Comparison

Expo Go vs Runestone Text Editor

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

Head to head
About

Expo Go

Build mobile applications using web technologies like JavaScript and React. This tool allows you to develop interactive experiences with gestures and graphics directly from your iOS device and computer. Some programming experience is recommended for optimal use.

Highlights
  • Build apps with web technologies
  • Interactive gesture and graphics development
  • JavaScript and React support
  • iOS device and computer integration
  • React Native 0.81.1 support
Features
Read full description

Start learning to build projects using web technologies with just your iOS device. Expo Go is an educational developer tool for learning to create experiences with interactive gestures and graphics using JavaScript and React. Note: some basic programming experience is recommended. Technical specs: this version of Expo uses React Native 0.86

About

Runestone Text Editor

A powerful plain text and code editor for iPhone and iPad. Offers syntax highlighting, line numbers, find and replace, and extensive customization options for developers and writers.

Highlights
  • Syntax highlighting for many languages
  • Customizable themes and fonts
  • Advanced find and replace
  • Line numbers and cursor location
  • Code formatting with Prettier.js
  • Multiple windows on iPad
Features
Read full description

A plain text editor with syntax highlighting, line numbers, search and replace, page guide, and much more. It's like TextEdit but more powerful and optimised for iPhone and iPad. Runestone is made by a single person with a love for text editors and a vision of building the most lightweight text editor for iPhone and iPad that still has the core features for editing code. Features: - Syntax highlighting of many languages including HTML, JavaScript, JSON, Markdown, Swift, Python, PHP, YAML, and many more. - Select one of the twelve standard themes including popular themes like Tomorrow, Dracula, Solarized, and One Dark Pro. - Innovative find and replace for searching and modifying text while still viewing your file. - Choose font and font size, including support for custom fonts imported using another third-party app. - Show the line and column the cursor is located on. - Uses the standard document browser for an experience similar to the Files app. - Quickly navigate to a specific line. - Automatically close opening brackets and quotes. - Multiple windows on the iPad. - Format code using Prettier.js. Supported languages include CSS,HTML, JavaScript, JSON, PHP and more. - Choose text encoding between popular encodings like UTF-8, UTF-16, ISO Latin 1, and many more. - Enable or disable autocorrection, autocapitalization, and smart punctuation. - Set default file extension of new files. - Open files in Runestone from the Share Sheet. - Print documents. Premium features: - Choose between eight app icons. - Show line numbers. - Highlight the selected line. - Increase line height and letter spacing. - Disable line wrapping to allow horizontal scrolling. - Show tabs, spaces, and line breaks using a selected symbol. - Enable page guide at a specific column to easily tell when lines are getting too long. - Add vertical and horizontal overscroll. - Remember the selected language per file. - Save file extensions and filenames that should always be treated as plain text files. - Enable soft tabs and choose the width of the tab character. - Specify whether pressing the tab key should insert a tab or indent the line. - Adjust the scaling of Markdown headings and disable highlighting of code blocks in Markdown. Runestone was built on the open-source framework with the same name. Find more information on the Runestone framework at github.com/simonbs/runestone

Screenshots

Expo Go4 screens
Runestone Text Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Expo Go at none against Runestone Text Editor's 1. Expo Go also leads on ratings volume (7.3K vs 2K) and chart position (#7 vs #26). Runestone Text Editor's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (76% vs 55%). On price, rating, update cadence and iOS requirement 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

Both are free to download. Runestone Text Editor sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Expo Go asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Expo Go against 4.7 for Runestone Text Editor. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7.3K and 2K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 55% of Expo Go's written reviews are positive against 76% of Runestone Text Editor's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Expo Go ships an update fortnightly, Runestone Text Editor every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Expo Go versus Runestone Text Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExpo GoRunestone Text Editor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (7.3K ratings) — better4.7 (2K ratings)
Positive reviews55.4% of reviews76.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7.3K — better2K
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#7 — better#26
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS16.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size109 MB64 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNametagSimon B. Støvring

Customer experience

Expo Go

All ratings7,282 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral1.0%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews1,009 reviews
Positive55.4%
Neutral8.4%
Negative36.2%

Runestone Text Editor

All ratings1,962 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral2.3%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews363 reviews
Positive76.0%
Neutral9.6%
Negative14.3%

User reviews

Expo Go

From 7.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth and fast development
  • 👍 Great for testing apps on real devices
  • 💡 Helpful for beginners and experts
  • 🚀 Efficient development process
  • 👍 Convenient and easy to use

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs after updates
  • 🔒 Compatibility issues with older versions
  • 🐛 Inability to open projects or scan QR codes
  • 🐛 Persistent login and account issues

Runestone Text Editor

From 2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💎 Excellent text editor
  • 🚀 Smooth and responsive
  • 🎨 Customizable themes and appearance
  • 🔒 Secure file storage and sync
  • 👍 Clean and intuitive interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
  • 🔍 Difficulty navigating files/folders
  • 📝 Limited functionality without premium
  • 🔌 Performance issues on older devices
  • 🔒 Difficulty accessing files in cloud storage

Bugs and requests

Expo Go

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes on startup
  • Unable to connect to development server
  • Persistent white screen issues
  • Inability to delete or manage accounts

Requested features

4 requests
  • Bring back QR code scanning functionality
  • Improve SDK compatibility and backward support
  • Add more customization and configuration options
  • Enhance debugging and error reporting tools

Runestone Text Editor

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Disappearing files
  • Difficulty pasting text
  • Scroll position not saved
  • Hangs on startup
  • Trouble opening large files
Show 1 more
  • Issues after iOS updates

Requested features

6 requests
  • Markdown preview
  • Code folding
  • Syntax highlighting for more languages
  • Ability to run/execute code
  • Multiple file/window support
Show 1 more
  • Improved undo/redo functionality

In-app purchases

None

Expo Go

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Runestone Text Editor

One-time1
  • Premium$9.99

Questions

Is Expo Go free?
Expo Go is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Runestone Text Editor free?
Runestone Text Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Expo Go or Runestone Text Editor?
Expo Go is rated higher. Expo Go averages 4.8 out of 5 from 7.3K ratings, while Runestone Text Editor averages 4.7 from 2K ratings.
Do Expo Go or Runestone Text Editor have ads?
Expo Go shows ads; Runestone Text Editor does not.
Which is updated more often, Expo Go or Runestone Text Editor?
Expo Go ships an update fortnightly, and Runestone Text Editor every 2 weeks. Most recently, Expo Go was updated on October 17, 2026 and Runestone Text Editor on October 16, 2026.
Which is more popular, Expo Go or Runestone Text Editor?
Expo Go currently peaks at #7 in the App Store charts, and Runestone Text Editor at #26. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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