# Hand BASIC vs Atlantic Boarding High School

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Atlantic Boarding High School at none against Hand BASIC's 2. Hand BASIC's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Hand BASIC sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Atlantic Boarding High School asks for nothing beyond the download.

Hand BASIC ships an update every 5 weeks, Atlantic Boarding High School every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Hand BASIC | Atlantic Boarding High School |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.4 (47 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hand-basic-cbm-flavor/id394924289/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **47** | — |
| Positive reviews | 83.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 weeks** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 2 MB | 84 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 13.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ahmad Hawwash](https://appshunter.io/developer/382404352) | [DYNAMIC TECHNOSOFT](https://appshunter.io/developer/1607803655) |

## 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


### Atlantic Boarding High School

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/atlantic-boarding-high-school/id6747306860)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Hand BASIC free?

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

### Is Atlantic Boarding High School free?

Atlantic Boarding High School is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Hand BASIC or Atlantic Boarding High School have ads?

Neither Hand BASIC nor Atlantic Boarding High School shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Hand BASIC or Atlantic Boarding High School?

Hand BASIC ships an update every 5 weeks, and Atlantic Boarding High School every 3 months. Most recently, Hand BASIC was updated on October 21, 2026 and Atlantic Boarding High School on October 12, 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.*