Arikh vs M² Editor
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Arikh
A fast and simple native text editor for iPad and iPhone. It offers robust code editing with syntax highlighting for numerous languages, and prose writing features like Markdown preview and export options. Designed for professional use with a focus on privacy and a one-time purchase model.
- Syntax highlighting for 20+ languages
- Markdown preview and export
- Auto-save and tab management
- Find and replace with regex
- Split View and Slide Over support
- One-time purchase for iPad and Mac
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Arikh is a native text editor for iPad and iPhone. Fast, direct, and refreshingly simple: open a file, edit it, save it. EDIT ANYTHING Open files from the Files app, iCloud Drive, external drives, or any storage provider Twenty languages with syntax highlighting, plus plain text, CSV, and Markdown Tabs with drag-and-drop reordering Your open tabs come back exactly as you left them, unsaved work included New documents open instantly; choose where to save on the first save Auto-save keeps your files current as you type WRITE CODE Live syntax highlighting for Swift, Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML, CSS, JSON, XML, YAML, SQL, Go, Rust, Kotlin, Dart, PHP, Ruby, shell scripts, and more Seven highlighting themes Line numbers and Go to Line Format Document: Swift formatted with Apple's swift-format, JSON and XML re-indented, whitespace tidied everywhere else Find and replace with case-sensitive, whole-word, and regular-expression matching, including capture groups External keyboard shortcuts throughout WRITE PROSE Markdown preview that renders headings, lists, tables, task lists, code blocks, and images Export to Rich Text, HTML, and CSV, or share anywhere with the iOS share sheet Five text colors chosen to be easy on the eyes against the dark interface, and adjustable font size DESIGNED FOR iPAD Native performance with instant launch Split View and Slide Over Status bar with live word, line, and character counts and cursor position Document Info with size, dates, encoding, and line endings Recent files on the start screen and in the toolbar ONE PURCHASE, iPAD AND MAC Buy Arikh once and it is yours on both. No subscription, no account, no upsell. PRIVACY FIRST Your files stay in your Files app or iCloud Drive. No tracking, no analytics, nothing phones home. Arikh — Text Editor for iPad and iPhone By Deep Dark Abyss Productions Professional tools for professional work
M² Editor
A focused writing application for plain text users, offering a split-view editor and live preview on iPad, and a convenient formatting bar on iPhone. It supports various Markdown files and synchronizes scrolling between editor and preview panes.
- Split-view editor and live preview on iPad
- Formatting accessory bar on iPhone
- Heading-aware scroll synchronization
- CommonMark support including tables
- Opens various Markdown and text file types
- Adjustable font sizes and themes
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Your Markdown documents, with AI edits you control. M² Editor is a native writing workspace for iPhone and iPad. Open files from Files, iCloud Drive, or another file provider. Write in plain text, preview the result, and connect an AI server when you want help revising. REVIEW BEFORE YOU APPLY Ask for clearer wording, a better structure, or a focused revision. Choose selected text, the visible section with surrounding lines, or the whole document. Review streamed green additions and red removals, adjust the replacement, then Apply in Place or Discard. Your original stays unchanged until you apply. Native Undo/Redo restores or reapplies the edit. CONNECT TO YOUR AI Use Ollama or LM Studio on a reachable Mac/server, OpenAI, vLLM, NVIDIA NIM, or another OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Save multiple named connections, discover models, and switch resources with the options collapsed. Missing ports use provider defaults. Backend status and confirmed loaded-model indicators help show connection state where supported. NVIDIA NIM uses your NVIDIA Developer API key. Keys stay in device Keychain; saved previews show only the first four characters. The iPhone and iPad connect to the selected server; they do not run inference models themselves. Use a reachable LAN/Tailscale server or a cloud endpoint. Localhost refers to the phone or tablet. Public endpoints require HTTPS; trusted private-network HTTP is opt-in. MADE FOR BOTH SCREENS On iPad, keep AI controls beside the document and review changes in the workspace. On iPhone, a dedicated Document Changes screen keeps the review readable. Switch between Editor and Preview, use the centered formatting bar, and adjust appearance and font sizes. Create Document shows progress with Cancel and automatically opens a genuinely blank local file when ready. KEEP YOUR EDIT HISTORY Search this document or all documents, reuse instructions, and export Markdown or JSON through Files. Keep history local or select an iCloud Drive folder. Deleted history goes to Recently Deleted and can be restored. API keys are excluded from history and exports. NATIVE MARKDOWN TOOLS • Live rendered preview and syntax highlighting • Headings, nested lists, task lists, aligned tables, links, images, and code blocks • Formatting shortcuts for bold, italic, code, headings, links, lists, and quotes • Native Undo/Redo, adjustable fonts, and light/dark appearance • Linked editor/preview scrolling on iPad and Find in the rendered preview • Documents saved at the file locations you choose OPTIONAL AI, CLEAR DESTINATIONS Ordinary editing needs no AI service or app account. You supply the endpoint and any required credentials; third-party providers may have their own accounts, limits, and charges. Approve the displayed AI server and scope before the first suggestion. Only requested document text and your instruction go to that destination; model-list checks send no document text. There is no automatic cloud fallback. Remote providers handle submitted text under their own policies. Markdown parsing and preview layout run locally. Remote image URLs are fetched from their hosts. No analytics, advertising SDKs, or tracking are included. Document HTML/PDF export and printing are Mac features. Designed and built by Warren Zajac.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: M² Editor at Free against Arikh's $19.99. M² Editor also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3). Arikh's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 1.0). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and device support 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
M² Editor is free to download; Arikh costs $19.99 up front. Arikh sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. M² Editor asks for nothing beyond the download.
Arikh holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
Arikh ships an update every 7 months, M² Editor every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Arikh | M² Editor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 5 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 18.4 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | James Nerlinger | Warren Zajac |
Customer experience
Arikh
M² Editor
In-app purchases
Arikh
- Supporter$1.99
- Patron$4.99
- Champion$9.99
M² Editor
No in-app purchases









