# Special Characters++ vs AABC African Alphabets

The clearest difference is price: AABC African Alphabets at Free against Special Characters++'s $0.99. AABC African Alphabets also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.5) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 7 months). Special Characters++'s advantage is ratings volume (19 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

AABC African Alphabets is free to download; Special Characters++ costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

AABC African Alphabets holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Special Characters++ has 19 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Special Characters++ ships an update every 7 months, AABC African Alphabets every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Special Characters++ | AABC African Alphabets |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [3.5 (19 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/special-characters-plus-plus/id932623050/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aabc-african-alphabets/id1485777016/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **19** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 55.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Every 5 weeks** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Size | 2 MB | 17 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **10.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [James Spencer](https://appshunter.io/developer/356003751) | [Franz Andreas Kogelmann](https://appshunter.io/developer/1717755317) |

## What reviewers say

### Special Characters++

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/special-characters-plus-plus/id932623050)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### AABC African Alphabets

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aabc-african-alphabets/id1485777016)

This utility provides smartphone keyboards for numerous African languages and scripts, respecting phonetic variations and standard keyboard orders. It functions systemwide and offline, ensuring broad accessibility for diverse linguistic needs.

**Highlights:** Keyboards for common African languages and scripts, Phonetic character variants supported, Standard QWERTY, QWERTZ, AZERTY layouts, Systemwide and offline functionality, Unicode character adoption, Interactive development based on user feedback

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Special Characters++ free?

Special Characters++ costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is AABC African Alphabets free?

AABC African Alphabets is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Special Characters++ or AABC African Alphabets?

AABC African Alphabets is rated higher. Special Characters++ averages 3.5 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while AABC African Alphabets averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Special Characters++ or AABC African Alphabets have ads?

Neither Special Characters++ nor AABC African Alphabets shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Special Characters++ or AABC African Alphabets?

Special Characters++ ships an update every 7 months, and AABC African Alphabets every 5 weeks. Most recently, Special Characters++ was updated on November 1, 2026 and AABC African Alphabets on November 3, 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.*