# Unicode Pad vs Symbol Keyboard

The clearest difference is price: Symbol Keyboard at Free against Unicode Pad's $2.99. Symbol Keyboard also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.5) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 months). Unicode Pad's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

Symbol Keyboard holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Symbol Keyboard has 3.1K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Unicode Pad's written reviews are positive against 84% of Symbol Keyboard's.

Unicode Pad ships an update every 3 months, Symbol Keyboard every 10 days. Both last shipped on September 29, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Unicode Pad | Symbol Keyboard |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [3.5 (8 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/unicode-pad/id374098312/reviews) | **[4.7 (3.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/symbol-keyboard-character-pad/id811743313/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 8 | **3.1K** |
| Positive reviews | 73.7% of reviews | **83.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Ad-supported** |
| Size | 140 MB | 7 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ziga Kranjec](https://appshunter.io/developer/368394743) | [ShuMei Liang](https://appshunter.io/developer/811743316) |

## 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


### Symbol Keyboard

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/symbol-keyboard-character-pad/id811743313)

Access hundreds of special characters and symbols for use in any application. Simply tap a character to copy it to your clipboard, then paste it into your desired app.

**Highlights:** Hundreds of special characters, Unicode symbols, One-tap copy to clipboard, Paste into any app, Quick access

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 💎 Wide range of symbols
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🆓 Free app with no subscription
- 📚 Comprehensive symbol library
- 🗂️ Ability to organize symbols

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Difficult to find specific symbols
- 🧭 Unintuitive category organization
- 🚫 Ads interrupt usage
- 🔀 Keyboard integration issues
- 🔍 Lacking search functionality

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when opening the app
- Keyboard fails to switch back to default

**Requested features**

- Add preset symbol organization (e.g. A-Z)
- Implement settings menu (dark mode, custom folders)
- Integrate keyboard with system for easier access
- Improve search to find symbols quickly


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Unicode Pad free?

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

### Is Symbol Keyboard free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Unicode Pad or Symbol Keyboard?

Symbol Keyboard is rated higher. Unicode Pad averages 3.5 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while Symbol Keyboard averages 4.7 from 3.1K ratings.

### Do Unicode Pad or Symbol Keyboard have ads?

Symbol Keyboard shows ads; Unicode Pad does not.

### Which is updated more often, Unicode Pad or Symbol Keyboard?

Unicode Pad ships an update every 3 months, and Symbol Keyboard every 10 days. Most recently, Unicode Pad was updated on September 29, 2026 and Symbol Keyboard on September 29, 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.*