Typewise Custom Keyboard vs VimKey
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Typewise Custom Keyboard
This keyboard app is designed for smartphones, featuring a unique hexagonal layout for larger keys and fewer typos. It offers AI-powered editing tools, intuitive gestures, and robust privacy features, ensuring your typing data stays on your device.
- Hexagonal layout for larger keys
- AI-powered text editing (translate, proofread, adjust tone)
- Intuitive swipe gestures for editing
- Smart autocorrect that learns user habits
- 100% privacy, no cloud data transmission
- Support for 40+ languages simultaneously
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FOUR times fewer typos and 100% privacy with the first keyboard made for your iPhone. Featured on: TechCrunch, Wired, Houston Chronicle, Esquire, Evening Standard, Tech Radar, Mac Observer, App Advice DID YOU KNOW? Current keyboards are based on the 140-year-old mechanical typewriter layout. Typewise is different. It’s the first keyboard that is specifically designed for smartphones. It’s revolutionary yet easy to use, and after a couple of messages you’ll love it. 4X FEWER TYPOS A recent study with 37,000 participants showed that on current keyboards 1 out of 5 words contains typos. With Typewise you finally get rid of these ARRGGHH-moments. Thanks to the hexagon layout, keys are 70% larger and much easier to hit. It helps you to make four times fewer typos. AI POWERED KEYBOARD All your editing needs are now met in one keyboard. It features the ability to translate, proofread, adjust tonality, shorten, extend and create inclusive language with just one click. INTUITIVE GESTURES Swipe up to capitalize a letter, swipe left to delete or swipe right to restore. It's as simple as that. SMART AUTOCORRECT Stop getting annoyed by wrong autocorrections or senseless predictions. Typewise learns what you type and helps you write that perfect sentence. 100% PRIVACY What you write is personal. That's why the keyboard does NOT require “full access” and none of your typing data is transmitted to the cloud. To improve tutorial, game and settings in the app, we rely on basic and anonymous usage tracking, which can be turned off completely using the offline mode feature. The keyboard itself is not tracked at all. https://typewise.app/privacy-policy-app/ SPEAKS YOUR LANGUAGES Having to switch between different languages is cumbersome. With Typewise you can write in all your languages at once. Choose from 40+ languages and type in the accents you really need. Typewise supports: - English (United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada) - Afrikaans - Albanian - Basque - Breton - Catalan - Croatian - Czech - Danish - Dutch (Belgium, Netherlands) - Estonian - Filipino - Finnish - French (France, Canada, Switzerland) - Galician - German (Austria, Germany, Switzerland) - Hinglish - Hungarian - Icelandic - Indonesian - Irish - Italian - Latvian - Lithuanian - Malaysian - Norwegian - Polish - Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) - Romanian - Serbian - Slovak - Slovene - Spanish - Swedish - Swiss German - Turkish GET MORE WITH TYPEWISE PRO - Type in multiple languages without switching - Get personalized word suggestions - Additional 16 awesome themes - Create your own text replacements - Turn on key vibration - Turn on tablet mode - Change swiping behavior - Change space button sensitivity - Automatically go back to letters after a space - Flick down to undo auto corrections Typewise PRO is a service that costs $1.99 per month or $9.49 per year (prices vary by region). Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase and auto-renews at the same price unless disabled in iTunes Account Settings at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your subscription can be managed in your iTunes Account Settings. Review our terms of use: https://typewise.app/terms-of-use-ios/ SUPPORTED DEVICES Typewise is optimized for iPhones with iOS 13 or later.
VimKey
Enhance your mobile editing experience with Vim-style navigation and dedicated arrow keys. This app offers precise cursor control for developers and power users on iOS devices, bringing desktop-level efficiency to your fingertips.
- Vim-style HJKL navigation
- Dedicated directional arrow keys
- Dual layout switching
- Privacy-focused data handling
- Haptic feedback and click sounds
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【Master Your Cursor on iOS】 As a developer, I was frustrated with editing code and managing SSH sessions on my iPhone. The native "magnifying glass" cursor is slow, and my fingers often blocked the text I was trying to select. I built VimKey to scratch my own itch. It brings the precision of desktop editing to your mobile device. Key Features: * Vim-Style Navigation: Use the legendary HJKL (←↓↑→) keys to move the cursor. Keep your hands on the keyboard and fly through text. * Dedicated Arrow Keys: Includes a standard directional pad for precise control without blocking the screen. * Dual Layouts: Seamlessly switch between the navigation layout and a standard QWERTY keyboard (Unlock QWERTY for 30 minutes by watching a short ad, or unlock forever with a one-time purchase). * Privacy First: We respect your data. "Full Access" is requested ONLY to provide haptic feedback and click sounds. We strictly do NOT collect, store, or transmit your keystrokes. Important Note: * Due to browser limitations on iOS, special keys (Esc, Tab, Ctrl) and arrow keys do NOT work in browser-based WebSSH clients. For the best experience, please use a native Terminal app. Contact: I'm actively improving this app based on user feedback. Email: mozhenbear@zodic.dev
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: VimKey at every 3 days against Typewise Custom Keyboard's every 2 months. VimKey also leads on review sentiment (67% vs 42%). Typewise Custom Keyboard's advantage is rating (3.8 vs 3.4) and ratings volume (846 vs 5). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Typewise Custom Keyboard sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and VimKey sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Typewise Custom Keyboard holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Typewise Custom Keyboard has 846 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 42% of Typewise Custom Keyboard's written reviews are positive against 67% of VimKey's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Typewise Custom Keyboard ships an update every 2 months, VimKey every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Typewise Custom Keyboard | VimKey |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (846 ratings) — better | 3.4 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 42.5% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 846 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Typewise AG | chuncheng su |
Customer experience
Typewise Custom Keyboard
VimKey
Bugs and requests
Typewise Custom Keyboard
Reported bugs
4 issues- Keyboard disappearing or not showing up in apps
- Cursor control and backspace issues
- Inconsistent behavior across iOS versions
- Incorrect capitalization and punctuation
Requested features
4 requests- Swipe-to-type functionality
- Customizable key layouts
- Improved autocorrect and word suggestions
- Support for more languages and scripts
VimKey
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Typewise Custom Keyboard
- Typewise PRO (Monthly)$1.991 Month
- Typewise PRO (Annual)7 Days trial$3.991 Year
- Typewise PRO (Annual)7 Days trial$6.991 Year
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- Typewise PRO (Annual)7 Days trial$7.991 Year
- Typewise PRO (Annual)7 Days trial5 variants$9.491 Year
- Typewise PRO (Annual)1 Month trial$9.491 Year
- Typewise PRO (Annual)7 Days trial$9.991 Year
- Typewise PRO (Annual)1 Month trial$9.991 Year
- Typewise PRO (Annual)7 Days trial$10.991 Year
- Typewise PRO (Annual)7 Days trial$12.491 Year
- Typewise PRO (Lifetime)$10.99
- Typewise PRO (Lifetime)$24.99
VimKey
- qwert Layout$2.99
Questions
Is Typewise Custom Keyboard free?
Is VimKey free?
Which has better reviews, Typewise Custom Keyboard or VimKey?
Do Typewise Custom Keyboard or VimKey have ads?
Which is updated more often, Typewise Custom Keyboard or VimKey?
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