Comparison

Codea vs iEditor

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

iEditor

A fast and simple text and source code editor for iPhone and iPad. It allows users to create, import, edit, and manage various file types with features like syntax highlighting, search/replace, and export options.

Highlights
  • Create and import text/source code files
  • Syntax highlighting for C, Java, HTML
  • Search and replace functionality
  • Export files to PDF or JPEG
  • File management (add, delete, rename, sort)
  • View multiple file formats
Features
Read full description

Voted No. 1 text and source code editor on iPhone/iPad. Simple and fast. iEditor is a text file and source code editing tool on iPhone and iPad. You can use iEditor to: - Create a new text or source code file. - Import files from various locations through Document Browser. - Support Syntax Highlighting for C, Java, HTML files. - Edit text based files and source codes. Supported files include: TXT files, C source codes, HTML files, JAVA source codes, log files, Shell scripts, etc. - Support Search/Replace within a text file. - Support to export a text based file to a PDF or a JPEG file. - Support to Print a file. - Support to Email a file. - Support File Management including: Add/Delete/Rename/Sort files. - Support to view many file formats, including: DOC, EXCEL, PPT, PDF, image files, video files, etc. - Support to open a file in another App. - Support to save an image to your Photo Album. With its simple interfaces, iEditor provides the easiest way to edit text and source code files on iPhone and iPad. If you have any questions, please visit: http://www.comcsoft.com/Portfolio/our_apps/iEditor/iEditor_overview.php.

Screenshots

Codea4 screens
iEditor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: iEditor at none against Codea's 3. iEditor also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.6). Codea's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (90% vs 56%). On price, ratings volume 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Codea sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. iEditor asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Codea holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 126 and 189 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of Codea's written reviews are positive against 56% of iEditor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Codea ships an update every 2 weeks, iEditor every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Codea versus iEditor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCodeaiEditor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (126 ratings) — better4.1 (189 ratings)
Positive reviews89.6% of reviews — better56.4% of reviews
Number of ratings126189 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.615.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size217 MB57 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTwo Lives LeftComcSoft Corporation

Customer experience

Codea

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

iEditor

All ratings189 ratings
Positive75.7%
Neutral7.4%
Negative16.9%
Written reviews557 reviews
Positive56.4%
Neutral11.3%
Negative32.3%

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

iEditor

From 189 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 💡 Ability to convert text to PDF
  • 🚀 Quick file opening and editing

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and data loss issues
  • 🔍 Confusing UI and navigation
  • 💰 Aggressive upselling for paid version
  • 🔍 Limited formatting options

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

iEditor

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to save edited files
  • Text disappearing during editing
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Autosave functionality
  • Support for more file formats
  • Syntax highlighting for code
  • Cloud/iCloud integration

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

iEditor

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Codea free?
Codea is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is iEditor free?
iEditor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Codea or iEditor?
Codea is rated higher. Codea averages 4.5 out of 5 from 126 ratings, while iEditor averages 4.1 from 189 ratings.
Do Codea or iEditor have ads?
iEditor shows ads; Codea does not.
Which is updated more often, Codea or iEditor?
Codea ships an update every 2 weeks, and iEditor every 7 months. Most recently, Codea was updated on October 2, 2026 and iEditor on October 4, 2026.

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