Subtext vs MoE Code
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Subtext
A straightforward text editor for iPhone and iPad, allowing direct creation and editing of files within iCloud. It offers advanced controls for line endings and character encoding, ideal for on-the-go code or data file modifications.
- Direct iCloud file editing
- No import/export required
- Line ending control
- Character set encoding control
- Quick edits for code and data
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Subtext is a simple, no-frills text editor for iPhone and iPad. Create or edit files directly on your device or in iCloud, with no need to import or export. Includes advanced features such as line ending and character set encoding control. Perfect for making quick edits to code or data files on the go!
MoE Code
This app enhances Apple's Shortcuts with over 30 new actions for data manipulation, device information, media processing, network requests, and widget management. It aims to fill functionality gaps and offers a wide range of tools for developers and power users.
- Data conversion (PLIST, HTML, JSON)
- HTML element extraction
- String manipulation
- Device information retrieval
- Video chunking and resizing
- Network request execution
- Widget management
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65 actions to solve functionality gaps in the Shortcuts app. Where lists are mentioned: Shortcuts lists, JSON arrays, and delimited strings (e.g., CSVs) are supported for input, and the first two for output. • AI ◦ "Count Tokens For On-Device AI Model" (iOS 27+ only) ◦ "Is Apple Intelligence Functional?" ◦ "Is Apple Intelligence-Capable?" ◦ "Use On-Device AI Model (Extended)" (iOS 27+ only): Images / files, max tokens, and temperature • Clipboard (arbitrary formats, binary supported via Base64) ◦ "Get Clipboards" ◦ "Set Clipboards": routinehub.co/shortcut/22016/ • Data: HTML ◦ "Convert HTML Tables To JSON" ◦ "Extract HTML Elements Using SwiftSoup" • Data: JSON ◦ "Delete Nested Dictionary / JSON Object Key" ◦ "Pretty Print Dictionaries / JSON" ◦ "Set Nested Dictionary / JSON Object Value" ◦ "Transform List / Dictionaries / JSON Using JQ": Extract, filter, deduplicate, etc. routinehub.co/shortcut/21809/ • Data: Lists (significantly faster than using loops) ◦ "Add Value(s) To List / Merge Lists" ◦ "Convert JSON Array To Shortcuts List" ◦ "Convert String / Shortcuts List To JSON Array" ◦ "Get Items From List At Indexes (Values)" ◦ "Get Items From List At Indexes (Files)" ◦ "Get Value Position In List" ◦ "List Contains List?" ◦ "List Contains Value?" ◦ "Remove Value From List" ◦ "Sort Keys Of Dicts In List" ◦ "Subtract Lists" • Data: Text ◦ "Extract Strings From Binary" ◦ "Multi Replace Text": Lists of strings, string or regex targets, and substitutions. routinehub.co/shortcut/26330/ • Device ◦ "Get Device Ground Speed" ◦ "Get Device Model" ◦ "Get Device Type" ◦ "Is App Installed?": Actions, Microsoft Outlook, Pythonista, Scriptable, and WhatsApp • Files ◦ "Get Details of File / Folder": Unescaped file paths, top-level folder paths in the same format as Shortcuts ◦ "Save Files": List of files to list of relative paths. routinehub.co/shortcut/26330/ • Maps ◦ "Is Location In Bounding Box?" ◦ "Select Map Bounding Box Coordinates" • Media (changes are made in-place for a smoother experience) ◦ "Change Photos Items' Captions" (iOS 27+ only): routinehub.co/shortcut/26535/ routinehub.co/shortcut/21792/ ◦ "Change Photos Items' Creation Dates" ◦ "Change Photos Items' Locations": routinehub.co/shortcut/26535/ routinehub.co/shortcut/21792/ ◦ "Chunk Video" ◦ "Find Photos Items By Captions" (iOS 27+ only) ◦ "Get Details of Photos Items (Extended)" (iOS 27+ only) ◦ "Mark Photos Items As Favourited, Unfavourited, Or Hidden" ◦ "Play System Sound" ◦ "Remove Photos Items' Captions" (iOS 27+ only) ◦ "Remove Photos Items' Locations" ◦ "Resize Images With Fill (HDR)" (iOS 26+ only): routinehub.co/shortcut/21785/ • Network ◦ "Get Certificate Chain" ◦ "Is Internet-Connected?": routinehub.co/shortcut/24566/ ◦ "Make HTTP Request": Long run times supported, routinehub.co/shortcut/21809/ • Settings ◦ "Get Reminders Default List" ◦ "Open Settings Deep Link" • Shortcuts: routinehub.co/shortcut/22016/ ◦ "Convert JSON To PLIST" (XML or Base64-encoded binary) ◦ "Convert PLIST Binary To JSON" ◦ "Extract Action Blocks" ◦ "Extract Named Non-Magic Variables" ◦ "Extract Named Magic Variables" ◦ "Find Invalid If Statements" ◦ "Find Invalid Variable References" ◦ "Get MoE Code App Version" • UI ◦ "Choose From List (Rich Text)" ◦ "Render And Show Markdown" ◦ "Reorganise List" • Widget: routinehub.co/shortcut/25942/ ◦ "Delete Widget / Complication Key" ◦ "Get Widget / Complication Value" ◦ "Set Circular Widget / Complication Value" ◦ "Set Text Widget / Complication Value" ◦ "Sync And Reload App Widgets"
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: MoE Code at 5.0 against Subtext's 4.5. MoE Code also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks) and review sentiment (100% vs 82%). Subtext's advantage is ratings volume (89 vs 3) and chart position (#106 vs unranked). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
MoE Code holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Subtext has 89 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Subtext's written reviews are positive against 100% of MoE Code's.
Subtext ships an update every 3 weeks, MoE Code every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Subtext | MoE Code |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (89 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 82.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 89 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #106 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 14.4 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Charcoal Design | BENJAMIN ANDREW HOOPER |
Customer experience
Subtext
MoE Code
Bugs and requests
Subtext
Reported bugs
11 issues- Fails to save work
- Jumps to top of document on blank lines
- Poor network behavior leading to data corruption
- Cannot open or create new text files
- Error when saving to network drive
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- Cannot edit .tex files without renaming
- Chinese input method errors
- Random capitalization after paste
- Large text files cause errors
- File saving issues, creates extra copies
- Bug when using Chinese input method with delete key
Requested features
20 requests- Add 'Unselect all' option
- Add 'Replace all' function
- Add font size settings
- Add tab key
- Allow editing of non-text files
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- Improve network drive handling
- Option to disable auto-save
- Add highlighter
- Add character count
- Add JetBrains Mono font
- Add 'reopen last file' option
- Add widget support
- Add highlighting
- Add font and background color settings
- Add distraction-free mode
- Add swipe to close gesture
- Option to release focus for collapsing skb
- Fix Chinese input method bugs
- Allow editing of files with arbitrary extensions
- Add Chinese input method bug fixes
MoE Code
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Subtext
No in-app purchases
MoE Code
No in-app purchases









