Comparison

Codea vs Scrap Paper

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

Head to head
About

Codea

Create interactive games and visual ideas using a touch-friendly code editor. Build projects with 2D/3D rendering, physics, and export them to create real apps. Supports Lua and GLSL.

Highlights
  • 2D and 3D renderer
  • Touch-based visual editors
  • Lua programming language
  • Export to Xcode
  • Physics engines
  • GLSL shader editor
  • Import assets from Dropbox
Features
Read full description

"It’s kind of like the Garage Band of coding." – Wired "Codea for iPad is a super slick way to write and run programs on your iPad." – Gizmodo Codea lets you create games and simulations — or just about any visual idea you have. Turn your thoughts into interactive creations that make use of iPad features like Multi-Touch and the accelerometer. We think Codea is the most beautiful code editor you'll use, and it's easy. Codea is designed to let you touch your code. Want to change a color, or an image? Tapping will bring up visual editors that let you choose exactly what you want. Codea is built on the Lua programming language. A simple, elegant language that doesn't rely too much on symbols — a perfect match for iPad. Here's how you use it: type your code. Press play to watch it run. Interact with it. Get creative. FEATURES • A fully featured 2D and 3D renderer • Lots of great example projects to learn from, including games • Touch your code: tap colors, images and sounds to adjust them • Export your finished projects to Xcode to produce real apps • Complete in-line reference documentation accessible from keyboard • Intelligent syntax highlighting and auto-completing code editor • Import your own assets from Dropbox • Full 2D and 3D physics engines for complex motion • Add parameters so you can tweak variables at runtime • Interact with accelerometer and multi-touch on your device • Generate retro-game sound effects • GLSL Shader Language support with live shader editor • Bluetooth keyboard support and keyboard shortcuts • Air Code: code live from your PC using WiFi • Much, much more IMPORTANT INFORMATION • Join the forums at https://talk.codea.io to ask questions, share ideas and get help when you need it • If you need help or wish to get in contact with us, please use the support link on this page • Privacy policy https://codea.io/privacy • Terms https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ SUBSCRIPTION • Codea is free to use for projects up to 500 lines, after which you can subscribe to Codea Pro for access to advanced features and unlimited project size • Monthly and yearly plans available • Lifetime one-time purchase also available • Pricing may vary by region. Your subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings.

About

Scrap Paper

This app provides a single, persistent note for quick text storage and retrieval, ideal for copying snippets from online forms or jotting down fleeting thoughts. It also offers basic math calculation capabilities.

Highlights
  • Single persistent note
  • Quick text storage
  • Jot down random thoughts
  • Copy text from online forms
  • Local math problem solver
  • Cross-device iCloud sync
Features
Read full description

Sometimes you need a little bit of Scrap Paper while you are working on something. Maybe you are filling out online forms, and you want an app to copy bits of text from. Or you just want to jot down a random thought without creating a new note in your other notes app. Scrap Paper is a simple notes app with only one note. Scrap Paper is also available for macOS and features cross-device iCloud sync. P.S.: Scrap Paper can solve simple math problems. How it works: Type in a problem (e.g. "2+3*4"), highlight it, and click on the "Solve Math Problem" button in the context menu. Scrap Paper will append an equal symbol and the result (e.g. "=14"). Computation happens locally on your device.

Screenshots

Codea4 screens
Scrap Paper1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Codea at Free against Scrap Paper's $1.99. Codea also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (126 vs 35). Scrap Paper's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). On review sentiment and ads 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

Codea is free to download; Scrap Paper costs $1.99 up front. Codea sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Scrap Paper asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Scrap Paper holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 126 and 35 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of Codea's written reviews are positive against 95% of Scrap Paper's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Codea ships an update every 2 weeks, Scrap Paper every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Codea versus Scrap Paper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCodeaScrap Paper
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.5 (126 ratings)4.8 (35 ratings) — better
Positive reviews89.6% of reviews95.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings126 — better35
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.614.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size217 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTwo Lives LeftErik Wegener

Customer experience

Codea

All ratings126 ratings
Positive86.5%
Neutral4.0%
Negative9.5%
Written reviews309 reviews
Positive89.6%
Neutral4.9%
Negative5.5%

Scrap Paper

All ratings35 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews127 reviews
Positive95.3%
Neutral1.6%
Negative3.1%

User reviews

Codea

From 126 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 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

Room to improve

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

Scrap Paper

From 35 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Extremely fast and lightweight app
  • 📌 Convenient menu bar access with hotkey
  • ☁️ Seamless iCloud sync across devices
  • ✨ Minimalist, clutter-free design
  • 📋 Perfect for quick notes and clipboard management

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Menu bar icon disappears after macOS updates
  • 🐛 iCloud sync fails on Mac after updates
  • 📱 Font installation difficult on iOS/iPadOS
  • 💰 Changed from free to paid app
  • ⚠️ Only supports single note at a time

Bugs and requests

Codea

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • 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

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

Scrap Paper

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Menu bar icon disappears after macOS updates
  • iCloud sync stops working after macOS updates
  • App fails to open (icon does nothing)
  • Font configuration profiles not recognized on iOS/iPadOS
  • Window size resets after reboot
Show 1 more
  • Compatibility issues with older iPads running iPadOS 16.7.11

Requested features

11 requests
  • Multiple notes/pages or tabs functionality
  • Rich text formatting (bold, italic, bullet lists)
  • Custom color picker beyond presets
  • Remember window size on reboot
  • Solid cursor option instead of blinking
Show 6 more
  • Markdown support
  • Image and audio file storage
  • Clickable links functionality
  • Menu bar icon click to close window
  • Transparent text box option
  • Evernote sharing capability

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Codea

Subscriptions2
  • Codea Pro (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • Codea Pro (Yearly)$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Codea Pro Lifetime$99.99
None

Scrap Paper

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Codea free?
Codea is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Scrap Paper free?
Scrap Paper costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Codea or Scrap Paper?
Scrap Paper is rated higher. Codea averages 4.5 out of 5 from 126 ratings, while Scrap Paper averages 4.8 from 35 ratings.
Do Codea or Scrap Paper have ads?
Neither Codea nor Scrap Paper shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Codea or Scrap Paper?
Codea ships an update every 2 weeks, and Scrap Paper every 6 weeks. Most recently, Codea was updated on October 2, 2026 and Scrap Paper on September 24, 2026.

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