iDig vs Cuneiform Edit
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iDig
This tool helps archaeologists create digital records directly from excavation sites. It streamlines data collection, synchronization across devices, and visualization of excavation data from multiple perspectives. Users can import existing plans, add custom fields, and export data in standard formats.
- Digital field recording
- Wireless connection to total stations
- Data synchronization across multiple iPads
- 3D data visualization
- Import and georeference scanned drawings
- Customizable fields
- Export data in standard formats
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iDig is a tool for archaeologists. It has been developed and field-tested at the Athenian Agora Excavations of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/excavations/athenian-agora). Other excavations and institutes collaborating in the development of iDig include: American/Greek excavations at the Ismenion sanctuary (Thebes), Corinth Excavations, Belgian/Dutch fieldwork at Thorikos, British excavations at Keros, the Casa della Regina Carolina (CRC) Project at Pompeii, the Eastern Boeotia Archaeological Project at Eleon, the Greek underwater survey in the Argo-Saronic Gulf, the Lechaion Harbor and Settlement Land Project, the Molyvoti (Thrace) Archaeological Project, the Packard Humanities Institute, the Teos Excavation Project of Ankara University, Swiss excavations at Eretria and Amarynthos (Euboia), and the Northwest Bolsena Archaeological Project at Valle Gianni. iDig is designed to produce digital records in the field and is heavily optimized for excavation workflows. iDig connects wirelessly to Leica Total Stations and keeps excavation data in sync on multiple iPads, streamlining collaboration during the excavation process. Using animation, an excavator can see and track data from different perspectives: top plan, cross section, and spatial and temporal matrix layouts. Scanned drawings and plans can be quickly imported and georeferenced right in the app. Custom fields can be added and excavation records from previous seasons can be imported and connected to the current work for real-time data integration. Excavation data can be exported in standard formats from the built-in web server and reports can be saved incrementally using simple URL bookmarks. An external “iDig Server” application can be used to synchronize and version all excavation data into a standard GIT repository (https://github.com/iDig-Recording-Archaeology/idig-server). The version of iDig released here contains unpublished data from two trenches excavated in 2013. The formal study of this data will be published in Hesperia, the official journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/publications/hesperia).
Cuneiform Edit
Edit text in Sumerian and Akkadian languages with a custom cuneiform keyboard. Save your work in UTF-8 format and transmit it via email. Can also function as a standard text editor.
- Cuneiform keyboard for Unicode text
- Edit Sumerian and Akkadian languages
- Save text in UTF-8 format
- Mail transmission function
- Customizable keyboard settings
- Standard text editor functionality
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This application is text editor with cuneiform keyboard for unicode text. This text editor can edit sumerian language and akkadian language. Text data can be saved in UTF-8 format. This app is equipped with a mail transmission function. This app includes a custom cuneiform keyboard. In order to use custom keyboard, you need to manual setting in iOS “settings” screen. if you don’t use the cuneiform Keyboard, you can use this application as normal text editor. Procedures for using the custom keyboard 1 Please update to the latest version of iOS, if possible.If the version of the OS is old, might be custom keyboard can not be selected. 2. Return to home screen. 3. Open the Settings app. 4. Select General > Keyboard > Keyboards. 5. Touch “Add New Keyboard”. 6. Please check the item “CuneiformEdit” in “THIRD-PARTY KEYBOARDS” and select this. 7. Now you can use the cuneiform keyboard. Changing the keyboard can be done by touching the globe key.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: iDig at 5.0 against Cuneiform Edit's 4.3. iDig also leads on iOS requirement (9.3 vs 12.0). Cuneiform Edit's advantage is ratings volume (27 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
iDig holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cuneiform Edit has 27 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
iDig ships an update every 17 months, Cuneiform Edit every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on June 11, 2026 and August 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iDig | Cuneiform Edit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 4.3 (27 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 84.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 27 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 17 months | Every 14 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.3 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bruce Hartzler | Kazunari Hiyoshi |
Customer experience
iDig
Cuneiform Edit
In-app purchases
iDig
No in-app purchases
Cuneiform Edit
No in-app purchases









