Comparison

CharMap vs Keybuild

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. • 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 and preview system fonts. • No ads, trackers, or analytics. Your data is stored on-device, and optionally synced across your private iCloud account.

About

Keybuild

Design and customize your own touchscreen keyboard. Choose layouts, assign custom functions to keys, and organize them into multiple panes for easy switching. Tailor your keyboard for specific tasks or personal preferences.

Highlights
  • Customizable keyboard layouts
  • Assign custom text/symbols to keys
  • Support for letters, symbols, and emoji
  • Multiple keyboard panes
  • Stack-based layout system
  • Layout options like Qwerty, Azerty, Colemak
  • VoiceOver support
Features
Read full description

Build your own keyboard! Touchscreen keyboards don't need to be one-size-fits-all, so let's change that! With Keybuild, you choose the layout, the keys, everything. Keys can be set up to type whatever you want! Letters, greek letters (ɑ, β, ɣ), maths symbols (π, ∫, ∑), arrows (↑→↓←), or even your favourite emoji can be added and organised depending on your needs. Create multiple ‘panes’, each containing keys arranged using a stack-based layout, and switch between them with either an automatic menu, or direct links. Add a small number row to your Qwerty keyboard, or have a try using Azerty or Colemak layouts. Build a keyboard that can keep up with your maths-heavy university course, or specialist profession. Or just make a dashboard for your favourite emoji. Or do all that and more, it's up to you! This app does its best to supports VoiceOver, and accessibility APIs. Technical note: This app is 99% SwiftUI, which is as close as you can get while we wait for the ‘SwiftUI Lifecycle’ to come to Custom Keyboard Extensions! SwiftUI powers this app's advanced functionality, as well as some of its more unusual bugs. :) Disclaimer: This iPad app is available on Apple Silicon Macs, but macOS currently does not support keyboard extensions. Still waiting for that tablet Mac!

Screenshots

CharMap4 screens
Keybuild4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: CharMap at Free against Keybuild's $3.99. Keybuild's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months) and review sentiment (73% vs 53%). On ratings volume, 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

CharMap is free to download; Keybuild costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Keybuild holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 52 and 45 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of CharMap's written reviews are positive against 73% of Keybuild's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CharMap ships an update every 5 months, Keybuild fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
CharMap versus Keybuild: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCharMapKeybuild
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.0 (52 ratings)4.2 (45 ratings) — better
Positive reviews53.0% of reviews72.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings52 — better45
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperConor MulliganJamie Froggatt

Customer experience

CharMap

All ratings50 ratings
Positive70.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews66 reviews
Positive53.0%
Neutral6.1%
Negative40.9%

Keybuild

All ratings45 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral2.2%
Negative17.8%
Written reviews51 reviews
Positive72.5%
Neutral5.9%
Negative21.6%

In-app purchases

None

CharMap

No in-app purchases

None

Keybuild

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CharMap free?
CharMap is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Keybuild free?
Keybuild costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, CharMap or Keybuild?
Keybuild is rated higher. CharMap averages 4.0 out of 5 from 52 ratings, while Keybuild averages 4.2 from 45 ratings.
Do CharMap or Keybuild have ads?
Neither CharMap nor Keybuild shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CharMap or Keybuild?
CharMap ships an update every 5 months, and Keybuild fortnightly. Most recently, CharMap was updated on September 28, 2026 and Keybuild on September 29, 2026.

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