# Vim vs System Designer

The clearest difference is rating: System Designer at 4.4 against Vim's 2.9. System Designer also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 46%) and update cadence (monthly vs every 9 months). Vim's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

System Designer holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 21 and 17 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Vim's written reviews are positive against 78% of System Designer's.

Vim ships an update every 9 months, System Designer monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Vim | System Designer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [2.9 (21 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vim/id492668168/reviews) | **[4.4 (17 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/system-designer/id1132983280/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **21** | 17 |
| Positive reviews | 46.2% of reviews | **77.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 37 MB | 7 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Applidium](https://appshunter.io/developer/308674223) | [Erwan Carriou](https://appshunter.io/developer/1102494853) |

## What reviewers say

### Vim

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vim/id492668168)

A highly configurable text editor with a long history, designed for efficient editing from both command lines and graphical interfaces. It offers extensive customization options for programmers and writers alike.

**Highlights:** Text editing, Command-line interface support, Graphical user interface support, Highly configurable, Free and open source

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- ✅ True Vim implementation with authentic commands and features
- ⌨️ Works well with external Bluetooth keyboards
- 🆓 Free application with no cost barrier
- 🔒 Includes encryption functionality for secure editing
- 📝 Supports .vimrc configuration files

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Escape key mapping to backslash is cumbersome and unintuitive
- 🐛 Space bar and other keys don't work with external keyboards
- 🐛 Font rendering is illegible on Retina displays and newer devices
- 🐛 Severe input lag and keystroke delay issues
- 🐛 Window focus problems in multitasking environments

**Reported bugs**

- Escape key not recognized on external keyboards
- Space bar non-functional with external keyboards
- Font illegible on Retina and newer displays
- Significant input lag between keystrokes and display
- Window focus not maintained in multitasking

**Requested features**

- Custom keyboard row with Esc, Tab, Ctrl, and common symbols
- Dropbox and cloud service integration
- iOS copy/paste and clipboard integration
- File browser and file management system
- Better font rendering and scaling options


### System Designer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/system-designer/id1132983280)

Design complex systems using a low-code platform that leverages UML standards. Generate code skeletons and manage components graphically. Run and test your system with dynamic type checking.

**Highlights:** UML-based system modeling, Code skeleton generation, Graphical component creation, MSON format for model definition, Dynamic type checking, Cross-device synchronization via GitHub

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Vim free?

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

### Is System Designer free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Vim or System Designer?

System Designer is rated higher. Vim averages 2.9 out of 5 from 21 ratings, while System Designer averages 4.4 from 17 ratings.

### Do Vim or System Designer have ads?

Neither Vim nor System Designer shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Vim or System Designer?

Vim ships an update every 9 months, and System Designer monthly. Most recently, Vim was updated on October 4, 2026 and System Designer on October 6, 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.*