# CharMap vs alt Codes

The clearest difference is rating: alt Codes at 4.3 against CharMap's 4.0. alt Codes also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and review sentiment (75% vs 54%). CharMap's advantage is ratings volume (57 vs 10). 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.

alt Codes holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CharMap has 57 ratings behind it against 10, 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 75% of alt Codes's.

CharMap ships an update every 4 months, alt Codes every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | CharMap | alt Codes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.0 (57 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/charmap-unicode-characters/id369798229/reviews) | **[4.3 (10 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alt-codes/id907724786/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **57** | 10 |
| Positive reviews | 53.7% of reviews | **75.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 28 MB | 0 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Conor Mulligan](https://appshunter.io/developer/347188860) | [Jared Lipton](https://appshunter.io/developer/778105187) |

## 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


### alt Codes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alt-codes/id907724786)

Discover Windows keyboard shortcuts for typing special characters and symbols not on your keyboard. Quickly copy symbols to your iOS device's clipboard for easy pasting on your Mac via Universal Clipboard.

**Highlights:** Find Windows keyboard shortcuts, Type special characters and symbols, Copy symbols to iOS clipboard, Paste on Mac with Universal Clipboard, Quick symbol lookup

**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 alt Codes free?

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

### Which has better reviews, CharMap or alt Codes?

alt Codes is rated higher. CharMap averages 4.0 out of 5 from 57 ratings, while alt Codes averages 4.3 from 10 ratings.

### Do CharMap or alt Codes have ads?

Neither CharMap nor alt Codes shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, CharMap or alt Codes?

CharMap ships an update every 4 months, and alt Codes every 3 weeks. Most recently, CharMap was updated on November 6, 2026 and alt Codes on November 1, 2026.

---

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