GoKawiilJoe Maring / Android Authority
The keyboard is probably the one app you use more than anything on your Android phone. And yes, Gboard is excellent — let’s get that out of the way.
But the thing is, not everyone wants the same thing from a keyboard. Some people care more about privacy, others want endless customization options, and some just want features that Gboard lacks. Thankfully, Android gives you plenty of alternatives.
So if you’re ready for a change, here are the best Gboard alternatives worth trying.
If Gboard disappeared tomorrow, which keyboard would you switch to? 157 votes Microsoft SwiftKey 39 % HeliBoard 14 % FUTO Keyboard 12 % Samsung Keyboard 25 % Simple Keyboard 6 % Other (tell me in the comments) 3 %
Microsoft SwiftKey
Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
SwiftKey is arguably the most popular Gboard alternative, and it’s not hard to see why. It gets all the basics right, but there are a few areas where it simply outshines Gboard.
The biggest one is customization. SwiftKey goes well beyond the standard color and gradient theme options and offers useful layouts, like split mode, that are handy for typing on a large phone. So yes, if tweaking your keyboard’s look and feel is your thing, SwiftKey gives you plenty of room to play.
Like most Microsoft apps these days, SwiftKey also has Copilot, which also explains why “AI” is now part of its name. It essentially acts as a built-in assistant. After you’ve typed a message, you can have Copilot fix its grammar or rewrite the whole thing to adjust its tone. It can make it sound friendlier, wittier, casual, professional, or polite. Gboard offers a similar feature called Writing Tools, but it’s only available on select devices. That’s not the case with SwiftKey.
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