Comparison

Brainf*ck vs CraftOS

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Brainf*ck

This tool provides an integrated development environment for an esoteric programming language known for its extreme minimalism. It allows users to write and execute programs using only eight simple commands, challenging and amusing programmers.

Highlights
  • Minimalist command set
  • Turing complete language
  • Instruction pointer execution
  • Byte cell array
  • Data pointer movement
  • Input/Output streams
Features
Read full description

Brain***k IDE is an esoteric programming language created in 1993 by Urban Müller, and is notable for its extreme minimalism. The language consists of only eight simple commands and an instruction pointer. While it is fully Turing complete, it is not intended for practical use, but to challenge and amuse programmers. Brain***k simply requires one to break commands into microscopic steps. The language's name is a reference to the slang term Brain***k, which refers to things so complicated or unusual that they exceed the limits of one's understanding. History In 1992, Urban Müller, a Swiss physics student, took over a small online archive for Amiga software. The archive grew more popular, and was soon mirrored around the world. Today, it is the world's largest Amiga archive, known as Aminet. Müller designed Brain***k with the goal of implementing it with the smallest possible compiler, inspired by the 1024-byte compiler for the FALSE programming language. Müller's original compiler was implemented in machine language and compiled to a binary with a size of 296 bytes. He uploaded the first Brain***k compiler to Aminet in 1993. The program came with a "Readme" file, which briefly described the language, and challenged the reader "Who can program anything useful with it? :)". Müller also included an interpreter and some quite elaborate examples. A second version of the compiler used only 240 bytes. As Aminet grew, the compiler became popular among the Amiga community, and in time it was implemented for other platforms. Several Brainf*ck compilers have been made smaller than 200 bytes, and one is only 100 bytes. Language design The language consists of eight commands, listed below. A Brain***k program is a sequence of these commands, possibly interspersed with other characters (which are ignored). The commands are executed sequentially, with some exceptions: an instruction pointer begins at the first command, and each command it points to is executed, after which it normally moves forward to the next command. The program terminates when the instruction pointer moves past the last command. The Brain***k language uses a simple machine model consisting of the program and instruction pointer, as well as an array of at least 30,000 byte cells initialized to zero; a movable data pointer (initialized to point to the leftmost byte of the array); and two streams of bytes for input and output (most often connected to a keyboard and a monitor respectively, and using the ASCII character encoding). Privacy policy: https://static.macflash.ru/PRIVACY_POLICY_EN Terms of use: https://static.macflash.ru/TERMS_OF_USE_EN

About

CraftOS

This app emulates a classic text-based computer environment, allowing you to write and run Lua programs. It's perfect for learning to code or exploring existing programs from a popular Minecraft mod, all within a retro terminal interface.

Highlights
  • Lua 5.2+ scripting environment
  • 16-color text-based terminal
  • Virtual filesystem
  • Built-in shell
  • Extensive APIs
  • Compatibility with ComputerCraft programs
  • Exclusive graphics mode
Features
Read full description

CraftOS-PC is a fantasy terminal that allows you to write and run programs inside an ‘80s-style text console. CraftOS-PC emulates the popular Minecraft mod "ComputerCraft", which adds programmable computers to Minecraft using the Lua programming language. CraftOS-PC takes this experience outside Minecraft to allow you to run the same programs anywhere you go. CraftOS-PC provides a set of functions (called APIs) that make it super easy to do simple tasks such as write text to the screen, read files, and more. The simplicity of these functions makes CraftOS-PC great for new programmers, but their power makes it possible to write all sorts of complex programs with less code. If you aren’t ready to write programs yet, there’s already a large number of programs for ComputerCraft that will work in CraftOS-PC, ranging from simple games to whole graphical operating systems. These can be downloaded through the built-in Pastebin and GitHub Gist clients. • Full Lua 5.2+ scripting environment and command-line REPL • 16-color text-based terminal display • Expansive virtual filesystem for program and data storage • Built-in shell with syntax similar to most desktop shells • APIs to easily access terminal, filesystem, Internet, event queue, and more • Built-in programs make it easy to navigate & edit files without a single line of code • Plenty of help documents to assist programmers • Compatibility with thousands of existing ComputerCraft programs • Over 3x faster than Minecraft mod and comparable emulators • Emulation of all peripherals available in ComputerCraft • Easily access configuration from inside CraftOS • Exclusive graphics mode providing up to 256-color, pixel-based screen manipulation • Edit Lua scripts from CraftOS or other code editing apps • Open-source app makes it easy to suggest and contribute changes Documentation on all of the APIs that ComputerCraft provides are available at https://tweaked.cc, and CraftOS-PC’s unique APIs are described at https://www.craftos-pc.cc/docs/. Join the CraftOS-PC community at https://www.craftos-pc.cc/discord!

Screenshots

Brainf*ck4 screens
CraftOS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: CraftOS at 88% against Brainf*ck's 40%. CraftOS also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.9) and monetization model (free vs freemium). Brainf*ck's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Brainf*ck sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month and CraftOS 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

CraftOS holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 17 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of Brainf*ck's written reviews are positive against 88% of CraftOS's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brainf*ck ships an update every 2 weeks, CraftOS every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Brainf*ck versus CraftOS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrainf*ckCraftOS
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.9 (10 ratings)4.8 (17 ratings) — better
Positive reviews40.0% of reviews88.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1017 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB11 MB
Age rating12+4+
Developermacflash.ruJack Bruienne

Customer experience

Brainf*ck

All ratings10 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative50.0%

CraftOS

All ratings17 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive88.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.8%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Brainf*ck

Subscriptions2
  • Premium month$1.491 Month
  • Premium year$4.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium unlimited$9.99
1 purchases

CraftOS

One-time1
  • Plugin Collection 1$0.99

Questions

Is Brainf*ck free?
Brainf*ck is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CraftOS free?
CraftOS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Brainf*ck or CraftOS?
CraftOS is rated higher. Brainf*ck averages 2.9 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while CraftOS averages 4.8 from 17 ratings.
Do Brainf*ck or CraftOS have ads?
Neither Brainf*ck nor CraftOS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Brainf*ck or CraftOS?
Brainf*ck ships an update every 2 weeks, and CraftOS every 4 months. Most recently, Brainf*ck was updated on October 8, 2026 and CraftOS on October 6, 2026.

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