# CharMap vs Grapheme

The clearest difference is ads: CharMap at none against Grapheme's shown. Grapheme's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (18.2 vs 26.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CharMap ships an update every 4 months, Grapheme every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | CharMap | Grapheme |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.0 (57 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/charmap-unicode-characters/id369798229/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **57** | — |
| Positive reviews | 53.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 28 MB | 51 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **18.2** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Conor Mulligan](https://appshunter.io/developer/347188860) | [Hsingchien Cheng](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896534780) |

## 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


### Grapheme

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/grapheme-unicode-catalog/id6791472634)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is CharMap free?

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

### Is Grapheme free?

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

### Do CharMap or Grapheme have ads?

Grapheme shows ads; CharMap does not.

### Which is updated more often, CharMap or Grapheme?

CharMap ships an update every 4 months, and Grapheme every 3 days. Most recently, CharMap was updated on October 23, 2026 and Grapheme on October 25, 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.*