# Hand BASIC vs BASIC

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Hand BASIC at 83% against BASIC's 28%. Hand BASIC also leads on price (Free vs $2.99) and rating (4.4 vs 2.7). BASIC's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Hand BASIC is free to download; BASIC costs $2.99 up front. Hand BASIC sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. BASIC asks for nothing beyond the download.

Hand BASIC holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hand BASIC has 45 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of Hand BASIC's written reviews are positive against 28% of BASIC's.

Hand BASIC ships an update every 5 weeks, BASIC every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 8, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Hand BASIC | BASIC |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $2.99 |
| Rating | **[4.4 (45 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hand-basic-cbm-flavor/id394924289/reviews)** | [2.7 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/basic-programming-language/id1114288994/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **45** | 7 |
| Positive reviews | **83.3% of reviews** | 27.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 weeks** | Every 4 months |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Size | 2 MB | 12 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | [Ahmad Hawwash](https://appshunter.io/developer/382404352) | [俊 姜](https://appshunter.io/developer/974809005) |

## What reviewers say

### Hand BASIC

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hand-basic-cbm-flavor/id394924289)

Learn and program in BASIC language on your mobile device. This app offers a compatible version of Commodore's BASIC, ideal for students, scientists, and productivity workers. It includes a text editor, file management, and optional graphics extensions.

**Highlights:** Commodore 64 BASIC V2 compatible, Full-speed execution on device, Load/save files with directory creation, Full-featured iPhone text editor, Optional graphics extension with GML, In-app help and sample code

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Graphics Extension | $9.99 | one-time |
| Graphics Extension for iPad | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Faithful C64 BASIC implementation
- 🎮 Nostalgic and fun retro experience
- 📚 Comprehensive documentation and help resources
- ⚡ Fast execution compared to original hardware
- 💾 Save and load functionality works reliably

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Infinite loops cause app to hang with no break mechanism
- ⌨️ On-screen keyboard difficult to use on iPad
- 📋 No copy/paste functionality in older versions
- 🔧 Missing PEEK and POKE commands
- ❌ Cannot delete unwanted programs

**Reported bugs**

- Infinite loops freeze the app with no way to stop execution
- Graphics mode (SCREEN 1) pops up briefly then disappears
- On-screen keyboard functions dance around screen on iPad with external keyboard
- Low Power Mode cuts program speed in half on iPhone
- Program runs original version instead of edited version

**Requested features**

- Run/Stop button to break out of infinite loops
- Bluetooth keyboard support
- Changeable font options
- Copy/paste functionality
- PEEK and POKE command support


### BASIC

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/basic-programming-language/id1114288994)

Learn and experiment with the classic BASIC programming language. This app provides a user-friendly environment to write, run, and understand BASIC code, complete with examples for various commands and functions. Ideal for beginners and those nostalgic for early computing.

**Highlights:** BASIC code interpreter, Interactive programming environment, Examples for PRINT, INPUT, IF/THEN, FOR/NEXT loops and GOTO/GOSUB, Graphics commands (TEXT, CIRCLE, RECT, LINE), Mathematical functions, SOUND and DELAY commands

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Hand BASIC free?

Hand BASIC is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is BASIC free?

BASIC costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Hand BASIC or BASIC?

Hand BASIC is rated higher. Hand BASIC averages 4.4 out of 5 from 45 ratings, while BASIC averages 2.7 from 7 ratings.

### Do Hand BASIC or BASIC have ads?

Neither Hand BASIC nor BASIC shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Hand BASIC or BASIC?

Hand BASIC ships an update every 5 weeks, and BASIC every 4 months. Most recently, Hand BASIC was updated on September 8, 2026 and BASIC on September 17, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*