Karel1981 vs Jedona
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Karel1981
Learn programming with a beginner-friendly language inspired by a robot. This educational tool introduces fundamental coding concepts through interactive exercises, making it ideal for those new to computer science.
- Beginner-friendly programming language
- Introduces fundamental coding concepts
- Interactive learning exercises
- Based on Karel The Robot book
- Ideal for computer science novices
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Karel is an educational programming language for beginners, created by Richard E.Pattis in his book Karel The Robot: A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Programming. Pattis used the language in his courses at Stanford University, California. The language is named after Karel Čapek, a Czech writer who introduced the word robot.
Jedona
Write, compile, and run Java code directly on your mobile device. Features include a custom keyboard, syntax highlighting, and iCloud integration. Ideal for learning and testing code snippets on the go.
- Compile and run Java programs
- View program output and errors
- Custom keyboard for special characters
- Syntax highlighting and line numbers
- iCloud Drive integration for file import/export
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Write Java code directly on your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch! This app is ideal for learning and testing code snippets! Java is a general-purpose programming language that is class-based and object-oriented. It is intended to let application developers write once, run anywhere (WORA), meaning that compiled Java code can run on all platforms that support Java without the need for recompilation. Java applications are typically compiled to bytecode that can run on any Java virtual machine (JVM) regardless of the underlying computer architecture. Features: - Compile and run your program - View program output or detailed error - Custom keyboard for easy input of frequently used characters - Optimized for connecting with external physical/bluetooth keyboard - Advanced source code editor with syntax highlighting, bracket completion and line numbers - Import files from your personal iCloud Drive account and export files that you create. Limitations: - Internet connection is required for compilation - Maximum program running time is 20s - One file can be run at a time - Some file system, network and graphics functions may be limited - This is a batch compiler; interactive programs are not supported. For example, if your program provides an input prompt, enter the input in the Input tab prior to compilation.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Karel1981 at 4.5 against Jedona's 3.4. Karel1981 also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). Jedona's advantage is ratings volume (60 vs 2) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months). On price 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
Both are free to download. Jedona sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Karel1981 asks for nothing beyond the download.
Karel1981 holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Jedona has 60 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Karel1981's written reviews are positive against 47% of Jedona's.
Karel1981 ships an update every 5 months, Jedona every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Karel1981 | Jedona |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (2 ratings) — better | 3.4 (60 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better | 46.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 60 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 65 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | IHPCI.org, z.s. | Ketan Appa |
Customer experience
Karel1981
Jedona
Bugs and requests
Karel1981
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Jedona
Reported bugs
20 issues- Scanner not working correctly
- Cannot use Scanner object more than once
- Input issues with keyboard
- Errors when compiling
- Code gets deleted
Show 15 moreShow fewer
- Cannot name classes freely
- Cannot use predefined packages like Math or Scanner
- Cannot download files from iCloud
- App not running
- JFrames/JPanels show X11 variable error
- Cannot use extends keyword
- File deletion/refactoring issues
- Keyboard disappears during typing
- UI buttons hidden by status bar
- Math class crashes
- Output lasts only 15 seconds
- Cannot import libraries in Sandbox mode
- Scanner returns errors
- Code corrections not accepted
- Cannot type with external keyboards
Requested features
20 requests- Add split option for output and input
- Add Maven support for dependencies
- Add real-time input
- Add option to pull from GitHub
- Add browser version
Show 15 moreShow fewer
- Add auto-completer
- Export in .jar
- Allow class instantiation from other files
- Improve input system for real-time interaction
- Add dark mode
- Allow users to name new files immediately
- Include a 'Save' function
- Allow user inputs to be written directly into the running program
- Make output time unlimited
- Expand reference page sections
- Add more typeface options
- Make cursor more visible
- Support for more predefined packages
- Allow multiple class instances
- Add offline mode
In-app purchases
Karel1981
No in-app purchases
Jedona
- Upgrade$2.99
