# CharMap vs Kangxi Board

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Kangxi Board at 100% against CharMap's 54%. Kangxi Board also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.0) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). CharMap's advantage is ratings volume (57 vs 3). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

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

Kangxi Board holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CharMap has 57 ratings behind it against 3, 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 100% of Kangxi Board's.

CharMap ships an update every 4 months, Kangxi Board every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | CharMap | Kangxi Board |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.0 (57 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/charmap-unicode-characters/id369798229/reviews) | **[5.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kangxi-board/id1544846244/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **57** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | 53.7% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 28 MB | 95 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Conor Mulligan](https://appshunter.io/developer/347188860) | [Ziga Kranjec](https://appshunter.io/developer/368394743) |

## What reviewers say

### CharMap

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/charmap-unicode-characters/id369798229)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🌟 Genuinely amazing for needs
- 💡 Custom keyboards brilliant
- 💯 Has every Unicode
- ✨ Very impressive
- 👍 Great for computer science

**What reviewers complain about**

- ❌ No return/enter key
- ❓ Feature not obvious
- ⚠️ Characters omitted in other apps
- ⚪ Keyboard looks like white rectangle
- 😵 UI is ugly and old

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- Add return/enter key
- Batch add characters to collections
- Multi-font support
- Unicode 18.0 support
- Add Unicode 17.0


### Kangxi Board

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kangxi-board/id1544846244)

This custom keyboard allows users to input over 90,000 CJK characters using a two-stage radical-based system. It also provides access to a wider range of fonts for use within other applications.

**Highlights:** Input over 90,000 CJK characters, Two-stage radical input method, Character selection by Kangxi radicals, Expanded font library for iOS, Install fonts for use in other apps

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is CharMap free?

CharMap is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Kangxi Board free?

Kangxi Board is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, CharMap or Kangxi Board?

Kangxi Board is rated higher. CharMap averages 4.0 out of 5 from 57 ratings, while Kangxi Board averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.

### Do CharMap or Kangxi Board have ads?

Neither CharMap nor Kangxi Board shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, CharMap or Kangxi Board?

CharMap ships an update every 4 months, and Kangxi Board every 3 weeks. Most recently, CharMap was updated on October 23, 2026 and Kangxi Board on October 22, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*