# Not Emacs vs Lightweight Text Editor

The clearest difference is price: Not Emacs at Free against Lightweight Text Editor's $2.99. Not Emacs also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 26 months) and iOS requirement (6.1 vs 15.0). Lightweight Text Editor's advantage is review sentiment (84% vs 50%) and rating (4.3 vs 4.0). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Not Emacs is free to download; Lightweight Text Editor costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Lightweight Text Editor holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 21 and 58 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Not Emacs's written reviews are positive against 84% of Lightweight Text Editor's.

Not Emacs ships an update every 2 weeks, Lightweight Text Editor every 26 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Not Emacs | Lightweight Text Editor |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $2.99 |
| Rating | [4.0 (21 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/not-emacs/id948330589/reviews) | **[4.3 (58 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lightweight-text-editor/id1626906348/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 21 | **58** |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | **83.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 26 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 18 MB | 1 MB |
| Requires iOS | **6.1** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Marc Feeley](https://appshunter.io/developer/434534079) | [Erik Wegener](https://appshunter.io/developer/424482392) |

## What reviewers say

### Not Emacs

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/not-emacs/id948330589)

A programmer's text editor that mimics common Emacs keybindings and supports iCloud document syncing across devices. It offers syntax highlighting for several languages and is optimized for external keyboards, with an extended virtual keyboard as a backup.

**Highlights:** Emacs keybinding support, iCloud document editing, Syntax highlighting (Lisp, Scheme, JS, CSS, XML), External Bluetooth keyboard optimization, Extended virtual keyboard

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Lightweight Text Editor

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lightweight-text-editor/id1626906348)

This app allows users to work with plain text files without formatting concerns. It can open any text file, create folders for organization, and adjust encoding and line endings.

**Highlights:** Open any plain text file, Create folders for organization, Change text encoding, Adjust line endings (CR/LF/CRLF), No formatting concerns

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Not Emacs free?

Not Emacs is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Lightweight Text Editor free?

Lightweight Text Editor costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Not Emacs or Lightweight Text Editor?

Lightweight Text Editor is rated higher. Not Emacs averages 4.0 out of 5 from 21 ratings, while Lightweight Text Editor averages 4.3 from 58 ratings.

### Do Not Emacs or Lightweight Text Editor have ads?

Neither Not Emacs nor Lightweight Text Editor shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Not Emacs or Lightweight Text Editor?

Not Emacs ships an update every 2 weeks, and Lightweight Text Editor every 26 months. Most recently, Not Emacs was updated on October 16, 2026 and Lightweight Text Editor on October 20, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*