Special Characters++ vs Pictographs
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Special Characters++
Access over 1000 unique symbols, glyphs, and characters not found on the standard iOS keyboard. Organize your favorites and quickly find characters with a dedicated search bar. Enhance your texts, emails, and notes with custom characters.
- Access over 1000 special characters
- Categorized character sections
- Quick Find search bar
- Favorites list for custom sorting
- Recently used character tracking
- Supports landscape and portrait modes
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Special Characters is an iOS 8 keyboard that gives you access to all the symbols, glyphs, bullets, arrows and other special characters that you can't access from the standard iOS keyboard. Special Characters isn't a replacement keyboard but a companion that you can use to get to the characters & symbols you need when you need them. Choose from over 1000 characters separated into 10 sections. * Symbols * Pictographs * Currency Characters * Math Symbols * Punctuation * Bullets * Arrows * Parentheses * Numbers * Letter A - Z are there. * Quick Find Bar * Use the quick find bar to jump right were you want to be. * Favorites * You can also long tap on any key and store it in your favorites. Edit and sort your favorites list into what works for you. * Recently Used * Special Characters also keeps track of all your recently used characters like the Emoji keyboard. Finally, Special Characters works in both landscape and portrait. We are certain that Special Character keyboard will give your emails, texts and notes the special characters you need! So, make the leap with Jump Gap Software’s Special Characters keyboard for iOS 8.
Pictographs
Easily insert a wide variety of special characters and symbols on your iPhone and iPad. Access symbols like infinity, copyright, and trademark directly from your keyboard.
- Insert odd characters
- Access special symbols
- Keyboard for iPhone and iPad
- Wide variety of symbols
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Pictographs make it easy to enter slightl-odd characters on your iPhone and iPad, for example: ‽, ∞, ≠, ®, ©, ™, ¢, º, ∞, ∅, and many more.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Special Characters++ at 55% against Pictographs's 0%. Special Characters++ also leads on rating (3.5 vs 2.0) and ratings volume (19 vs 3). Pictographs's advantage is price (Free vs $0.99) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 7 months). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Pictographs is free to download; Special Characters++ costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Special Characters++ holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Special Characters++ has 19 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of Special Characters++'s written reviews are positive against 0% of Pictographs's.
Special Characters++ ships an update every 7 months, Pictographs every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Special Characters++ | Pictographs |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.5 (19 ratings) — better | 2.0 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 55.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 19 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | James Spencer | David Miller |
Customer experience
Special Characters++
Pictographs
In-app purchases
Special Characters++
No in-app purchases
Pictographs
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Special Characters++ free?
Is Pictographs free?
Which has better reviews, Special Characters++ or Pictographs?
Do Special Characters++ or Pictographs have ads?
Which is updated more often, Special Characters++ or Pictographs?
Other comparisons
