Vim vs iEditor
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Vim
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.
- Text editing
- Command-line interface support
- Graphical user interface support
- Highly configurable
- Free and open source
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Vim is a text editor first released publicly in 1991. Based on the vi editor common to Unix-like systems, Vim is designed for use both from a command line interface and as a standalone application in a graphical user interface. Vim is free and open source software and is released under a license which includes some charityware clauses, encouraging users who enjoy the software to consider donating to children in Uganda. https://vim.sourceforge.io/about.php
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: iEditor at 4.1 against Vim's 2.9. iEditor also leads on ratings volume (189 vs 21) and review sentiment (56% vs 46%). Vim's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
iEditor holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iEditor has 189 ratings behind it against 21, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Vim's written reviews are positive against 56% of iEditor's.
Vim ships an update every 9 months, iEditor every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Vim | iEditor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.9 (21 ratings) | 4.1 (189 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 46.2% of reviews | 56.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 21 | 189 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 7 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 57 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Applidium | ComcSoft Corporation |
Customer experience
Vim
iEditor
User reviews
Vim
From 21 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ✅ 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
Room to improve
- 🐛 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
iEditor
From 189 App Store ratingsWhat 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
Vim
Reported bugs
13 issues- 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
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- Keyboard recognition delays
- Graphics scrambled on iPhone 6 and newer
- Character rendering issues (missing 'f' character)
- Command line errors with certain commands (:ls, :echo)
- Syntax highlighting broken
- App crashes on older iOS versions
- 32-bit app incompatibility with iOS 11+
- Slow response to Bluetooth keyboard input
Requested features
15 requests- 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
Show 10 moreShow fewer
- Swipe gestures for common operations (Esc, Tab)
- Plugin support
- SSH/FTP connectivity
- Customizable color schemes and themes
- Better Bluetooth keyboard support and detection
- MacVim-style tabs
- iCloud synchronization
- Open source project status
- Support for external shell integration
- Email attachment opening support
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
Vim
No in-app purchases
iEditor
No in-app purchases
