keyboard2A SwiftKey alternative for iPhone
keyboard2 exists because its developer was a SwiftKey user. On Android, SwiftKey was excellent. On iOS it shipped a fraction of that customization, and more than once an update broke it badly enough that it would not open at all. If that story sounds familiar, here is an honest comparison.
What keyboard2 does that you came for
- Swipe typing that decodes gestures with a real language model, not just shape matching
- Predictions and autocorrect in 34 languages, including languages Apple's own spellchecker does not cover, such as Estonian
- Bilingual typing: the keyboard detects which of your enabled languages you are writing and suggests accordingly
- Long-press symbols on every key and an optional number row
- More customization than SwiftKey ever offered on iOS: 100+ themes plus themes you build yourself and share as a code, your own photo behind the keys, any font on your phone, key heights and gaps, and layouts you can edit key by key
- A toolbar with clipboard history, and backup of your settings to a file you own
The structural difference: privacy you can verify
SwiftKey is a cloud product with an account, sync and a privacy policy you have to trust. keyboard2 is built the other way round: it contains no networking code at all. All 34 language dictionaries ship inside the app, so nothing downloads and nothing you type can leave the device, even in principle. Turn on airplane mode and nothing changes. There are no analytics anywhere, this website included.
Where SwiftKey still fits better
Fair is fair:
- SwiftKey is free; keyboard2 is free to try, with premium at 0.99€ per month, 7.99€ per year (7-day trials) or 17.99€ once
- SwiftKey syncs your learned words across devices through a Microsoft account; keyboard2 keeps them on the device by design
- SwiftKey covers hundreds of languages and non-Latin scripts; keyboard2 covers 34 Latin-script languages, fully
If those three matter more to you than customization, offline privacy and small-language quality, SwiftKey remains a fine choice.
Try it in an hour
The download is free, your first hour of typing runs every premium feature, and the 7-day free trial extends that to a full week. That is enough time to swipe a few sentences in your own language and decide whether this is the keyboard iOS never gave you.