Codea vs Unity Reflect Review
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 2D and 3D renderer
- Touch-based visual editors
- Lua programming language
- Export to Xcode
- Physics engines
- GLSL shader editor
- Import assets from Dropbox
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"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.
Unity Reflect Review
This app enables real-time visualization and collaboration of BIM models across various devices and locations. It bridges the gap between design and construction by offering immersive AR/VR experiences and live model updates.
- Real-time BIM model visualization
- AR and VR experiences
- Live model updates from design apps
- Filter models by BIM metadata
- Collaborative platform for project members
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Unity Reflect is a BIM design and coordination solution that connects all project members on one immersive, collaborative, real-time platform regardless of device, model size, or geographic-location. Transfer your BIM data from Revit, Navisworks, SketchUp, and Rhino into real-time 3D experiences on a range of devices in AR and VR to bridge the gap between design and construction. Unity Reflect allows you to: • Visualize BIM (Building Information Modelling) models on your phone or tablet by connecting to a Unity Reflect server. • Open a live link and see changes made to the model in your design application reflected in real time in the Unity Reflect app. • Filter your model based on its BIM metadata and highlight systems and components independently. • View your model in augmented reality in world-scale In order to make your model available to the Unity Reflect app, you must first publish it to a Unity Reflect server. To do so, simply install a Unity Reflect plugin in your design application (Revit, Navisworks, BIM360, Sketchup, Rhino) and tap the Export or the Sync button.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Codea at 90% against Unity Reflect Review's 34%. Codea also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.2) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months). Unity Reflect Review's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads and device support 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. Codea sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Unity Reflect Review asks for nothing beyond the download.
Codea holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Codea has 126 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of Codea's written reviews are positive against 34% of Unity Reflect Review's.
Codea ships an update every 2 weeks, Unity Reflect Review every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Codea | Unity Reflect Review |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (126 ratings) — better | 3.2 (10 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 89.6% of reviews — better | 34.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 126 — better | 10 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 217 MB | 245 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Two Lives Left | Unity Technologies ApS |
Customer experience
Codea
Unity Reflect Review
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
Unity Reflect Review
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Codea
- Codea Pro (Monthly)$4.991 Month
- Codea Pro (Yearly)$29.991 Year
- Codea Pro Lifetime$99.99
Unity Reflect Review
No in-app purchases








