IPA Phonetic Keyboard vs Formalize Light
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Full IPA chart (2020) symbols
- ExtIPA chart (2016) symbols
- Organized symbol sections
- Intuitive symbol layout
- Convenient input for common characters
- Completely free, no ads
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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/
Formalize Light
This utility app provides a keyboard extension for typing mathematical formulas on iOS devices. It offers easy access to over 100 symbols and generates professionally typeset equations that can be converted to TeX.
- Mathematical keyboard extension
- Over 100 symbols
- One-handed access
- Professionally typeset formulas
- Convert formulas to TeX
- Insert formulas into any app
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Do you wish you could properly type math on your iPhone or iPad? With Formalize, you can! Formalize is a keyboard extension for mathematical content. It provides intuitive one-handed access to more than 100 symbols and produces professionally typeset formulas. Easily convert your formulas to PNG* or TeX and insert them anywhere, in any app! * Not available in Formalize Light
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: IPA Phonetic Keyboard at 92% against Formalize Light's 17%. IPA Phonetic Keyboard also leads on rating (4.5 vs 2.3) and ratings volume (172 vs 4). Formalize Light's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (10.3 vs 14.0). On price, ads, monetization model and device support 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. IPA Phonetic Keyboard sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Formalize Light asks for nothing beyond the download.
IPA Phonetic Keyboard holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: IPA Phonetic Keyboard has 172 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of IPA Phonetic Keyboard's written reviews are positive against 17% of Formalize Light's.
IPA Phonetic Keyboard ships an update every 4 months, Formalize Light every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and June 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | IPA Phonetic Keyboard | Formalize Light |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (172 ratings) — better | 2.3 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 92.0% of reviews — better | 16.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 172 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 12 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 10.3 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 62 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Vincent Cai | Ben Hambrecht |
Customer experience
IPA Phonetic Keyboard
Formalize Light
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
Formalize Light
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
IPA Phonetic Keyboard
- Donation: Buy me a drink$2.99
- Obsolete/Non-Standard Symbols$5.99
- Donation: Buy me a meal$9.99
Formalize Light
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is IPA Phonetic Keyboard free?
Is Formalize Light free?
Which has better reviews, IPA Phonetic Keyboard or Formalize Light?
Do IPA Phonetic Keyboard or Formalize Light have ads?
Which is updated more often, IPA Phonetic Keyboard or Formalize Light?
Other comparisons
