# Unicode Pad vs Character Pad

The clearest difference is price: Character Pad at Free against Unicode Pad's $2.99. Character Pad also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.5) and ratings volume (606 vs 8). Unicode Pad's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (74% vs 47%). On update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Character Pad is free to download; Unicode Pad costs $2.99 up front. Character Pad sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Unicode Pad asks for nothing beyond the download.

Character Pad holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Character Pad has 606 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 74% of Unicode Pad's written reviews are positive against 47% of Character Pad's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Unicode Pad ships an update every 3 months, Character Pad every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Unicode Pad | Character Pad |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [3.5 (8 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/unicode-pad/id374098312/reviews) | **[4.5 (606 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/character-pad/id418874651/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 8 | **606** |
| Positive reviews | **73.7% of reviews** | 46.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 months** | Every 6 months |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 140 MB | 15 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ziga Kranjec](https://appshunter.io/developer/368394743) | [Armchair Engineering](https://appshunter.io/developer/398901339) |

## What reviewers say

### Unicode Pad

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

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


### Character Pad

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/character-pad/id418874651)

Easily copy and paste hundreds of special characters and symbols to enhance your messages, emails, and documents. Customize your text with a wide selection including Greek letters, math symbols, and more.

**Highlights:** Hundreds of special characters, Copy to clipboard, Paste into any app, Greek alphabet, Math symbols, Customizable text

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full Upgrade - Reduced Price | $1.99 | one-time |
| More Characters | $2.99 | one-time |
| Full Upgrade - Hero Price | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- ⭐ Great
- 🙌 Useful
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🔍 Essential
- 🤩 Fun

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Paid features
- 🔒 Limited access
- 🐛 Crashes
- 📍 Outdated
- 🚫 Removed features

**Reported bugs**

- Restore purchases not working
- Compatibility issues with new iOS versions

**Requested features**

- More characters and symbols
- Search functionality
- Improved clipboard management
- Compatibility updates


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Unicode Pad free?

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

### Is Character Pad free?

Character Pad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

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

Character Pad is rated higher. Unicode Pad averages 3.5 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Character Pad averages 4.5 from 606 ratings.

### Do Unicode Pad or Character Pad have ads?

Neither Unicode Pad nor Character Pad shows ads.

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

Unicode Pad ships an update every 3 months, and Character Pad every 6 months. Most recently, Unicode Pad was updated on November 13, 2026 and Character Pad on November 12, 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.*