Runestone Text Editor
Edit plain text and code
How much does Runestone Text Editor cost?
Prices are current as of 30 Sept 2026.
1 one-time purchase from $9.99
In the United States, Runestone Text Editor has 1 one-time purchase priced $9.99.
| Product | Price |
|---|---|
| Premium | $9.99 |
10+ alternatives to Runestone Text Editor
| Runestone Text Editor |   Text Editor. |   Git client - Working Copy |   xTerminal - SSH Terminal Shell |   Textastic Code Editor |   Pyto IDE |   a-Shell |   Terminal# |   Web Inspector |   Swifty Compiler: Swift IDE |   Kodex | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating / 5 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.2 |
| Reviews | 5.2K | 12K | 11K | 8.2K | 8K | 3.8K | 2K | 1.1K | 843 | 741 | 686 |
| Released | 2022 | 2019 | 2014 | 2020 | 2016 | 2018 | 2019 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018 |
| Monthly price | — | — | — | $6.99 | $2.99 | — | — | $2.99 | — | — | — |
| Annual price | — | $9.99 | — | $29.99 | $19.99 | — | — | $19.99 | — | — | — |
| One-time price | $9.99 | — | $17.99 | $59.99 | $69.99 | $7.99 | — | $5.99 | — | — | — |
The going rate for each plan in United States, in its own currency, shaded from the cheapest price on the row to the dearest. Plans fewer than four in ten of the priced apps sell are left out.
Runestone Text Editor reviews
4.7 out of 5, based on 5,215 reviews.
What people like
- Very fast and lightweight to use
- Syntax highlighting works for almost every language
- Clean interface that respects your file system
- One time purchase is a great bargain
What they complain about
- Crashes often and loses your work
- Many useful features are locked behind paywall
- Auto-indentation does not work for many files
- Copy paste adds weird extra line breaks
The developer’s editor
Great tool for specialized text editing — exactly what I needed.
Do not use this app
Spent 4 hours on a doc and when I went to save nothing happened. Tried manually saving, nothing. Closed the app and reverted all edits back to default. Absolute trash
Almost perfect
I really like this coffee editor. There are a couple of limitations, which Textastic has that would be great on this app, such as having tabs to fast switch between files, as well as a better system for syncing with Dropbox or Sync. The fast tab switching makes it really easy to compare versions of code. Otherwise it is great!
Linebreaks copy paste bug
Editor is inserting 7 additional linebreaks for each linebreak when copy pasting a section that includes linebreaks, needs fix. Also the app is very unstable(it became more so recently?), editing existing text almost always crashes the app if it involves multiple lines at once or is done too fast. Great design but leaves much to be desired in stability
It’s not bad, but not great.
Pros: Allows you to write code. Allows file creation. Allows file import. Autosave Con: (This is the reason I’m going to look for a better app) No way to view pages created! You have to upload your pages on your site to view and edit again, upload again. This gets old real fast!
Best Text Editor Around
This app is such a bargain. You get a really good editor for free, or, even better, the perfect editor for just a few bucks. If there were a Mac version, it would be my default editor alongside vim. This app offers syntax highlighting for every file format I could ever need, even including LaTeX. And the interface, including the file browser, is clean and simple. I wish I had found this app earlier.
Sometines, it doesn’t save your document!
After experiencing this for the second time, I had to delete this app from my devices, so I don’t make a mistake of using it again. It occasionally silently failes to save the document, even when you explicitly click on the Save menu. Surprise and terror when you open the document later. Avoid!
Good app, needs code preview
I use Runestone to view and edit code, and to view plain text documents. When it comes to code, the feature set is ok. I subscribed to premium. I appreciate the one time purchase as opposed to subscription. The only feature I really want that isn’t included is a preview of the code. A side-by-side view, code/preview, would be awesome.
Deletes ton of work
This would be a good text editor if it wasn't so buggy. Crashes a lot and when the keyboard accidently selected everything and I kept typing, theres not really an easy way to undo, so if you haven't backed it up, Youre a screwed.
Tabs broken
Generally a good text editor. However, tab functionality is badly broken. This makes it next to useless for what I want to edit. I’m not going to spend my life endlessly entering spaces to get code to line up.
I love this app
I have fallen in love with this app. It is my go-to text app for writing. I do have one feature on my wish list: word count. Can you please add a word count option on the status line? That would take this app over the top for writers. Please?
Crash boom
Tried a simple regex. Destroyed my file then crashed so I couldn’t undo.
Functional
Pretty, functional, but doesn’t Fold YAML, which was my entire reason for purchase. So.
Good, but missing a couple of key functions (for me).
Runestone is in many ways one of the better text editors for IPad that I’ve tried, but it’s missing the “Share Sheet” iPadOS function and a refresh function. The lack of those means I can’t use it with shortcuts I frequently use.
Does not support XML
HTML and Markdown are supported, XML seems like an obvious addition. I was able to find what I wanted in one case by treating the file as HTML. Seems like an easy to use app. I’d happily pay the premium if it handled XML.
Simple and clean
I like the simplicity of the app. Would it be possible to add a preview view for html or markdown? Let know if it’s in premium purchase and I’ll get it asap.
Very bad
This editor doesn’t allow for and deleting stuff you have cut. When you copy and paste, it also adds seven carriage returns to the end of the each line so that you have to go through and delete them by hand. I do not recommend this editor
Good IDE (for $10)
Most features are locked behind a paywall. If you're fine paying for it, go ahead! I'm sure you'll love it, otherwise no line count, line select, or colors for you. also you won't be able to disable text wrapping :/ it's still better than writing code in notepad though, you have buttons above the keyboard for a few keys and you can hold them down for more Overall, just use Koder
Can no longer recommend
I was initially delighted with this App and paid for the premium version. However, with use I have found bugs, and reported them via Github but there has been zero support from the developer. Others have also reported issues which are also waiting to be addressed. The editor support for soft tabs doesn't work for me which is a fairly fundamental feature and makes the editor useless for YAML files and many others. Such a shame but it's rime to move on.
Not enough
How do you autofill redundant meta data??
Fun to learn
Works fast and you don’t get stuck on a tor browser in another language
This is soo because i thing i got hacked
It’s bad
Change the name man
I can never find this damn app when I search of it, like ever! It’s a cool app it just needs a better keyword I think, here is was Brave Browser Leo said “Ha, fair point! "Runestone" is definitely an unusual choice for a text editor app — not exactly intuitive when you're searching for something to edit plain text files. At least you found it though!” It’s a great app though
Crashes on undo after replace
Looks Nice, but currently crashes after attempting undo after a simple find and replace.
Line height setting
Hello I just bought the premium because I liked the line height option but was hoping you would be able to decrease it from 1.0 instead of only being able to increase it. I’m a data nerd and the more information I can fit onto my screen the better I’m sure you guys get it. I also with I could have multiple files open in tabs like how Kodex does it
Saved my family
huge help back in ‘21. thank you Runestone!
Auto saves without prompting
Lord. Don’t test on a file that matters. Did a find a replacement test… it saves without asking… clicked undo, it crashed… original corrupted. Great work. Auto save is a Great option. OPTION. Christ how many years did we spend clicking NO to “replace original file?” On save. Remember… iterations? File1, file1a, etc etc…
Needs Vim keybindings
Vim keybindings, please
G
Why can’t I run the code arghh
Basf
Some limitations without premium version
Excellent text editor for iOS
Allows awesome text editing on iOS. Doesn’t hijack the default viewer (like literally EVERY OTHER iOS text editor I’ve tried) but easy to open files with when I _do_ want to use it. I’d give it 6, 7, even 8 stars if I could!!
What is this even
It’s a mystery.
Very good editor
This editor is great in many ways. I particularly like the close integration with the file system of the iPad, enabling the user to edit in place documents that are stored in other apps like Documents. I was wondering, though, about the possibility of adding newlines at the end of each line-break forced by the screen width. E.g. if I adjust the screen width to be 70 characters, would it be possible to add in a newline at each apparent break, making it a real break, instead of having the whole paragraph be one long line. I’m thinking of writing LaTeX documents that I then export back to my Linux box for final editing with Vim, where, of course, it is traditional and useful to have a series of short lines of about 70 characters.
The last update introduced a bug.
App version: 1.5.2 iOS version: 17.7.1 When making a new file the save button doesn’t work and sometimes crashes. To replicate, open the app press the + make a file name, choose the extension and press save. The save button recognises the interaction but nothing happens. Otherwise 5 star app! It’s lightweight and good for ideas on the move if I’m not at my computer I can just save it and finish on my computer.
It could be 5…
It’s really good I like it more than a lot of others the problem is it crashes a lot. Both on iPad and iPhone it freezes up a lot. I'm using the copilot app research app for personal use fails and crashes in the middle of me working maybe 50,000 characters big but not insanely big. It will freeze up with without being used. Not recommended to go over 100,000 characters it can open them but it will crash if you try to View them Beyond what's visible. Searching for other apps that won't do this. Y'all need to know because it's really good but this is the exact reason why I will not pay $10 and why I am regretful I paid 10 for a Pythonista because it freezes just trying to open tech files bigger than 1000 characters not exaggerating
open source
very useful
App unable to access any of my files.
Originally I liked the app and paid for the premium version. But now if I try to create a new file the app window flashes on and off a few times then shows the message that 'something went wrong when displaying your files'. I can edited existing text files but not create any new ones.
Please add pinch to zoom!
Love the app otherwise
Meh
Half of the features are behind a paywall. The main reason I wanted this app was for syntax highlighting and horizontal scrolling, however the latter was only in premium. Even without that, when I created a Python file and pasted in some code that used to live in my notes, for some reason pressing backspace would immediately crash the app, not allowing me to do any editing or move forward. Please fix this. Update: it’s now magically fixed.
Keyboard missing
3 stars because the coding keyboard shown in the first screenshot doesn’t appear on my iPad, and editing code with the standard, virtual keyboard is cumbersome. Shame, because otherwise it looks very good, and I’d have paid for the premium features. There is a keyboard on the iPhone but I want to use my iPad!
Exactly what I need!
This is the perfect little app for when AI gives me text for various formats of docs and I need to copy them in and make sure the format is going to be right and it will save where I need. Thanks so much!
Deleted my stuff
Was good at first but I get on today and both files disappeared without a trace. Not even in my recently deleted so I have no idea where they are. :( Had these files for months and one at least I have a good-ish copy of elsewhere, but isn’t really ideal. No they weren’t temporary files.
Good, but lacks some indent support
This is my favourite iPad text editor, as it’s really quick, intuitive and looks nice. My only problem is that with a lot of file types it doesn’t auto-indent, which becomes very annoying after a while.
Missing keyboard Features
Im somewhat surprised that a text editor lacks the pretty basic feature PageUp & PageDown Botth Ctrl and Cmd up/down goes to start end of file. Since no iPad keyboards that I know of have native PgUp/Dn this would be a pretty essential feature. Please add and I will rate it higher! I give a plus for suporting move selection by using Opt arrow, but without PgUp/Dn it doesnt matter much since the tool is not practical to use in the first lace.
How do you run code on an iPad?
I can’t figure out how to run the code for the text editor. Can it be run from the files app in Ipad (if it locate the editor)? Edit: Don’t take the rating seriously, I literally just downloaded this app so I can’t form an opinion.
Sickening to watch
Funny thing is the people who don’t know what they’re getting themselves into are not the ones to blame but they do have the ability to make their own decisions about what they’re actually doing with the time they have left to spend with the joker’s life…
Can’t Copy/Paste! Want a refund, but can’t get one
The first thing I was offered after purchase was a refund, but I didn’t select that, because I hadn’t tried it yet. Then the very first thing I tried to do (Copy/Paste from another text file) proved impossible! NOW I want a refund, but of course now that option is no longer available. Scam.
Almost the best code editor for iPad
Syntax highlighting for almost every language? Check! (At least, that I use) Really cool colours and themes? Check! Sync across devices and through iCloud? Check! If you want to code on the go, this is for you! The only thing I think is missing is an auto-indent and auto-expansion when you insert a new line inside curly braces like I have on desktop code editors. If that was a check, this would easily get my 5th star.
Yeah am I just dumb
Because I don’t think I can run my code.
My Review
My 3* review could be increased, if the developer could please explain how when both saving or searching for files. The user can navigate folders etc similar to the Files application? By default this App saves to Apples iCloud which could possibly be an Apple restriction. For my phone I have configured multiple connections G drive, Dropbox etc also to my NAS. If this app could navigate already active connections to view and edit files I’d be happy to 5*
Runestone Text Editor price by country
A one-time purchase costs $9.15 in Canada and $15.12 in Colombia — 1.7× more for the same thing. Below is the going rate for each plan in every country that sells it — the middle price of what the app charges there, in the country's own currency with the dollar equivalent beneath it.
| Country | One-time |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | $9.99 |
| Albania | $11.99 |
| Algeria | $9.99 |
| Angola | $9.99 |
| Anguilla | $9.99 |
| Antigua And Barbuda | $9.99 |
| Argentina | $9.99 |
| Armenia | $11.99 |
| Australia | A$14.99$10.48 |
| Austria | €9.99$11.60 |
| Azerbaijan | $11.99 |
| Bahamas | $9.99 |
| Bahrain | $9.99 |
| Barbados | $11.99 |
| Belarus | $11.99 |
| Belgium | €9.99$11.37 |
| Belize | $9.99 |
| Benin | $11.99 |
| Bermuda | $9.99 |
| Bhutan | $9.99 |
| Bolivia | $9.99 |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | €9.99$11.37 |
| Botswana | $9.99 |
| Brazil | R$59.90$11.50 |
| British Virgin Islands | $9.99 |
| Brunei Darussalam | $9.99 |
| Bulgaria | €9.99$11.37 |
| Burkina Faso | $9.99 |
| Cambodia | $9.99 |
| Cameroon | $11.99 |
| Canada | CA$12.99$9.15 |
| Cape Verde | $9.99 |
| Cayman Islands | $9.99 |
| Chad | $9.99 |
| Chile | CLP 9,990$10.39 |
| China | CN¥68.00$10.12 |
| Colombia | COP 49,900$15.12 |
| Congo | $11.99 |
| Congo, Democratic Republic | $9.99 |
| Costa Rica | $9.99 |
| Cote Divoire | $11.99 |
| Croatia | €9.99$11.37 |
| Cyprus | €9.99$11.37 |
| Czech Republic | CZK 249.00$11.61 |
| Denmark | DKK 89.00$13.55 |
| Dominica | $9.99 |
| Dominican Republic | $9.99 |
| Ecuador | $9.99 |
| Egypt | EGP 499.99$9.60 |
| El Salvador | $9.99 |
| Estonia | €9.99$11.37 |
| Fiji | $9.99 |
| Finland | €9.99$11.37 |
| France | €9.99$11.37 |
| Gabon | $9.99 |
| Gambia | $9.99 |
| Georgia | $11.99 |
| Germany | €9.99$11.37 |
| Ghana | $11.99 |
| Greece | €9.99$11.37 |
| Grenada | $9.99 |
| Guatemala | $9.99 |
| Guinea-bissau | $9.99 |
| Guyana | $9.99 |
| Honduras | $9.99 |
| Hong Kong | HK$88.00$11.22 |
| Hungary | HUF 4,490$13.91 |
| Iceland | $11.99 |
| India | ₹999.00$10.40 |
| Indonesia | IDR 169,000$9.57 |
| Iraq | $9.99 |
| Ireland | €9.99$11.37 |
| Israel | ₪29.90$9.74 |
| Italy | €9.99$11.37 |
| Jamaica | $9.99 |
| Japan | ¥1,500$9.53 |
| Jordan | $9.99 |
| Kazakhstan | KZT 5,990.00$13.59 |
| Kenya | $11.99 |
| Kosovo | €9.99$11.37 |
| Kuwait | $9.99 |
| Kyrgyzstan | $9.99 |
| Lao Peoples Democratic Republic | $9.99 |
| Latvia | €9.99$11.37 |
| Lebanon | $9.99 |
| Liberia | $9.99 |
| Libya | $9.99 |
| Lithuania | €9.99$11.37 |
| Luxembourg | €9.99$11.37 |
| Macao | $9.99 |
| Macedonia | $9.99 |
| Madagascar | $9.99 |
| Malawi | $9.99 |
| Malaysia | MYR 49.90$12.35 |
| Maldives | $9.99 |
| Mali | $9.99 |
| Malta | €9.99$11.37 |
| Mauritania | $9.99 |
| Mauritius | $11.99 |
| Mexico | MX$199.00$11.12 |
| Micronesia | $9.99 |
| Moldova | $11.99 |
| Mongolia | $9.99 |
| Montenegro | €9.99$11.37 |
| Montserrat | $9.99 |
| Morocco | $11.99 |
| Mozambique | $9.99 |
| Myanmar | $9.99 |
| Namibia | $9.99 |
| Nauru | $9.99 |
| Nepal | $11.99 |
| Netherlands | €9.99$11.37 |
| New Zealand | NZ$19.99$11.76 |
| Nicaragua | $9.99 |
| Niger | $9.99 |
| Nigeria | NGN 14,900.00$11.27 |
| Norway | NOK 129.00$13.54 |
| Oman | $9.99 |
| Pakistan | PKR 2,900$10.47 |
| Palau | $9.99 |
| Panama | $9.99 |
| Papua New Guinea | $9.99 |
| Paraguay | $9.99 |
| Peru | PEN 44.90$13.13 |
| Philippines | ₱599.00$9.55 |
| Poland | PLN 49.99$13.02 |
| Portugal | €9.99$11.60 |
| Qatar | QAR 39.99$10.99 |
| Romania | RON 49.99$11.04 |
| Russia | RUB 899.00$10.66 |
| Rwanda | $9.99 |
| Sao Tome & Principe | $9.99 |
| Saudi Arabia | SAR 39.99$10.66 |
| Senegal | $11.99 |
| Serbia | €9.99$11.37 |
| Seychelles | $9.99 |
| Sierra Leone | $9.99 |
| Singapore | SGD 14.98$11.80 |
| Slovakia | €9.99$11.37 |
| Slovenia | €9.99$11.37 |
| Solomon Islands | $9.99 |
| South Africa | ZAR 199.99$12.19 |
| South Korea | ₩17,000$12.51 |
| Spain | €9.99$11.37 |
| Sri Lanka | $9.99 |
| St. Kitts and Nevis | $9.99 |
| St. Lucia | $9.99 |
| St. Vincent & The Grenadines | $9.99 |
| Suriname | $9.99 |
| Swaziland | $9.99 |
| Sweden | SEK 129.00$12.95 |
| Switzerland | CHF 9.00$11.12 |
| Taiwan | NT$320.00$10.06 |
| Tajikistan | $9.99 |
| Tanzania | TZS 29,900.00$11.30 |
| Thailand | THB 399.00$11.88 |
| Tonga | $9.99 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | $9.99 |
| Tunisia | $9.99 |
| Turkey | TRY 499.99$10.20 |
| Turkmenistan | $9.99 |
| Turks and Caicos | $9.99 |
| Uganda | $11.99 |
| Ukraine | $11.99 |
| United Arab Emirates | AED 39.99$10.90 |
| United Kingdom | £9.99$13.25 |
| United States | $9.99 |
| Uruguay | $9.99 |
| Uzbekistan | $9.99 |
| Vanuatu | $9.99 |
| Venezuela | $9.99 |
| Vietnam | ₫299,000$11.54 |
| Yemen | $9.99 |
| Zambia | $11.99 |
| Zimbabwe | $11.99 |
Runestone Text Editor FAQ
- Is Runestone Text Editor free?
- Yes. The app and its basic features are free, in all 175 countries it sells in. Premium features are paid: they start from $9.99 (US), across 1 one-time purchase.
- Does Runestone Text Editor have a free trial?
- No. None of its offers (US) come with a free trial.
- Where is Runestone Text Editor cheapest?
- A one-time purchase costs CA$12.99 (≈$9.15) in Canada and COP 49,900 (≈$15.12) in Colombia, its cheapest and dearest countries.
- What are the best alternatives to Runestone Text Editor?
- Text Editor. (4.4 from 11,908 reviews, premium from $0.99), Git client - Working Copy (4.8 from 10,719 reviews, premium from $1.99) and xTerminal - SSH Terminal Shell (4.6 from 8,164 reviews, premium from $6.99).
Runestone Text Editor download
Last updated 26 days ago.
Runestone Text Editor sells in 175 countries. It was released 4 years and 5 months ago, on 5 May 2022. It holds a 4.7 rating from 5,215 reviews.
Supports 1 language: English.
How much does Runestone Text Editor make?
Third-party estimates for the last 30 days, worldwide — not the store's own figures, which Apple publishes for nobody.
Revenue by plan
- One-time 100%
Revenue by country
- United States 50%
- Germany 9%
- United Kingdom 6%
- Canada 5%