# CharMap vs Unicode Pad

The clearest difference is price: CharMap at Free against Unicode Pad's $2.99. CharMap also leads on rating (4.0 vs 3.5) and ratings volume (57 vs 8). Unicode Pad's advantage is review sentiment (74% vs 54%) and chart position (#184 vs unranked). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

CharMap is free to download; Unicode Pad costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

CharMap holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CharMap has 57 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 54% of CharMap's written reviews are positive against 74% of Unicode Pad's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | CharMap | Unicode Pad |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $2.99 |
| Rating | **[4.0 (57 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/charmap-unicode-characters/id369798229/reviews)** | [3.5 (8 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/unicode-pad/id374098312/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **57** | 8 |
| Positive reviews | 53.7% of reviews | **73.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 3 months** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | **#184** |
| Size | 28 MB | 140 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **11.0** |
| 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


### Unicode Pad

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/unicode-pad/id374098312)

**Currently charting:** #184 Top Paid · Utilities (US App Store)

Access and copy thousands of Unicode characters to use in any app. Create custom keyboards for frequently used symbols and share them with friends. Search characters by name, codepoint, or glyph, and view detailed descriptions.

**Highlights:** Copy characters to clipboard, Customizable keyboards, Share custom keyboards, Search characters by name/codepoint/glyph, View extended character descriptions, Thousands of symbols available

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Comprehensive symbol catalog
- 💡 Customizable keyboards
- 🚀 Easy to use interface
- 🔍 Powerful search functionality
- 🌟 Useful for nicknames and special characters

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes
- 📦 Some characters display as boxes
- 🐌 Laggy scrolling and slow loading
- 🖱️ Manual copy-pasting required
- ⌨️ Limited keyboard space for custom keyboards

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when selecting notepad
- App crashes on startup
- Scrolling is laggy
- Custom keyboards take time to load
- Characters not appearing on keyboard after adding

**Requested features**

- Ability to add keyboards to other apps
- More space for custom keyboards
- Integration with iOS keyboard
- Add backspace/delete/return keys to custom keyboards
- Ability to rearrange keys on custom keyboards


## Frequently asked questions

### Is CharMap free?

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

### Is Unicode Pad free?

Unicode Pad costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, CharMap or Unicode Pad?

CharMap is rated higher. CharMap averages 4.0 out of 5 from 57 ratings, while Unicode Pad averages 3.5 from 8 ratings.

### Do CharMap or Unicode Pad have ads?

Neither CharMap nor Unicode Pad shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, CharMap or Unicode Pad?

CharMap ships an update every 4 months, and Unicode Pad every 3 months. Most recently, CharMap was updated on October 23, 2026 and Unicode Pad on October 20, 2026.

---

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