# Codea vs X

The clearest difference is rating: Codea at 4.5 against X's 1.0. Codea also leads on ratings volume (126 vs 1) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). X's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (15.5 vs 18.6). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Codea sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. X 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 126 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Codea ships an update every 2 weeks, X every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Codea | X |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (126 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/codea/id439571171/reviews)** | [1.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/x-code-manager/id1527413811/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **126** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 89.6% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Size | 217 MB | 52 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **15.5** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Two Lives Left](https://appshunter.io/developer/335953314) | [HANSA-FLEX AG](https://appshunter.io/developer/1028409540) |

## What reviewers say

### Codea

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

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:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro 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


### X

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/x-code-manager/id1527413811)

Manage your hydraulic components and machines with a digital twin. Organize machines into folders, perform inspections, and access data offline. Seamlessly syncs with a web application for office and field collaboration.

**Highlights:** Digital twin for hydraulic components, Machine organization in folders, Component breakdown, Regulatory inspection module, Offline data access and synchronization, App and web application integration

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Codea free?

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

### Is X free?

X is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Codea or X?

Codea is rated higher. Codea averages 4.5 out of 5 from 126 ratings, while X averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Codea or X have ads?

Neither Codea nor X shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Codea or X?

Codea ships an update every 2 weeks, and X every 2 months. Most recently, Codea was updated on October 2, 2026 and X on September 23, 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.*