Comparison

IPA Phonetic Keyboard vs Flash Cards +

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

Head to head
About

IPA Phonetic Keyboard

This free keyboard provides easy access to all IPA and extended IPA symbols. Its intuitive layout mirrors the IPA chart, making symbol input fluid and efficient for linguists, language learners, and enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Full IPA chart (2020) symbols
  • ExtIPA chart (2016) symbols
  • Organized symbol sections
  • Intuitive symbol layout
  • Convenient input for common characters
  • Completely free, no ads
Read full description

Behold the first completely FREE IPA keyboard on the App Store designed for linguists, language learners, and hobbyists. It is designed to be lightweight and fluid, matching up to the user experience of the system emoji keyboard. =FEATURES= - Includes ALL symbols on the newest standard IPA chart (2020 ver.) - Includes most symbols (the ones available in Unicode) on the newest standard extIPA chart (2016 ver.) - Symbols are divided into sections just like the IPA chart(-duh!): consonants, non-pulmonic, other symbols, vowels, suprasegmentals, tones and word accents, and diacritics - Symbols are arranged naturally, with a layout designed for you to find the symbols you want more quickly (especially the vowels, it's cleverly designed to match the layout on the IPA chart) - Convenient input for "[]", "//", "~", "◌", space, and return on the top of the keyboard - Completely free, NO ADS =EXTERNAL LINKS= For more information on IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet The developer, Vince14Genius's GitHub: https://www.github.com/Vince14Genius/

About

Flash Cards +

Create and manage digital flash card decks for efficient studying. Record questions and answers by speaking to your phone, then share decks with friends to collaborate on learning. Organize study materials conveniently on your device.

Highlights
  • Create and manage flash card decks
  • Record questions and answers via voice input
  • Share flash cards with friends
  • Organize study materials
  • Digital alternative to physical notecards
Features
Read full description

Tests worth of information stored conveniently in your phone. Quickly create and manage decks of flash cards to ensure you receive the grades you deserve. Easily send your flash cards to friends to spread the studying around. Flash Cards Plus allows you to enter card questions and answers just by speaking to your phone! It's not magic we promise, but it will sure help you study. Get rid of all your messy notecards and study with Flash Cards Plus!

Screenshots

IPA Phonetic Keyboard4 screens
Flash Cards +4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Flash Cards + at none against IPA Phonetic Keyboard's 3. Flash Cards + also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 14.0). IPA Phonetic Keyboard's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 4.2) and review sentiment (92% vs 73%). On price, ratings volume, ads and monetization model 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. IPA Phonetic Keyboard sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Flash Cards + asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

IPA Phonetic Keyboard holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 172 and 87 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of IPA Phonetic Keyboard's written reviews are positive against 73% of Flash Cards +'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

IPA Phonetic Keyboard ships an update every 4 months, Flash Cards + every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
IPA Phonetic Keyboard versus Flash Cards +: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIPA Phonetic KeyboardFlash Cards +
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (172 ratings) — better4.2 (87 ratings)
Positive reviews92.1% of reviews — better72.7% of reviews
Number of ratings172 — better87
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS14.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVincent CaiBrady Carey

Customer experience

IPA Phonetic Keyboard

All ratings172 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral2.3%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews126 reviews
Positive92.1%
Neutral3.2%
Negative4.8%

Flash Cards +

All ratings87 ratings
Positive80.5%
Neutral4.6%
Negative14.9%
Written reviews66 reviews
Positive72.7%
Neutral10.6%
Negative16.7%

User reviews

IPA Phonetic Keyboard

From 172 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Convenient IPA keyboard
  • 💡 Extensive IPA symbol coverage
  • 🚀 Smooth and responsive
  • 🤩 Great for linguistics and conlanging
  • 🎨 Visually appealing design

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Paid access for some symbols
  • 🔍 Keyboard layout could be more customizable
  • 🐛 Occasional keyboard switching issues
  • 🔇 Keyboard clicking sounds can't be disabled

Flash Cards +

From 87 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use and straightforward
  • 💰 Free to use with minimal ads
  • 🚀 Efficient for studying and memorization
  • 🗣️ Good voice recognition for card creation
  • ✅ No account required, simple setup

Room to improve

  • 😠 Frequent and disruptive ads
  • 🚫 No option to remove ads permanently
  • ↔️ Limited deck sharing/export options
  • ❓ Some users confused about learning mode
  • 🔄 Cards only go in one direction

Bugs and requests

IPA Phonetic Keyboard

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Vowel [ʁ] displays incorrectly
  • Keyboard disappears after switching, requiring settings access to re-enable

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add angle brackets and parentheses for orthographic notation
  • Implement a 'frequently used' section for common symbols
  • Allow users to rearrange the keyboard layout
  • Add support for laryngeal notation in Proto-Indo-European

Flash Cards +

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashing due to ads
  • Ads interrupting playback
  • Question not accepted on first entry
  • Ads appearing too frequently, sometimes consecutively

Requested features

18 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to move mail list items around
  • Direct access to learning mode (questions only)
  • Option to purchase an ad-free version
  • Ability to move cards between decks
Show 13 more
  • Ability to rename decks
  • Ability to combine decks
  • Export decks to other platforms/devices
  • Airdrop decks to other devices
  • Add diagrams or photos to cards
  • Landscape mode for iPad
  • Sync across all iOS devices
  • Email a deck to a friend
  • Increase character limit per card
  • Return button for text entry
  • Option to buy a premium version without ads
  • Progress indicator for cards (e.g., Nailed it, Show more)
  • Make flash cards change automatically

In-app purchases

3 purchases

IPA Phonetic Keyboard

One-time3
  • Donation: Buy me a drink$2.99
  • Obsolete/Non-Standard Symbols$5.99
  • Donation: Buy me a meal$9.99
None

Flash Cards +

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is IPA Phonetic Keyboard free?
IPA Phonetic Keyboard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Flash Cards + free?
Flash Cards + is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, IPA Phonetic Keyboard or Flash Cards +?
IPA Phonetic Keyboard is rated higher. IPA Phonetic Keyboard averages 4.5 out of 5 from 172 ratings, while Flash Cards + averages 4.2 from 87 ratings.
Do IPA Phonetic Keyboard or Flash Cards + have ads?
Neither IPA Phonetic Keyboard nor Flash Cards + shows ads.
Which is updated more often, IPA Phonetic Keyboard or Flash Cards +?
IPA Phonetic Keyboard ships an update every 4 months, and Flash Cards + every 5 days. Most recently, IPA Phonetic Keyboard was updated on October 13, 2026 and Flash Cards + on October 14, 2026.

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