers, like the Vigenère cipher, that was used to encrypt the first two sections of Kryptos (K1 and K2). It also includes the Transposition Matrix which provides a visual implementation of the Transposition cipher for solving Kryptos section K3. Kryptos Tools now contains sixteen (16) classic ciphers: * Affine * Atbash * Beaufort (plus Autokey variant) * Bifid * Caesar * Columnar Transposition * Four-square * Gronsfeld (plus Autokey variant) * Hill * One-Time Pad * Playfair * ROT13 (Rotate-13) * Substitution * Transposition Matrix * Trifid * Vigenère (plus Autokey variant) Additional ciphers and utilities will be added in future releases. Detailed solutions and information about these sections of the puzzle are also detailed within. Kryptos is a sculpture by the American artist Jim Sanborn located on the grounds of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Langley, Virginia. Since the dedication of Kryptos on November 3, 1990, the first three sections have been successfully decrypted. However, the fourth section remains one of the most famous unsolved codes in the world. Are you going to be the one to solve this mystery?

Screenshots

Sub Cipher4 screens
Kryptos Tools4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Sub Cipher at 100% against Kryptos Tools's 0%. Sub Cipher also leads on iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.6). Kryptos Tools's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 3.8) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 7 months). On price, ratings volume, 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Kryptos Tools holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 7 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Sub Cipher's written reviews are positive against 0% of Kryptos Tools's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sub Cipher ships an update every 7 months, Kryptos Tools every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 12, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Sub Cipher versus Kryptos Tools: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSub CipherKryptos Tools
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (4 ratings)4.6 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings47 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.6 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEduard SchwanJeffrey Williams

Customer experience

Sub Cipher

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Kryptos Tools

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral14.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Sub Cipher

No in-app purchases

None

Kryptos Tools

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sub Cipher free?
Sub Cipher is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Kryptos Tools free?
Kryptos Tools is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Sub Cipher or Kryptos Tools?
Kryptos Tools is rated higher. Sub Cipher averages 3.8 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Kryptos Tools averages 4.6 from 7 ratings.
Do Sub Cipher or Kryptos Tools have ads?
Neither Sub Cipher nor Kryptos Tools shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sub Cipher or Kryptos Tools?
Sub Cipher ships an update every 7 months, and Kryptos Tools every 3 weeks. Most recently, Sub Cipher was updated on September 12, 2026 and Kryptos Tools on September 17, 2026.

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