Comparison

Buffer Editor vs Textastic Code Editor

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

Head to head
About

Buffer Editor

A powerful code and text editor for on-the-go development. Connect to various cloud services and Git repositories, with built-in terminal and extensive syntax highlighting. Offers advanced editing features for enhanced productivity.

Highlights
  • Connect to cloud services and Git
  • Git operations and visual merge tool
  • Built-in SSH terminal
  • Extensive syntax highlighting
  • Live remote file editing
  • Code autocompletion and snippets
Features
Read full description

Buffer Editor is a POWERFUL code and text editor that lets you easily develop software, view code or take notes on the go. Enjoy an editing experience that is both versatile and intuitive, and take your productivity to the next level. • Connect to GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket, Custom Git, Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive, SFTP, SSH, and FTP servers • Git Operations for easy repository management • Git Visual Merge Tool to resolve merge conflicts. • Git Visual Branch and Commits History. • Live editing—open, edit, and save files directly to remote services • Network monitoring for remote services (FTP, SFTP, SSH) • Built-in Terminal (SSH Client) with multiple terminals in tabs. • Syntax highlighting & code autocomplete: ASP, AWK, ActionScript, Ada, Arduino, Bash, C, C++, C#, Clojure, Cobol, CSS, D, Dart, Dockerfile, Erlang, F#, Fortran, Gherkin, Go, HAML, Haskell, HTML (4 & 5), INI, Java, JavaScript, Julia, Kotlin, LaTeX, Common Lisp, Lua, Markdown, MATLAB, MQL (4 & 5), NSIS, Objective-C, Org Mode, Pascal, Perl, PHP, PowerShell, Progress, Prolog, Pug, Puppet, Python, Q/kdb+, R, reStructuredText, Ruby, Rust, Scala, Solidity, SQL, Stata, Swift, Terraform, TypeScript, TypeScript React, Verilog, VHDL, Visual Basic, Vue, x86 ASM, XML • Vim mode support • Symbol navigator / document outline • Code autocompletion, with custom snippets. • Find & replace with regular expression support • Recursive file and content search—match and jump to any file at a specific line • Find references in file and jump to any file • Bracket matching and highlighting • Line and word wrapping • Unicode support • Multiple windows, Split View, and Slide Over support • Tabs with automatic restore—quickly switch between files and terminals • Full screen mode • Extended keyboard with coding keys • Bluetooth keyboard support with shortcuts manager • Customizable fonts, font sizes, and over 300 dark and light themes • Full iOS Files integration—link external folders, open multiple files, import from any supported cloud provider • Local and Remote Preview for websites(HTML,JS,CSS) • Preview images, PDFs, movies, and documents • Send files by email • iOS "Open In" support (to and from other apps) • Touch ID / Face ID protection SUBSCRIPTION: - You can subscribe for Pro access to all app’s features. - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. By using the app, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service: https://www.buffereditor.com/privacy https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Textastic Code Editor

A powerful text and code editor for mobile devices, offering syntax highlighting for over 80 languages, code completion, and formatting tools. It allows connection to various servers and cloud storage for seamless file management and editing.

Highlights
  • Syntax highlighting for 80+ languages
  • SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, and Dropbox client
  • Built-in SSH terminal
  • Code completion and formatting
  • External keyboard and trackpad support
  • Split View and Slide Over multitasking
Features
Read full description

Textastic is a comprehensive and versatile text and code editor for iPad and iPhone. It supports syntax highlighting for more than 80 programming and markup languages. Connect to SFTP, FTP, and WebDAV servers or to your Dropbox account. Use the built-in SSH terminal to work directly on your server. Features: - Syntax highlighting for more than 80 languages, including HTML, JavaScript, CSS, C++, Swift, Objective-C, Rust, XML, Markdown, PHP, Perl, Python, Ruby, Lua, YAML, JSON, SQL, shell scripts, and many more (full list available on the website) - Compatible with Sublime Text 3 and TextMate 1 syntax definitions and themes - Code completion for HTML, CSS, JavaScript, C, Objective-C, and PHP - SFTP (SSH), FTP, FTPS (FTP over SSL), WebDAV, and Dropbox clients - SSH terminal connections - Code formatter for HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and JSON - Git repositories from the Git client app Working Copy can be opened as external folders in Textastic - Emmet support - JavaScript console - iCloud Drive file synchronization - WebDAV server for easy file transfer between Textastic and your Mac or PC over Wi-Fi - Symbol list for quick navigation within a file - Full support for external keyboards, trackpads, and mice - Configurable keyboard shortcuts - Additional keys above the virtual keyboard for frequently used programming characters - Cursor navigation wheel for easy text selection - Move the cursor using swipe gestures - Split View and Slide Over multitasking on iPad - Open multiple files in tabs - Multiple windows on iPadOS - Dark Mode support - Support for common text encodings such as UTF-8, UTF-16, and ISO-8859-1 - Support for different tab widths and soft tabs (spaces instead of tabs) - Custom fonts - Find and Replace, including regular expression search - Find in multiple files - File information such as character and word counts - Local and remote web preview for HTML and Markdown files Pricing: Textastic requires a monthly or yearly subscription or a one-time purchase. Each subscription includes a 7-day free trial with full access to all features. Privacy Policy: https://www.textasticapp.com/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Buffer Editor4 screens
Textastic Code Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Textastic Code Editor at 4.7 against Buffer Editor's 3.9. Textastic Code Editor also leads on ratings volume (2.5K vs 157) and review sentiment (69% vs 56%). Buffer Editor's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Buffer Editor sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Textastic Code Editor sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Textastic Code Editor holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Textastic Code Editor has 2.5K ratings behind it against 157, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Buffer Editor's written reviews are positive against 69% of Textastic Code Editor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Buffer Editor ships an update every 4 days, Textastic Code Editor every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Buffer Editor versus Textastic Code Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBuffer EditorTextastic Code Editor
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (157 ratings)4.7 (2.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews56.1% of reviews68.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1572.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionSubscription
Best chart rank#18 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.016.0
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBlakzero OyAlexander Blach

Customer experience

Buffer Editor

All ratings157 ratings
Positive69.4%
Neutral10.8%
Negative19.7%
Written reviews221 reviews
Positive56.1%
Neutral14.9%
Negative29.0%

Textastic Code Editor

All ratings2,510 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral1.6%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews599 reviews
Positive68.9%
Neutral8.7%
Negative22.4%

User reviews

Buffer Editor

From 157 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great mobile development platform
  • 👍 Functional and good editor
  • 🚀 Responsive and performant
  • 👍 Supports Vim keybindings
  • 👍 Customizable themes and fonts

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Git integration issues
  • 🐛 Buggy SSH/SFTP/FTP connections
  • 🐛 Undo/redo functionality problems
  • 🐛 Laggy navigation through directories

Textastic Code Editor

From 2.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Highly performant
  • 👍 Versatile and feature-rich
  • 💡 Excellent integration with other apps (e.g. Working Copy)
  • 👍 Customizable and intuitive UI
  • 👍 Reliable and stable

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
  • 🔒 Restrictive paywall for basic functionality
  • 👎 Confusing file management and upload/download workflow
  • 👎 Lack of modern code editing features (e.g. auto-indent, code folding)

Bugs and requests

Buffer Editor

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when switching between apps
  • Losing work due to save issues
  • Incorrect parameter errors when editing files
  • Broken Bitbucket/GitHub authentication

Requested features

6 requests
  • Integrated terminal/Linux shell
  • GitHub/GitLab workflow integration
  • Ability to run/compile code
  • Better file management options
  • More keyboard shortcuts and customization
Show 1 more
  • Improved syntax highlighting and auto-complete

Textastic Code Editor

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Issues with SSH/SFTP connectivity and authentication
  • Problems with handling large files or files with certain extensions
  • Inconsistent text selection and editing behavior

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for more cloud storage providers (e.g. Google Drive, OneDrive)
  • Implement a more seamless remote file editing and syncing workflow
  • Improve code editing features like code folding, multi-cursor support, and code beautification
  • Add a built-in terminal or ability to run code directly within the app

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Buffer Editor

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Yearly3 Days trial$34.991 Year
3 purchases

Textastic Code Editor

Subscriptions2
  • Textastic Pro (Monthly)7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Textastic Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Textastic Pro (One-Time)$69.99

Questions

Is Buffer Editor free?
Buffer Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Textastic Code Editor free?
Textastic Code Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Buffer Editor or Textastic Code Editor?
Textastic Code Editor is rated higher. Buffer Editor averages 3.9 out of 5 from 157 ratings, while Textastic Code Editor averages 4.7 from 2.5K ratings.
Do Buffer Editor or Textastic Code Editor have ads?
Neither Buffer Editor nor Textastic Code Editor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Buffer Editor or Textastic Code Editor?
Buffer Editor ships an update every 4 days, and Textastic Code Editor every 2 weeks. Most recently, Buffer Editor was updated on September 24, 2026 and Textastic Code Editor on September 23, 2026.

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