Comparison

Brainf*ck vs Lua IDE

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

Lua IDE

This app provides a comprehensive environment for learning and coding in Lua. It features a code editor, file manager, and an integrated interpreter for testing and running scripts.

Highlights
  • Standalone Lua interpreter
  • Feature-rich code editor
  • Intuitive file manager
  • Interactive learning environment
  • Multi-file project support
  • Terminal integration
  • ANSI escape code support
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Lua IDE: Unleash Your Lua Coding Potential! Dive into the world of Lua coding with Lua IDE, your all-in-one Lua Integrated Development Environment (IDE) on iOS. With a standalone interpreter, feature-rich code editor, and an intuitive file manager, Lua IDE is the ultimate toolkit for Lua enthusiasts and learners alike. Why Choose Lua IDE? Learn and Experiment: Lua IDE is the perfect playground for Lua enthusiasts. Whether you're testing code snippets from books or unleashing your creativity, our interactive learning environment lets you experiment and refine your Lua skills effortlessly. Project Mastery: Elevate your coding game by organizing complex projects effortlessly. Lua IDE's built-in File Manager allows you to create, manage, and run multi-file Lua projects with ease. The terminal integration lets you execute your creations seamlessly. What's on the Horizon? Package Management Magic: Stay tuned for Lua IDE's Package Manager, a game-changer for library integration. It's like having LuaRocks at your fingertips, making library management a breeze. Debugging Join the Lua IDE Community: Your Voice Matters: Have a suggestion or a brilliant idea? Reach out to us at amadman380743909@gmail.com or visit https://www.iamadman.com, or twitter: andy38074, Reddit: iamadmancom. Your input is what propels Lua IDE forward. Learn on Your Terms: Lua IDE is not just an app; it's a journey. Learn programming wherever, whenever, and whatever you desire. Unleash your coding potential with Lua IDE today! This is Lua IDE with a standalone interpreter, a Code Editor and File Manager and many useful resources for learning Lua. Lua REPL: Lua official standalone interpreter integrated. You can input Lua code interactively with it. And you can also use it to run a Lua file in Terminal. Terminal: ##Cursor Operations: - supports various cursor operations, including cursor positioning, hiding, showing, and blinking. ##Colors: - ANSI escape codes for text styling and colors are fully supported. You can set foreground and background colors, as well as apply other text styles. ##Escape Sequences: ##256-Color Mode: ##True Color (24-Bit Color): ##Text Selection and Copy-Paste: - Users can select text within the terminal, and xterm.js provides built-in functionality for copying and pasting text to and from the clipboard. ##Input Handling: - handles keyboard input, allowing users to type commands and interact with the terminal interface using the keyboard. ##UTF-8 and Multilingual Support: #Shell Commands ##Support many useful shell commands "ifconfig","ping","export","readlink","chmod","scp","telnet","host","du","link","dig","cksum","bc","date","egrep","gzip","nslookup","fgrep","mv","open","md5","say","ssh-keygen","xargs","diff","cd","tee","lua","sh","touch","dc","tar","chflags","rm","sort","uniq","awk","printenv","find","mkdir","tail","unalias","pwd","ed","gunzip","compress","nc","uptime","sed","openurl","setenv","stat","alias","sum","head","uname","wc","cat","echo","unsetenv","unlink","pbpaste","rmdir","uncompress","curl","ln","cp","whoami","rlogin","sftp","tr","env","ssh","whois","pbcopy","wol","grep","ls" ##Custom commands "code", "help", "clear", "files" Code Editor: ## Syntax Highlight Syntax highlighting for Lua and many other languages like: C, C++, Swift, JavaScript, TypeScript, CSS, HTML, Markdown, JSON, Python, YAML, Bash (you can view Makefile as bash file). ## Line Number Show/Hide line number gutter. ## Wrap Line ## Invisible Characters ## Themes Currently support four themes that cover both Light and Dark Mode Docs ##Bundled Source Code and Documentations ###Lua source code Lua 5.3.4, 5.3.6, 5.4.6 source code, docs, and tests (written in Lua, they are very good resources for learning Lua) ##Online Documentations ###Lua.org ###Lua-users.org ###LuaRocks.org ###Awesome-lua File Manager You can create/delete/view/copy/paste files and folders. Source code files are syntax highlighted.

Screenshots

Brainf*ck4 screens
Lua IDE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Lua IDE at 3.5 against Brainf*ck's 2.9. Lua IDE also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 40%). Brainf*ck's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks). 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 Lua IDE sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lua IDE holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 2.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 11 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of Brainf*ck's written reviews are positive against 50% of Lua IDE's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brainf*ck ships an update every 2 weeks, Lua IDE every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on September 21, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Brainf*ck versus Lua IDE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrainf*ckLua IDE
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.9 (10 ratings)3.5 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews40.0% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1011 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB95 MB
Age rating12+4+
Developermacflash.ru盼军 崔

Customer experience

Brainf*ck

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

Lua IDE

All ratings11 ratings
Positive54.5%
Neutral9.1%
Negative36.4%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative37.5%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Brainf*ck

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

Lua IDE

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly$9.991 Year
One-time2
  • Buy me a coffee$2.99
  • Lifetime Pro$14.99

Questions

Is Brainf*ck free?
Brainf*ck is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lua IDE free?
Lua IDE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Brainf*ck or Lua IDE?
Lua IDE is rated higher. Brainf*ck averages 2.9 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Lua IDE averages 3.5 from 11 ratings.
Do Brainf*ck or Lua IDE have ads?
Neither Brainf*ck nor Lua IDE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Brainf*ck or Lua IDE?
Brainf*ck ships an update every 2 weeks, and Lua IDE every 6 weeks. Most recently, Brainf*ck was updated on September 21, 2026 and Lua IDE on September 21, 2026.

Other comparisons