Keyman vs Element X
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
Element X
Communicate securely and privately with instant messaging and video calls. This app offers robust features for individuals and communities, allowing you to own your data and choose where it's hosted. Enjoy real-time communication with synchronized history across all your devices.
- Real-time messaging
- Video calls
- Public and private rooms
- Rich messaging features
- Cross-device synchronization
- Data ownership and server choice
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Freedom to communicate on your own terms For individuals and communities - private communication between family, friends, hobby groups, clubs, etc. Element X gives you fast, secure and private instant messaging and video calls built on Matrix, the open standard for real-time communication. This is a free and open-source app maintained at https://github.com/element-hq/element-x-ios Stay in touch with friends, family and communities with: • Real time messaging & video calls • Public rooms for open group communication • Private rooms for closed group communication • Rich messaging features: emoji reactions, replies, polls, pinned messages and more. • Video calling while browsing messages. • Interoperability with other Matrix-based apps such as FluffyChat, Cinny and many more. Privacy-first Unlike some other messengers from Big Tech companies, we don’t mine your data or monitor your communications. Own your conversations Choose where to host your data - from any public server (the largest free server is matrix.org, but there are plenty of others to choose from) to creating your own personal server and hosting it on your own domain. This ability to choose a server is a large part of what differentiates us from other real time communication apps. However you host, you have ownership; it’s your data. You’re not the product. You’re in control. Communicate in real time, all the time Use Element everywhere. Stay in touch wherever you are with fully synchronised message history across all your devices, including on the web at https://app.element.io Element X is our next-generation app If you’re using the previous-generation Element Classic app, it’s time to try Element X! It’s faster, easier to use, and more powerful than the classic app. It’s better in every way and we’re adding new features all the time.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Keyman at 3.8 against Element X's 3.4. Keyman also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 40%) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.5). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 71 and 152 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Keyman's written reviews are positive against 40% of Element X's.
Keyman ships an update every 3 weeks, Element X fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Keyman | Element X |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (71 ratings) — better | 3.4 (152 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better | 40.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 71 | 152 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 313 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Summer Institute of Linguistics, Inc (SIL) | Vector Creations Limited |
Customer experience
Keyman
Element X
In-app purchases
Keyman
No in-app purchases
Element X
No in-app purchases









