Comparison

Codea vs Tot Pocket

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

Tot Pocket

A minimalist app for collecting and editing text across Apple devices. Organize notes with color-coded dots and enjoy seamless iCloud synchronization. Supports Markdown for web use and offers a convenient keyboard interface with count tracking.

Highlights
  • Cross-device text collection
  • Color-coded note organization
  • Dark/Light mode support
  • iCloud synchronization
  • Markdown support
  • Keyboard text operations
  • Word and character counts
Features
Read full description

Tot is an elegant, simple way to collect & edit text across your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. It’s your tiny text companion! ⁕ Less Is More Tot’s single window design and simple formatting controls mean no more hunting for that chunk of text. Seven color-coded dots let you organize your notes while keeping them from getting out of hand. ⁕ Dark / Light Mode Designed to look stunning both day and night, Tot takes full advantage of iOS and macOS themes. ⁕ Small Footprint Stays out of the way on the desktop with minimal chrome and can even be controlled via the Menu bar. On mobile, each dot is just a swipe away. ⁕ iCloud Sync Seamlessly syncs your text across iOS and macOS using iCloud so you can capture thoughts wherever you are. ⁕ Markdown Support Full support for rich or plain text and even automatically translates text to Markdown for handy use on the web. Have an RTF file you need marked up? No problem! ⁕ Killer Keyboard Tot puts common text operations on the keyboard and keeps track of word and character counts as you type. Available for iOS, macOS, and watchOS.

Screenshots

Codea4 screens
Tot Pocket4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Codea at 90% against Tot Pocket's 68%. Codea also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.3). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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

Both are free to download. Codea sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Tot Pocket sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Codea holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 126 and 235 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of Codea's written reviews are positive against 68% of Tot Pocket's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Codea ships an update every 2 weeks, Tot Pocket every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Codea versus Tot Pocket: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCodeaTot Pocket
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (126 ratings) — better4.3 (235 ratings)
Positive reviews89.6% of reviews — better67.5% of reviews
Number of ratings126235 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size217 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTwo Lives LeftThe Iconfactory

Customer experience

Codea

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

Tot Pocket

All ratings235 ratings
Positive80.9%
Neutral8.1%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews157 reviews
Positive67.5%
Neutral13.4%
Negative19.1%

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

Tot Pocket

From 235 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Useful
  • 🚀 Flawless and works great
  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 👍 Elegant and well-designed
  • 👍 Indispensable and essential

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive for a minimal app
  • 🐛 Syncing issues
  • 🐛 Buggy and glitchy
  • 🔒 No security features
  • 👎 Missing key features like search

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

Tot Pocket

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Data loss when using certain features
  • Keyboard issues and UI bugs
  • Unreliable syncing between devices

Requested features

8 requests
  • Landscape mode support
  • Better share/export options
  • Ability to delete entire notes
  • More customization options
  • Apple Watch app
Show 3 more
  • Improved Markdown support
  • Timestamp for new notes
  • Home screen widget

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
1 purchases

Tot Pocket

One-time1
  • Tot for iOS and iPadOS$19.99

Questions

Is Codea free?
Codea is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tot Pocket free?
Tot Pocket is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Codea or Tot Pocket?
Codea is rated higher. Codea averages 4.5 out of 5 from 126 ratings, while Tot Pocket averages 4.3 from 235 ratings.
Do Codea or Tot Pocket have ads?
Neither Codea nor Tot Pocket shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Codea or Tot Pocket?
Codea ships an update every 2 weeks, and Tot Pocket every 3 weeks. Most recently, Codea was updated on October 2, 2026 and Tot Pocket on September 28, 2026.

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