Comparison

CharMap vs azooKey

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read 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.

About

azooKey

This app offers a highly customizable Japanese keyboard with advanced conversion and typing assistance. It features offline processing, user-defined layouts, and privacy-focused design. Enjoy effortless Japanese typing with personalized shortcuts and smooth cursor control.

Highlights
  • Neural kana-kanji conversion engine
  • Customizable key layouts and tabs
  • Live, real-time text conversion
  • Cursor movement and one-handed mode
  • Clipboard history and user dictionary support
  • Offline processing for privacy
Features
Read full description

—— azooKey - A Fully Customizable Japanese Keyboard —— High-accuracy conversion, deep customization, and live conversion—all in one app for effortless typing. Open-source, completely free, and built with a privacy-first design so you can use it with confidence. ▶ Cutting-Edge Conversion System ・Powered by “Zenzai,” our neural kana-kanji conversion engine ・Smarter, context-aware conversion that runs entirely offline ▶ Customization ・Edit anything from a single key to entire layouts ・Call up symbols, kaomoji, and snippets instantly with Custom Tabs ・Create GODAN or your own layouts with just a few taps ・Personalize the keyboard’s appearance with easy theming ▶ Live Conversion ・macOS-style real-time conversion optimized for iOS ・Our lightweight engine delivers fast, accurate text conversion ▶ Smooth Typing Assistance ・Hold the spacebar to move the cursor; hold Delete for one-stroke delete and undo ・One-handed mode, adjustable height, and text size for comfortable use on large screens ・Enlarge conversion candidates for quick confirmation of complex kanji ・Cursor movement by flick and a convenient Paste button are also supported ▶ Power-User Features ・Clipboard history saved automatically ・Full support for the iOS user dictionary ・Unicode conversion, half-width kana, random conversion, date insertion, and more advanced options ▶ Privacy & Trust ・Completely offline design that never collects your input ・Source code available on GitHub for anyone to inspect and improve ・No ads, no in-app purchases—every feature is free Supported OS: iOS / iPadOS 17.6 or later (latest version recommended) How to use: Download → Enable in the app → Select azooKey from the globe icon Try a typing environment tailored to you with azooKey.

Screenshots

CharMap4 screens
azooKey4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: azooKey at every 3 weeks against CharMap's every 4 months. azooKey also leads on review sentiment (71% vs 54%) and rating (4.2 vs 4.0). CharMap's advantage is ratings volume (57 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

azooKey holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CharMap has 57 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of CharMap's written reviews are positive against 71% of azooKey's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CharMap ships an update every 4 months, azooKey every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
CharMap versus azooKey: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCharMapazooKey
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (57 ratings)4.2 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews53.7% of reviews71.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings57 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB179 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperConor MulliganKeita Miwa

Customer experience

CharMap

All ratings57 ratings
Positive71.9%
Neutral8.8%
Negative19.3%
Written reviews67 reviews
Positive53.7%
Neutral6.0%
Negative40.3%

azooKey

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews52 reviews
Positive71.2%
Neutral17.3%
Negative11.5%

Bugs and requests

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 more
  • 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 more
  • 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

azooKey

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

CharMap

No in-app purchases

None

azooKey

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CharMap free?
CharMap is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is azooKey free?
azooKey is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, CharMap or azooKey?
azooKey is rated higher. CharMap averages 4.0 out of 5 from 57 ratings, while azooKey averages 4.2 from 5 ratings.
Do CharMap or azooKey have ads?
Neither CharMap nor azooKey shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CharMap or azooKey?
CharMap ships an update every 4 months, and azooKey every 3 weeks. Most recently, CharMap was updated on October 23, 2026 and azooKey on October 20, 2026.

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