Comparison

Termius vs Runestone Text Editor

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

Head to head
About

Termius

This app provides a modern, productive, and collaborative SSH client experience for remote access. It offers one-tap connections, a desktop-grade terminal, multi-tab support, and advanced security features. Enhance your command-line workflow with smart autocompletion and AI-powered command generation.

Highlights
  • One-tap SSH, SFTP, Mosh, Telnet connections
  • Desktop-grade terminal with virtual keyboard
  • Multi-tab interface and split-view support
  • Customizable themes and fonts
  • AI-powered command generation
  • Hardware FIDO2 key authentication
  • Encrypted cloud vault for credentials
Features
Read full description

Termius is a modern SSH client designed for productivity and collaboration. Connect with one tap from desktop and mobile. No re-entering IP addresses, ports, and passwords. With a free Termius Starter plan, you can: · Connect from your mobile and desktop devices with SSH, SFTP, Mosh, Telnet, Port Forwarding, Serial and through Proxy and jump servers. · Get a desktop-grade terminal experience with a virtual keyboard covering all the special keys required, or connect your Bluetooth keyboard. · Use gestures or shake the device while in the terminal to emulate stroking of Tab, arrows, PgUp/Down, Home, and End, etc. · Work in several sessions simultaneously with a multi-tab interface and split-view support. · Customize your terminal themes and fonts for each connection. · Set custom environment variables. · Save your frequently used commands and shell scripts to execute them with one tap. · Execute your saved commands on multiple sessions or servers at once, or instantly get them autocompleted in the terminal. · Get smart autocomplete for commands, paths, and history, and turn plain-language descriptions into shell commands with AI. · Quickly access the global history of your terminal commands. · Authenticate using hardware FIDO2 keys. · Generate SSH keys in the Secure Enclave, confirm each connection with Face ID or Touch ID, and protect your account with two-factor authentication. · Ad-free. With the Termius Pro plan, you can also: · Access your connection settings and credentials from any device at any time with an encrypted cloud vault. · Sync your data across all your desktop and mobile devices. · Bookmark session logs with notes to your vault. · Integrate with AWS, DigitalOcean, and Azure. Termius reinvents the command-line experience. We strive to make remote access for admins and engineers more productive and enjoyable. Please review our privacy policy https://termius.com/privacy_policy.html and terms of use https://termius.com/terms_of_use.html

About

Runestone Text Editor

A powerful plain text and code editor for iPhone and iPad. Offers syntax highlighting, line numbers, find and replace, and extensive customization options for developers and writers.

Highlights
  • Syntax highlighting for many languages
  • Customizable themes and fonts
  • Advanced find and replace
  • Line numbers and cursor location
  • Code formatting with Prettier.js
  • Multiple windows on iPad
Features
Read full description

A plain text editor with syntax highlighting, line numbers, search and replace, page guide, and much more. It's like TextEdit but more powerful and optimised for iPhone and iPad. Runestone is made by a single person with a love for text editors and a vision of building the most lightweight text editor for iPhone and iPad that still has the core features for editing code. Features: - Syntax highlighting of many languages including HTML, JavaScript, JSON, Markdown, Swift, Python, PHP, YAML, and many more. - Select one of the twelve standard themes including popular themes like Tomorrow, Dracula, Solarized, and One Dark Pro. - Innovative find and replace for searching and modifying text while still viewing your file. - Choose font and font size, including support for custom fonts imported using another third-party app. - Show the line and column the cursor is located on. - Uses the standard document browser for an experience similar to the Files app. - Quickly navigate to a specific line. - Automatically close opening brackets and quotes. - Multiple windows on the iPad. - Format code using Prettier.js. Supported languages include CSS,HTML, JavaScript, JSON, PHP and more. - Choose text encoding between popular encodings like UTF-8, UTF-16, ISO Latin 1, and many more. - Enable or disable autocorrection, autocapitalization, and smart punctuation. - Set default file extension of new files. - Open files in Runestone from the Share Sheet. - Print documents. Premium features: - Choose between eight app icons. - Show line numbers. - Highlight the selected line. - Increase line height and letter spacing. - Disable line wrapping to allow horizontal scrolling. - Show tabs, spaces, and line breaks using a selected symbol. - Enable page guide at a specific column to easily tell when lines are getting too long. - Add vertical and horizontal overscroll. - Remember the selected language per file. - Save file extensions and filenames that should always be treated as plain text files. - Enable soft tabs and choose the width of the tab character. - Specify whether pressing the tab key should insert a tab or indent the line. - Adjust the scaling of Markdown headings and disable highlighting of code blocks in Markdown. Runestone was built on the open-source framework with the same name. Find more information on the Runestone framework at github.com/simonbs/runestone

Screenshots

Termius4 screens
Runestone Text Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Termius at 20K against Runestone Text Editor's 2.1K. Termius also leads on chart position (#4 vs #29). Runestone Text Editor's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. Termius sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $15.00 per month and Runestone Text Editor 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Termius against 4.7 for Runestone Text Editor. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Termius has 20K ratings behind it against 2.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 81% of Termius's written reviews are positive against 76% of Runestone Text Editor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Termius ships an update fortnightly, Runestone Text Editor every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Termius versus Runestone Text Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTermiusRunestone Text Editor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (20K ratings)4.7 (2.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.0% of reviews — better76.2% of reviews
Number of ratings20K — better2.1K
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#4 — better#29
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size229 MB64 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTermius CorporationSimon B. Støvring

Customer experience

Termius

All ratings19,573 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral1.8%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews2,500 reviews
Positive81.0%
Neutral4.4%
Negative14.6%

Runestone Text Editor

All ratings1,962 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral2.3%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews365 reviews
Positive76.2%
Neutral9.6%
Negative14.2%

User reviews

Termius

From 20K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth and fast
  • 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 🔒 Secure with SSH/SFTP support
  • 💡 Useful features like port forwarding
  • 👍 Customizable keyboard and themes

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔋 Drains battery quickly
  • 🤔 Aggressive upselling of premium features

Runestone Text Editor

From 2.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💎 Excellent text editor
  • 🚀 Smooth and responsive
  • 🎨 Customizable themes and appearance
  • 🔒 Secure file storage and sync
  • 👍 Clean and intuitive interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
  • 🔍 Difficulty navigating files/folders
  • 📝 Limited functionality without premium
  • 🔌 Performance issues on older devices
  • 🔒 Difficulty accessing files in cloud storage

Bugs and requests

Termius

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Syncing issues causing data loss
  • Keyboard and cursor issues on iPad
  • Freezing and unresponsiveness after background use

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for ProxyCommand
  • Improve keyboard handling and arrow key functionality
  • Implement iCloud sync instead of proprietary cloud
  • Provide a one-time purchase option for individual users

Runestone Text Editor

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Disappearing files
  • Difficulty pasting text
  • Scroll position not saved
  • Hangs on startup
  • Trouble opening large files
Show 1 more
  • Issues after iOS updates

Requested features

6 requests
  • Markdown preview
  • Code folding
  • Syntax highlighting for more languages
  • Ability to run/execute code
  • Multiple file/window support
Show 1 more
  • Improved undo/redo functionality

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Termius

Subscriptions4
  • Termius Pro Monthly3 Days trial$15.001 Month
  • Termius Pro Monthly$15.001 Month
  • Termius Pro Annual14 Days trial$119.001 Year
Show 1 more
  • Termius Pro Annual$119.001 Year
1 purchases

Runestone Text Editor

One-time1
  • Premium$9.99

Questions

Is Termius free?
Termius is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Runestone Text Editor free?
Runestone Text Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Termius or Runestone Text Editor?
Runestone Text Editor is rated higher. Termius averages 4.7 out of 5 from 20K ratings, while Runestone Text Editor averages 4.7 from 2.1K ratings.
Do Termius or Runestone Text Editor have ads?
Neither Termius nor Runestone Text Editor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Termius or Runestone Text Editor?
Termius ships an update fortnightly, and Runestone Text Editor every 2 weeks. Most recently, Termius was updated on November 1, 2026 and Runestone Text Editor on October 29, 2026.
Which is more popular, Termius or Runestone Text Editor?
Termius currently peaks at #4 in the App Store charts, and Runestone Text Editor at #29. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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