Comparison

DraftCode for PHP IDE vs phpwin

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

Head to head
About

DraftCode for PHP IDE

Develop and run PHP, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS locally on your mobile device or Mac without an internet connection. Supports complex applications like WordPress and phpMyAdmin, with flexible workspace options and a comprehensive PHP stack.

Highlights
  • Offline PHP, JS, HTML, CSS execution
  • Run complex apps like WordPress
  • Custom workspace folder support
  • Session Inspector and error display
  • PHP and JS syntax coloring
  • Composer support for dependency management
Features
Read full description

Develop and run PHP, JavaScript, HTML, CSS locally on your iPad or iPhone (or an Apple Silicon Mac), without requiring an internet connection. Run Apps as complex as WordPress or phpMyAdmin right on your device. Freely choose your workspace location on your device, either inside DraftCode, or in the folder of a Git Client like WorkingCopy, on iCloud or other services that offer selectable folder locations. Access your PHP Web App from other Apps on your iPad while in Split Screen mode, for example Mobile Safari or Brave. DraftCode includes the standard PHP stack including PHP extensions typically available on a server: MySQL, SQLite, PDO, Curl, OpenSSL, FTP, XML, JSON, SOAP, GD and more. DraftCode can run different versions of PHP and you can switch between them: - Includes PHP 7.3, PHP 8.0, PHP 8.1 and PHP 8.2 - Available (via in-App Purchase): PHP 8.5 DraftCode Features: - Execute PHP/JS/HTML/CSS without requiring an internet connection - Run Apps as complex as WordPress on your device for offline development - Support for selecting a custom workspace folder in supported other Apps (like Git clients) or iCloud - Includes a Session Inspector showing state of current session variables - Shows PHP errors - PHP and JavaScript syntax colouring - Internal keyboard support with coding accessory - External keyboard support with additional keyboard shortcuts - Multitasking and split-screen support on iPad - Includes PHP packages: WordPress, phpMyAdmin, Composer and more - File workspace including support to zip, unzip, copy, move or duplicate files or folders - Code import/export from iCloud Drive, other Apps or iTunes file sharing - Kiosk mode that runs you PHP code fullscreen - Script mode to run PHP scripts without a web context or timeout INCLUDED PHP PACKAGES WORDPRESS 6.8 With just one tap you can run WordPress offline (using the included WordPress SQLite plugin) and develop themes and plugins for the popular platform. PHPMYADMIN Connect to EXTERNAL MySQL databases (MySQL is NOT included). PHPLITEADMIN Work with local SQLite databases. COMPOSER Use Composer v.2.1.12 to efficiently manage your dependencies. The package also includes an example project. For more information and answers to frequently asked questions please visit DraftCode's website. (Please follow the "Developer Website" link below.) Please note: - Included packages might not yet support all PHP versions available (check their website) - DraftCode's runtime currently does not support re-write rules - A MySQL database is NOT included. (We recommend using SQLite when working completely offline.) - A phpinfo() output of the current available runtime configurations is available on the DraftCode website, please follow the "Developer Website" link below. - In-App purchase pricing can be reviewed on this App Store page under "Information" by tapping the triangle next to 'In-App Purchases"

About

phpwin

Develop and debug PHP files offline with a built-in web server and Git client. This app provides a comprehensive environment for managing PHP projects, including code editing, file management, and support for popular frameworks.

Highlights
  • PHP 8 with extensions
  • Offline web server
  • Git client
  • Code editor with auto-complete
  • File manager
  • Standalone web app support
Features
Read full description

Turn your device into a web server with php support. With phpwin, you can develop, debug and manage PHP files offline without an internet connection using Scintilla script editor phpwin is a complete web server environment with PHP including POST/GET, sessions,openssl, libxml, curl, cookies... App features: - PHP 8 with most extensions (such as MySQL, SQLite, Curl, OpenSSL, SOAP, ImageMagick, PostgreSQL...) - Custom URL rules - Set iCloud drive as document root - Git client - Code editor - Auto-Complete - Image editor - Latest version of Composer - In-App Safari Web browser - html/js/css beautifiers in script editor - Multi-tabbed script/image editor - File manager - Set as standalone web application (Wordpress and Laravel supported) - Remote file manager (access multiple accounts) - FTP/SFTP/FTPS/iCloud managers - phpMyAdmin to access remote MySQL - phpLiteAdmin - Eruda (Console for Mobile Browsers) - Profiler - Syntax validator for PHP, HTML, JS & CSS - PHP lessons - "PHP: The Right Way" Book - Split screen on iPad - Multitasking on iPad Standalone web application feature allows you to use your web application in fullscreen at startup, similar to PhoneGap but with the support of PHP. Note: phpwin doesn't include MySQL server, only phpMyAdmin. For more information & inquiries please contact me through phpwin's website

Screenshots

DraftCode for PHP IDE4 screens
phpwin4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: phpwin at Free against DraftCode for PHP IDE's $4.99. phpwin also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 3 months) and review sentiment (75% vs 66%). DraftCode for PHP IDE's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#71 vs unranked). On rating, ratings volume, 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

phpwin is free to download; DraftCode for PHP IDE costs $4.99 up front. DraftCode for PHP IDE sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and phpwin sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. 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 — 4.5 for DraftCode for PHP IDE against 4.4 for phpwin. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 88 and 37 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 66% of DraftCode for PHP IDE's written reviews are positive against 75% of phpwin's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DraftCode for PHP IDE ships an update every 3 months, phpwin every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
DraftCode for PHP IDE versus phpwin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDraftCode for PHP IDEphpwin
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (88 ratings) — better4.4 (37 ratings)
Positive reviews65.8% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings88 — better37
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#71 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.615 — better
Further details — not scored
Size184 MB172 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperSolesignal LimitedFiras Moussa

Customer experience

DraftCode for PHP IDE

All ratings88 ratings
Positive89.8%
Neutral3.4%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews155 reviews
Positive65.8%
Neutral14.8%
Negative19.4%

phpwin

All ratings37 ratings
Positive86.5%
Neutral5.4%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews116 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral8.6%
Negative16.4%

Bugs and requests

DraftCode for PHP IDE

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • Scrolling snaps back to original position
  • Undo function deletes arbitrary number of steps
  • App freezes after entering characters
  • Crashes on iOS 9 and older versions
  • JavaScript console viewer always empty
Show 10 more
  • Cannot navigate to specific lines efficiently
  • Scroll position jumps when switching files
  • File deletion is buggy when deleting multiple files
  • Dropbox conflicted copy files created by autosave
  • iCloud file sync not automatic
  • Keyboard layout makes coding difficult
  • App loses work after tapping run
  • Address bar shows 'about:blank' and 'Not Found'
  • Cannot paste projects from Dropbox (helper app error)
  • Syntax highlighting slow on large files

Requested features

20 requests
  • Search and find/replace functionality
  • FTP and Dropbox integration
  • Updated PHP versions
  • Multiple syntax highlighting themes
  • Git/GitHub integration
Show 15 more
  • Ability to access localhost from external browsers
  • Font size adjustment controls
  • Code completion and snippets
  • Multi-project support
  • Drupal and CraftCMS support
  • MySQL full support
  • SSH/SFTP access
  • Swipe gestures throughout UI
  • Light theme option
  • Extended keyboard with more shortcuts
  • Undo/redo improvements
  • Split-screen multitasking support
  • phpMyAdmin updates
  • Manual save option instead of autosave
  • GD library support

phpwin

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

DraftCode for PHP IDE

One-time6
  • PHP 7.2 RuntimeFree
  • PHP 7.3 RuntimeFree
  • PHP 8.2 RuntimeFree
Show 3 more
  • PHP 8.1 RuntimeFree
  • PHP 8.0.28 RuntimeFree
  • PHP 8.5 Runtime$4.99
2 purchases

phpwin

One-time2
  • Unlock all features$4.99
  • Standalone Web Application$9.99

Questions

Is DraftCode for PHP IDE free?
DraftCode for PHP IDE costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is phpwin free?
phpwin is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, DraftCode for PHP IDE or phpwin?
DraftCode for PHP IDE is rated higher. DraftCode for PHP IDE averages 4.5 out of 5 from 88 ratings, while phpwin averages 4.4 from 37 ratings.
Do DraftCode for PHP IDE or phpwin have ads?
phpwin shows ads; DraftCode for PHP IDE does not.
Which is updated more often, DraftCode for PHP IDE or phpwin?
DraftCode for PHP IDE ships an update every 3 months, and phpwin every 6 weeks. Most recently, DraftCode for PHP IDE was updated on September 20, 2026 and phpwin on September 21, 2026.

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