Updated August 2026
Updated August 2026 · every entry re-verified against its own store listing on 6 August 2026 · screenshots captured in-app on Android 14.
Thirteen keyboards compared, from polished mainstream picks to lean privacy first options. Because a keyboard reads every word you enter, this guide also explains what each one can see, in plain terms. For more ways to make your phone yours, browse our wider Personalization guides.
July 2026 update. FUTO rebuilt its swipe engine, HeliBoard reached 4.0, Unexpected Keyboard hit 2.0, and an agentic keyboard launched. We traced every 2026 release to a dated source: check the detailed review.
Before the individual reviews, three quick tables compare typing feel, looks, and what each app can see. Price, ads and ratings sit in the decision table above, read from the store listings on 6 August 2026.
What we compared: swipe quality, autocorrect strength and the extras that make each keyboard quick. Gboard and SwiftKey remain the benchmarks, and the honeycomb Typewise genuinely cuts typo rates once the layout clicks.
| Keyboard | Swipe | Autocorrect | Speed extra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gboard | Excellent | Excellent | Best voice typing on Android |
| SwiftKey | Excellent | Excellent | Mixed-language prediction |
| FlorisBoard | Works, rough in beta | Good | Glide with no internet at all |
| OpenBoard | None | Good | Instantly familiar stock layout |
| HeliBoard | Via optional add-on | Good | Clipboard history |
| FUTO Keyboard | Built in, offline | Reads the whole sentence | Offline voice typing |
| Typewise | No swipe | Good | Honeycomb keys cut typos |
| Fleksy | Gestures (historic) | Strong (historic) | Swipe-to-delete shortcuts |
| Grammarly | n/a | Grammar-grade | Edits text you typed with another keyboard |
| Simple Keyboard | None | None on purpose | Nothing to slow it down |
| Chrooma | Yes (historic) | Good (historic) | App-matched color bar |
| Unexpected Keyboard | Corner swipes | None | Ctrl, Tab and Esc on key corners |
| AnySoftKeyboard | Gesture typing | Good | Downloadable language packs |
What we compared: how far each keyboard bends to match your setup. SwiftKey has the richest theme store, Chrooma shifts color per app, Gboard and FlorisBoard follow Material You, and the privacy keyboards keep it plain on purpose.
| Keyboard | Themes | Adaptive color | Layout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gboard | Material You presets | Follows system | Standard, one-handed mode |
| SwiftKey | Richest theme store | No | Standard, resizable |
| FlorisBoard | Material You | Follows system | Standard |
| OpenBoard | Minimal | No | Stock Android look |
| HeliBoard | Day-night themes | Follows system | Standard, resizable |
| FUTO Keyboard | Basic themes | Follows system | Standard |
| Typewise | Light and dark | No | Honeycomb hexagons |
| Fleksy | Extensions (historic) | No | Compact |
| Grammarly | Plain | No | Standard |
| Simple Keyboard | Plain | No | Standard, adjustable height |
| Chrooma | Its signature feature | Per app | Standard |
| Unexpected Keyboard | Plain | No | Dense symbol grid |
| AnySoftKeyboard | Theme packs | No | Standard |
What we checked: every permission list, and what actually needs the network. Six of the thirteen never ask for internet access at all, so what you type physically cannot leave the phone.
| Keyboard | Internet permission | What can leave the phone |
|---|---|---|
| Gboard | Yes | Usage statistics and in-keyboard searches; incognito mode pauses learning |
| SwiftKey | Yes | Stays on device unless you opt in to a Microsoft account |
| FlorisBoard | No | Nothing, it cannot connect |
| OpenBoard | No | Nothing, it cannot connect |
| HeliBoard | No by default | Nothing, it cannot connect |
| FUTO Keyboard | No network use for typing or voice | Nothing by design |
| Typewise | Yes | Processes typing on device |
| Fleksy | n/a | n/a, discontinued |
| Grammarly | Yes | Your text goes to Grammarly servers for checking |
| Simple Keyboard | No | Nothing, it cannot connect |
| Chrooma | n/a | n/a, discontinued |
| Unexpected Keyboard | No permissions at all | Nothing, it cannot connect |
| AnySoftKeyboard | No | Nothing, it cannot connect |
Best overall
4.5★ · 18.75M reviews · 10B+ installs · free, no ads, no in-app purchases · by Google LLC · Play listing · checked 6 August 2026
Gboard is the best keyboard for most people: free with no ads, already installed on most phones, and home to the best voice typing on Android. The blunt con: it holds internet permission and sends usage data to Google unless you switch that off in its settings.
For: fast, forgiving glide typing · best-in-class voice typing · built in search, translate and clipboard tools. Against: needs internet permission · shares usage statistics by default · deep Google account integration. Skip it if nothing you type may leave the phone; HeliBoard cannot connect at all. Choose Gboard over SwiftKey if you dictate often or want a listing with no ads label.
↑ Back to the comparisonBest multilingual
4.3★ · 4.58M reviews · 1B+ installs · free, Contains ads label, no in-app purchases · developer listed as SwiftKey (Microsoft) · Play listing · checked 6 August 2026
Microsoft SwiftKey is the multilingual pick: it predicts across mixed-language sentences without you switching anything, which Gboard still fumbles. It is free, but the Play listing carries a Contains ads label, and the Copilot AI panel needs a Microsoft sign-in.
The optional Copilot panel rewrites a message in a friendlier tone or drafts a quick reply; ignore it and the prediction underneath still works without signing in. Torn between the giants? See our SwiftKey versus Gboard breakdown.
For: best mixed-language prediction · context-aware autocorrect · the richest theme store on this list. Against: Contains ads label on the listing · Copilot and cloud sync need a Microsoft account · holds internet permission, so trust is a policy, not a guarantee. Skip it if the ads label or sign-in prompts put you off; Gboard’s listing has neither. Choose SwiftKey over Gboard if you type in two or more languages every day.
↑ Back to the comparisonBest open-source
Free · no ads · no internet permission · latest release 0.5.2 on F-Droid, 29 November 2025 · by the FlorisBoard project · F-Droid listing · checked 6 August 2026
FlorisBoard is the privacy pick with glide typing built in: free, ad free, and unable to connect because it holds no internet permission. The blunt con: it is still in beta, and its latest F-Droid release, 0.5.2, dates from 29 November 2025, more than eight months before this check.
For: no internet permission at all · clean Material You styling · glide typing with no cloud involved. Against: no 1.0 release yet · more than eight months since the last release · swipe is rougher than the mainstream keyboards and weaker outside English. Skip it if you want an actively maintained privacy keyboard; HeliBoard shipped 4.0 in July 2026. Choose FlorisBoard over HeliBoard if glide typing must be built in rather than a separate add-on.
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Legacy pick
No longer distributed · development ended in 2024, F-Droid listing retired · checked 6 August 2026
OpenBoard was the stripped back, fully offline keyboard based on the old Android open source project: zero tracking, no internet permission, and a layout instantly familiar from stock Android. Development stopped in 2024 and the F-Droid listing was retired, so we no longer point fresh installs here. Skip it today: HeliBoard, right below, is the maintained fork that keeps everything OpenBoard stood for.
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Best for privacy
Free · no ads · no internet permission by default · version 4.0 on F-Droid, 12 July 2026 · by the HeliBoard project · F-Droid listing · checked 6 August 2026
HeliBoard is the best free private keyboard here: a maintained fork of OpenBoard that reached version 4.0 on 12 July 2026 and adds optional glide typing through a separate library. The blunt con: that glide library is closed source and a separate download, and there is no voice typing. The project itself puts it plainly in the HeliBoard README, read 6 August 2026: "Does not use internet permission, and thus is 100% offline."
For: actively maintained, with 4.0 shipped in July 2026 · multilingual typing and clipboard history, fully offline · day-night themes and deep layout options. Against: glide needs a separate closed source add-on · not on Google Play, F-Droid only · no voice typing. Skip it if you dictate a lot; FUTO Keyboard below does that offline. Choose HeliBoard over FlorisBoard for active maintenance and faster fixes.
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Best offline voice typing
4.3★ · 5,372 ratings · 100K+ installs on Play · one-time license, no subscription, no ads · by FUTO · Play listing · also at keyboard.futo.tech · checked 6 August 2026
FUTO Keyboard is the niche pick nothing else on this list matches: built in offline voice typing from a local Whisper-based model, plus swipe typing and transformer predictions that read your whole sentence, all on the phone. The developer’s own pitch on keyboard.futo.tech, read 6 August 2026: "Your keyboard shouldn't connect to the internet." Turn on airplane mode, dictate a paragraph, and it lands punctuated in the text field.
For: offline voice typing, airplane mode included · sentence-level predictions and swipe, all local · clipboard that holds up to 100 entries. Against: source-available under FUTO’s Source First license, not OSI open source · paid on the honor system, and the license is what funds development · still under active development, with missing features and languages by the developer’s own admission. Skip it if you never dictate and want strict open source; HeliBoard is that. Choose FUTO Keyboard over HeliBoard if HeliBoard’s one gap for you was dictation.
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Fewest typos
3.3★ · 15K reviews · 1M+ installs · free, Pro via in-app purchases ($1.99 to $24.99 per item), no ads · by Typewise · Play listing · checked 6 August 2026
Typewise is the pick for big thumbs: a honeycomb layout of large hexagonal keys built to stop fat fingering, free with a Pro unlock, processing everything on device. The blunt cons: no swipe typing, a real first-day learning curve, and a 3.3 star Play rating, the second lowest on this list. The developer’s focus has moved to its business AI tools, though the consumer app still took an update on 14 June 2026.
For: large hexagonal keys that cut typos · on device processing · one of the few genuinely different layouts left. Against: no swipe typing · the honeycomb takes a day or two to learn · consumer app evolves slowly since the developer moved focus to business AI. Skip it if you glide-type; the honeycomb has no swipe at all. Choose Typewise over Gboard if your thumbs keep hitting two keys at once.
↑ Back to the comparisonFleksy was a fast, gesture driven keyboard where you swiped to delete, add punctuation, or jump between words without lifting your thumb far. It suited speed typers, with mini apps and GIFs built right into the bar. In July 2026 it left Google Play, and its listing still returns a 404 (checked 6 August 2026), so treat this entry as history rather than a recommendation. Skip it: if gesture shortcuts are what you loved, Gboard covers glide typing and clipboard tools today, and Unexpected Keyboard carries the swipe-shortcut idea further.
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Best for editing what you wrote
4.3★ · 262K reviews · 50M+ installs · free, Premium via in-app purchases ($29.99 to $139.99 per item), no ads · by Grammarly, Inc. · Play listing · checked 6 August 2026
Read this before you install it: Grammarly is no longer a keyboard you type on. Enable it in 2026 and it opens with a "Please change keyboards" notice; the Play listing, now titled Grammarly-AI Writing Assistant, links to a support article about the Android keyboard being discontinued, and the company renamed itself Superhuman in late 2025. What is left is a strong writing assistant that reviews and rewrites text you typed with another keyboard. Skip it if you came here for a keyboard; it only appears as one in the settings list. Choose Grammarly alongside Gboard or SwiftKey, as the editor behind them, if your phone doubles as a work device.
↑ Back to the comparisonLightest
4.0★ · 11.5K reviews · 1M+ installs · free, no ads, no in-app purchases · by Raimondas Rimkus · Play listing · checked 6 August 2026
Simple Keyboard is the lightest pick: a tiny, free, open source keyboard with no permissions and nothing to track you, updated as recently as 22 July 2026. The blunt con is the point: no swipe, no autocorrect, no themes to speak of. That makes it a trustworthy fallback for passwords and other sensitive text, because a keyboard with no network permission has nowhere to send them.
For: no permissions at all · tiny and fast · still actively updated. Against: no autocorrect · no swipe typing · barely any customization. Skip it if you rely on autocorrect; HeliBoard keeps corrections and stays offline. Choose Simple Keyboard over Unexpected Keyboard if you want a plain layout rather than a power-user grid.
↑ Back to the comparisonDelisted from Google Play · sideload only, no automatic updates · checked 6 August 2026
Chrooma was the keyboard for people who want their typing surface to match the rest of their setup, shifting color per app with solid prediction underneath, free with a Pro unlock. The blunt con ends the story: its Play Store listing is gone (still a 404 on 6 August 2026), so the app only turns up on third-party APK sites, with no automatic updates and the usual risks of installing outside the store. Skip it unless you accept sideloading; for adaptive looks with current Play support, Gboard’s Material You themes are the safer route, especially next to one of the best launcher apps.
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Best for coders
4.3★ · 3,475 ratings · 500K+ installs · free, no ads, no in-app purchases · by Juloo · Play listing · checked 6 August 2026
Unexpected Keyboard is the coder’s pick: Ctrl, Tab, Esc, arrows and whole symbol layers ride on corner swipes, free, open source and holding no permissions at all. The blunt con: there is no autocorrect, and the eight-direction swipe trick takes real practice before typing a command line stops being painful.
For: Ctrl, Tab and Esc on key corners · zero permissions, fully offline · everything reachable without switching layouts. Against: no autocorrect · steep learning curve · dense grid is overkill for plain messaging. Skip it if you mostly write prose; a normal layout with autocorrect will serve you better. Choose Unexpected Keyboard over Simple Keyboard if you live in Termux, SSH or code on your phone. If even this feels too mainstream, Thumb-Key on Google Play and F-Droid revives the one-thumb MessagEase idea, open source and built for tiny screens.
↑ Back to the comparisonOffline & open-source
3.1★ · 26.3K reviews · 1M+ installs · free, no ads, no in-app purchases · by AnySoftKeyboard · last Play update 8 February 2026 · Play listing · checked 6 August 2026
AnySoftKeyboard is the offline pick with the deepest language support: free, open source, gesture typing and dozens of downloadable language packs, with no network permission requested, so nothing you type can leave the phone. The blunt cons: a 3.1 star Play rating, the lowest on this list, an interface that feels dated in places, and a slower update cadence, with the last Play release on 8 February 2026.
For: no internet permission · dozens of language packs · predictions learn your words and stay entirely local. Against: lowest Play rating here at 3.1 · dated interface · updates arrive slowly. Skip it if polish matters more than language coverage; HeliBoard feels more modern. Choose AnySoftKeyboard over HeliBoard if you need its language packs or want your offline keyboard from Google Play rather than F-Droid.
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Three questions settle most of it: do you swipe or tap, do you write in more than one language, and may your typing leave the phone? Answer those and the field narrows fast.
If you glide rather than tap, swipe quality is the single biggest factor: a good engine follows a sloppy path and still lands the word you meant. Gboard and SwiftKey remain the benchmarks, and their next word predictions can finish a sentence in a couple of taps. If you never swipe, pick a simpler keyboard with a clear layout instead.
If you write in more than one language, look for a keyboard that handles several at once without making you switch by hand. The better multilingual keyboards detect the language as you type and adjust autocorrect on the fly.
Check that your specific layout is supported, whether that is a regional script, a programmer friendly arrangement with easy brackets, or simply a number row you can keep visible. A layout that fits your hands and your writing matters more day to day than any single headline feature.
Themes matter least to how well you type; comfort is real. Key size, spacing, a one handed mode and an adjustable height all reduce mistakes, so spend a minute in the settings making the keys fit your thumbs.
A permanent number row saves a layout switch every time you type a digit. In Gboard open Settings, then Preferences, and turn on Number row; in SwiftKey the toggle lives under Customize; HeliBoard and FlorisBoard keep the same option in their layout settings.
If your thumbs keep hitting two keys at once, size beats features. Typewise’s hexagonal keys are the most forgiving surface on this list, Gboard has a one handed mode plus a key height slider, and most keyboards here offer a floating mode you can drag within reach of one thumb.
Keyboard AI in 2026 splits in two. Cloud assistants live inside the mainstream picks: SwiftKey’s optional Copilot panel rewrites a message in a different tone once you sign in with a Microsoft account, and Gboard’s AI writing help varies by device and Android version, so check its settings on your own phone. Fully offline AI is rarer, and FUTO Keyboard is the proof it works: prediction that reads your whole sentence and voice typing that never touches a server. The trade off is simple: cloud AI needs an account and a connection, which is exactly what the offline picks refuse by design.
Here is the fact that should shape your choice more than swipe speed or themes. A keyboard handles every word you enter on your phone, which means passwords, card numbers, private messages, search queries, and everything else. Of all the software on a phone, the keyboard has the most potential to leak what you do. This is not a reason to panic, but it is a reason to be deliberate about which one you install and trust.
Android knows this, which is why enabling any third party keyboard triggers a system warning that the keyboard may be able to collect all the text you type, including passwords and credit card numbers. That warning is not boilerplate. It is the operating system telling you, accurately, what you are granting. Read it, then decide whether you trust the app behind it.
In practice, reputable keyboards do not learn from fields marked as password fields (Microsoft says SwiftKey ignores password and credit-card fields), and Android's autofill can fill saved passwords without routing them through the keyboard at all. The real danger is a keyboard you should not have trusted, because that password-field flag is advisory, not an enforced block.
The big names are not all the same, and the differences are worth knowing. Gboard sends data about the words you enter, such as language, word length, the time of input, and which app you typed in. You can reduce this by turning off Share usage statistics, and its incognito mode pauses learning during private browsing or when an app requests it. Microsoft SwiftKey takes a different approach: it stores your personal and language data locally on the device and does not transfer it unless you opt in to a Microsoft SwiftKey Account.
Microsoft documents how this works in its Microsoft Support privacy notes, which are worth a read if you use it.
Both Gboard and SwiftKey encrypt traffic in transit; the real privacy question is what gets collected in the first place, and what the company does with it.
Every keyboard on Google Play must fill in a Data Safety section that states what data it collects and shares. It sits on the store listing, and it is the single most useful thing to read before you install. If a keyboard you have never heard of declares that it collects your typed text and shares it with third parties, that tells you what you need to know.
Security researchers at Kaspersky documented keyboards that sent keystrokes to servers over weak or missing encryption, which is exactly the risk a keyboard with network access can pose.
If you want certainty rather than a policy you have to trust, an offline keyboard removes the question entirely. AnySoftKeyboard is open source, sends no telemetry, and does not even request network permission, so it cannot send what you type anywhere. The same logic applies to the offline picks in our list, such as HeliBoard and Simple Keyboard. A keyboard with no internet permission has nowhere to send your words, which is a stronger guarantee than any privacy policy can offer.
The risk is not theoretical. The Ai.type keyboard suffered a breach that exposed records of about 31 million users, including roughly 9 million entries of typed data such as web searches, email addresses, locations, phone numbers, and even passwords. That is exactly the category of data a keyboard handles, leaking exactly as the system warning describes. You do not need to abandon mainstream keyboards over it, but it is a clear argument for sticking to apps from sources you can actually evaluate.
You do not have to choose between a good keyboard and a private one. A few minutes of setup gets you most of the protection with little loss of convenience. Use this as a checklist.
If privacy across your phone is the wider goal, it pairs well with the same thinking applied elsewhere, from private SMS apps to a good antivirus app, and you will find more in our tools and utilities section.
For most people Gboard is the safest first choice, since it is fast, accurate, and already on your phone. If you want stronger multilingual prediction, SwiftKey is the classic alternative. If privacy matters most to you, look at HeliBoard or FlorisBoard, which keep everything you type on your device.
A keyboard can technically see everything you type, so this is one app category where the source really matters. Stick to well known names with clear privacy policies, or choose an open source, offline keyboard like HeliBoard, or Simple Keyboard if you want to be certain nothing leaves your phone. Avoid unknown keyboards that demand network access.
Install the keyboard from the Play Store, then open Settings, go to System or General management, tap Languages and input, then On screen keyboard, and pick your new keyboard as the default. Most keyboards also walk you through this setup the first time you open them, so it usually takes under a minute.
Gboard and SwiftKey have the most accurate swipe engines, and both handle sloppy glides well. Among the private picks, HeliBoard supports swipe through an optional add-on library, and FUTO Keyboard ships its own fully offline swipe engine.
In principle, yes. When you enable any third party keyboard, Android warns you that it may be able to collect all the text you type, including passwords and credit card numbers, because the keyboard handles every keystroke. In practice, reputable keyboards do not learn from fields marked as password fields (Microsoft says SwiftKey ignores password and credit-card fields), and Android's autofill can fill saved passwords without routing them through the keyboard at all. The real danger is a keyboard you should not have trusted, because that password-field flag is advisory, not an enforced block. This is why the source matters so much. A reputable keyboard will not misuse this, and a fully offline one like AnySoftKeyboard cannot send your text anywhere because it does not even request network permission. For genuinely sensitive entries, some people keep a minimal no permission keyboard, such as Simple Keyboard, as a fallback.
Encryption and privacy are two different things here. Gboard and SwiftKey both use standard encrypted (TLS) connections, so someone intercepting their traffic in transit is unlikely. That protects the data on its way to a server but says nothing about what is collected in the first place. To judge collection, read the Data Safety section every keyboard on Google Play must fill in, which states what data it collects and shares. If you want to remove the question entirely, choose an offline keyboard that holds no network permission.
Regular typing stays on the phone, but Gboard shares usage statistics such as language, word length and which app you typed in, plus anything you search inside the keyboard itself. You can turn off Share usage statistics in Gboard settings and use incognito mode for sensitive typing.
In Gboard open Settings, then Preferences, and turn on Number row. In SwiftKey the toggle lives under Customize. HeliBoard and FlorisBoard offer the same option in their layout settings.
Typewise's large hexagonal keys are built exactly for that, and Gboard offers a one handed mode plus a key height slider. Most keyboards here also have a floating mode you can drag anywhere on the screen.
SwiftKey has an optional Copilot panel that can rewrite a message in a different tone, and FUTO Keyboard does voice typing with a local AI model, entirely offline. AI writing tools generally need internet and an account, which is exactly what the offline picks avoid by design.
Turn off usage statistics and personalization in the keyboard's privacy settings, or switch to a keyboard that holds no internet permission at all, such as HeliBoard, Simple Keyboard or AnySoftKeyboard. A keyboard without network access cannot send your typing anywhere.
SwiftKey vs Gboard: Which Keyboard Wins on Your Android Phone?Personalization