Keyman vs Phonetic Keyboard
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Keyman
Type in over 1,700 languages on your iPhone or iPad with system-wide keyboard installation. Supports numerous languages and offers custom keyboard building, predictive text, and a built-in browser for unsupported languages.
- Type in 1,700+ languages
- System keyboard integration
- Custom keyboard builder
- Predictive text
- Built-in browser for unsupported languages
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Keyman makes it easy to type in over 2300 different languages on your iPhone, iPad or iPod! Install all your language keyboards as a system keyboard and use them in every app on your iPhone or iPad! Type in: - Amharic - Tamil - Greek - Hebrew - Sinhala - Syriac - Tibetan - Hindi - Over two thousand more! Keyman requires the "Allow Full Access" option to be switched on just once when you install a new keyboard, in order for your language keyboard to be installed into the system. For your privacy and security, you can then switch the option off again. Features include: - Build custom keyboards with Keyman Developer and load them on your phone - Smooth optimised keyboard layouts - Predictive text for a growing set of languages - Built in browser displays your language even if iOS doesn't support it
Phonetic Keyboard
Type in various languages phonetically, even if you only know how to speak them. Save your notes locally for future reference. Supports a wide range of global languages.
- Phonetic typing in multiple languages
- Supports over 15 languages
- Save notes locally
- Write in your native language
- Ideal for social media posts
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How many of you know how to speak a language but dont know how to write it? How many of you love to post a status on wall or tweet in your own langugae? If you are loking for these then this app satisfies every inch of your desire. #Not only that you write a notes in different languages and store them locally for future reference. Supported languages: ARABIC BENGALI GREEK GUJARATI HINDI KANNADA MALAYALAM MARATHI NEPALI ORIYA PERSIAN PUNJABI RUSSIAN SANSKRIT SERBIAN SINHALEESE TAMIL TELUGU URDU
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Keyman at 3.8 against Phonetic Keyboard's 2.8. Keyman also leads on ratings volume (73 vs 4) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks). Phonetic Keyboard's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Keyman holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Keyman has 73 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 49% of Keyman's written reviews are positive against 40% of Phonetic Keyboard's.
Keyman ships an update every 3 weeks, Phonetic Keyboard every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Keyman | Phonetic Keyboard |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (73 ratings) — better | 2.8 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 49.2% of reviews — better | 40.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 73 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Summer Institute of Linguistics, Inc (SIL) | Vamsi Anguluru |
Customer experience
Keyman
Phonetic Keyboard
In-app purchases
Keyman
No in-app purchases
Phonetic Keyboard
No in-app purchases
