# Codea vs Iodine Code

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Codea at 88% against Iodine Code's 33%. Codea also leads on price (Free vs $4.99) and rating (4.5 vs 1.0). Iodine Code's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.5). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Codea is free to download; Iodine Code costs $4.99 up front. Codea sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Iodine Code asks for nothing beyond the download.

Codea holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Codea has 127 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Codea's written reviews are positive against 33% of Iodine Code's.

Codea ships an update fortnightly, Iodine Code every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Codea | Iodine Code |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $4.99 |
| Rating | **[4.5 (127 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/codea/id439571171/reviews)** | [1.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iodine-code/id1350643087/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **127** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | **88.2% of reviews** | 33.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 7 months |
| Monetization | **Freemium** | Paid |
| Size | 235 MB | 13 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.5 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Two Lives Left](https://appshunter.io/developer/335953314) | [典 熊](https://appshunter.io/developer/812126908) |

## What reviewers say

### Codea

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/codea/id439571171)

Create interactive games, simulations, and visual projects using a touch-friendly code editor. Turn your ideas into reality with Lua scripting, advanced rendering, and physics engines. Export your creations to produce real applications.

**Highlights:** 2D and 3D renderer, Visual code editor with touch controls, Lua programming language, Physics engines, Export to Xcode, Live shader editor, Bluetooth keyboard support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Codea Pro (Monthly) | $4.99 | per month |
| Codea Pro (Yearly) | $29.99 | per year |
| Codea Pro Lifetime | $99.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great for making games
- 👍 Lets me code when I feel the itch
- 💡 Powerful, Playful Development Environment
- 👍 Fantastic prototyping tool
- 👍 One of the best programming apps on iPad

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Assets don't work
- 🐛 Need Pencil scrolling slider. TOO MUCH ACCIDENTAL WRITING
- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🐛 Bugs with keyboard and cursor issues

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when switching between documents
- Xcode export not working with latest version of Xcode
- Keyboard and cursor issues when using Bluetooth keyboard

**Requested features**

- Add ability to import sounds and 3D models
- Improve documentation and provide more tutorials
- Add support for more programming languages beyond Lua


### Iodine Code

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iodine-code/id1350643087)

A mobile code editor and Git tool that allows you to code, stage, commit, and push directly from your iPhone or iPad. It features syntax highlighting, code suggestions, and a diff viewer for a seamless coding experience.

**Highlights:** Powerful Git tool, Multi-tab code editor, Diff viewer, Project file manager, Syntax highlighting, Code suggestion

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Codea free?

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

### Is Iodine Code free?

Iodine Code costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Codea or Iodine Code?

Codea is rated higher. Codea averages 4.5 out of 5 from 127 ratings, while Iodine Code averages 1.0 from 3 ratings.

### Do Codea or Iodine Code have ads?

Neither Codea nor Iodine Code shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Codea or Iodine Code?

Codea ships an update fortnightly, and Iodine Code every 7 months. Most recently, Codea was updated on November 8, 2026 and Iodine Code on November 6, 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.*