Report updated Apr 8, 2026
Character Pad
v2.5.2General users, students, and professionals who need to frequently insert non-standard symbols or special characters into emails, documents, and instant messages.
What Is Character Pad?
Launched Feb 12, 2011
Updated Dec 2019
What users think iIndependent intel reports to help builders create better apps or enhance existing ones. Still in beta, accuracy and relevancy get better every day. For informational purposes only.
What does it look like?
What are the key features?
Provides a curated collection of hundreds of symbols including Greek, math, and letterlike characters.
Enables instant copying of characters for immediate use in other applications.
Ensures characters are readable across iOS, macOS, and most PC environments.
What do users think? iIndependent intel reports to help builders create better apps or enhance existing ones. Still in beta, accuracy and relevancy get better every day. For informational purposes only.
“Recent user voice shows a frustrated sentiment. Users appreciate utility and functionality and ease of use, but report monetization and paywalls and lack of updates and compatibility.”
What Users Love
Find the character or symbol you need and tap it. It's copied to the clipboard
Very useful little app. I tried my hardest to figure out how to type a superscript 2... Problem solved!
Simple but very usefull, just touch to copy a symbol
It's very easy to use (just copy & paste)
Pain Points
One major turn off is that you have to pay to get access to the symbols you really need
Removing previously free characters is sleazy
Keeps telling me “Developer needs to update this App for it to work with this iOS!”
Lately it’s been crashing each time I open the app
High confidence · 49 reviews available
What are the pros and cons?
Pros
- Established brand with high historical ratings
- Extremely simple and focused user interface
- Lightweight footprint and cross-platform reliability
Cons
- No updates since 2019 leading to technical instability
- Negative brand perception due to monetization changes
- Lack of modern features like keyboard extensions
What is the market outlook?
Growth Opportunities
- Develop a keyboard extension for seamless integration
- Modernize UI/UX for latest iOS versions
- Introduce a transparent 'Pro' tier to restore user trust
Market Threats
- Direct competition from modern apps like UniChar
- Native OS-level symbol integration
- Continued decline in user trust and app store visibility
Who competes with Character Pad?
The Nemesis
Special Characters++
★3.5 (19)James Spencer
A clean, utility-focused app that provides the same Greek, math, and technical symbol sets as Character Pad.
A clean, utility-focused app that provides the same Greek, math, and technical symbol sets as Character Pad.
Contenders
Adult Emoji Icons PRO - Romantic Texting & Flirty Emoticons Message Symbols
Keep Calm
A lightweight utility that focuses on the 'one-tap copy' workflow for a curated list of popular symbols.
A lightweight utility that focuses on the 'one-tap copy' workflow for a curated list of popular symbols.
Peers
The default choice for many users, offering a built-in symbol picker that reduces the need for standalone utility apps.
Integrated Google Search
Fonts
★4.6 (265)AppCodism Technologies
While primarily a font app, it contains a massive library of symbols and is the dominant player in the broader 'text customization' category.
While primarily a font app, it contains a massive library of symbols and is the dominant player in the broader 'text customization' category.
What are the key takeaways?
Character Pad is a frustrating utilities app that is completely free. With a 4.5/5 rating from 601 reviews, it frustrates many users from users. Users particularly appreciate utility and functionality, though monetization and paywalls remains a common concern.
Best for: General users, students, and professionals who need to frequently insert non-standard symbols or special characters into emails, documents, and instant messages.
How much does it cost?
Model: free
The app transitioned from a paid/free model to a more aggressive freemium model, which has triggered significant user backlash due to the locking of previously accessible features.