Unicode Pad Express vs CharMap
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Unicode Pad Express
Access and insert a wide range of Unicode characters with this straightforward character map application. It provides a simpler interface for finding and using special symbols and text.
- Extensive character map
- Insert Unicode characters
- Simple interface
- Free version
Read full descriptionHide full description
It is a simpler, free version of a more fully featured Unicode Pad Pro app.
CharMap
Explore and manage Unicode characters with this utility. Organize favorites, view details, and copy characters to your clipboard. Use the custom keyboard to insert them anywhere and sync collections across devices.
- Browse curated character categories
- Organize favorite characters
- View character details and copy to clipboard
- Insert characters with custom keyboard
- Discover characters and blocks
- Sync collections across devices
- Preview system fonts
Read full descriptionHide full description
CharMap allows to you discover, organize, and use unicode characters. FEATURES • Browse a collection of curated character categories, and organize your favourite characters into custom collections. • View character details and copy characters to the clipboard in a variety of formats. • Enable the CharMap keyboard to insert characters wherever custom keyboards are supported. • Discover unicode characters and blocks using a dedicated unicode browser. • Automatically sync your collections between devices. • Quickly access your custom collections using the collection widget. • Browse system fonts and view font metadata. • No ads, trackers, or analytics. Your data is stored on-device, and optionally synced across your private iCloud account.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Unicode Pad Express at 4.6 against CharMap's 4.0. Unicode Pad Express also leads on review sentiment (63% vs 53%) and iOS requirement (12.4 vs 26.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Unicode Pad Express holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 121 and 56 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Unicode Pad Express's written reviews are positive against 53% of CharMap's.
Unicode Pad Express ships an update every 7 months, CharMap every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Unicode Pad Express | CharMap |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (121 ratings) — better | 4.0 (56 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 62.8% of reviews — better | 53.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 121 — better | 56 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.4 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 51 MB | 28 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ziga Kranjec | Conor Mulligan |
Customer experience
Unicode Pad Express
CharMap
User reviews
Unicode Pad Express
From 121 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great variety of symbols
- 👍 Easy to use (for some)
- 👍 Free version available
- 👍 Useful for special characters
- 👍 Good for stylizing posts
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 Some symbols not showing
- 🐛 Emojis mixed with symbols
- 🐛 Not designed well
- 🐛 Paid pro version needed for features
CharMap
From 56 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌟 Genuinely amazing for needs
- 💡 Custom keyboards brilliant
- 💯 Has every Unicode
- ✨ Very impressive
- 👍 Great for computer science
Room to improve
- ❌ No return/enter key
- ❓ Feature not obvious
- ⚠️ Characters omitted in other apps
- ⚪ Keyboard looks like white rectangle
- 😵 UI is ugly and old
Bugs and requests
Unicode Pad Express
Reported bugs
8 issues- App crashes when clicking too many categories
- Some characters not showing
- Emojis are displayed as symbols
- Black boxes appear instead of symbols
- App not working after iOS updates
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Copy options covered by ads
- Not iOS 8 compatible
- Symbols show as boxes since iOS 7
Requested features
18 requests- Add a search system (by name or code)
- Ability to favorite symbols
- Create custom keyboards
- Rename private use characters
- Make emojis into symbols
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- More characters without font issues
- Include all Unicode blocks
- Add sample pictures for unsupported glyphs
- Make the app a keyboard
- Add new emojis
- Make the app free (instead of paid pro)
- Add bookmarking for characters
- Ability to email bookmarked characters
- Update for lower iPod versions
- Choose text color
- Add keyboard functionality for other apps
- Dark mode option
- Advanced analytics dashboard
CharMap
Reported bugs
12 issues- Characters omitted in other apps
- Keyboard looks like white rectangle in some apps
- Private Use Area characters not shown
- Collections feature quit working
- App crashes every time it's opened
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- App crashes on iPad Pro
- App crashes on iPad
- Everything gone after update
- App doesn't open after update
- Some symbols are not shown
- Keyboard not showing up immediately
- Preferences -> font closes app
Requested features
20 requests- Add return/enter key
- Batch add characters to collections
- Multi-font support
- Unicode 18.0 support
- Add Unicode 17.0
Show 15 moreShow fewer
- Ability to select characters with single click
- Add 'raised to the power of x' symbol
- Add superscripts in letter, equation, and inequality form
- Option to format characters (LTR/RTL)
- Make fonts usable in 'Unicode'
- Implement custom font API
- Search for character option
- Search by character name
- Add Sutton SignWriting block
- Add symbol search
- Update UI with SF symbols
- Add dark mode support
- Rename collections
- Backup and Restore collections
- Put collections on top of list when using as keyboard
In-app purchases
Unicode Pad Express
No in-app purchases
CharMap
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Unicode Pad Express free?
Is CharMap free?
Which has better reviews, Unicode Pad Express or CharMap?
Do Unicode Pad Express or CharMap have ads?
Which is updated more often, Unicode Pad Express or CharMap?
Other comparisons
