Compare software

Characters vs Smile: catalog facts
Characters	Smile
Best for: Finding and copying special characters and emoji on a GNOME desktop	Best for: Linux users who type emoji often and want a dedicated picker
Free Free and open source under the GPL-2.0-or-later and BSD-3-Clause licences.	Free Free and open source under the GPL-3.0-or-later licence.
Linux	Linux
Keyword search across Unicode characters Browse by category including emoji and math symbols All 3 strengths for Characters Keyword search across Unicode characters Browse by category including emoji and math symbols Actively maintained GNOME app	Installs on most distributions through Flathub Open source with a dedicated documentation site All 3 strengths for Smile Installs on most distributions through Flathub Open source with a dedicated documentation site Focused on one task
Linux only Basic feature set aimed at lookup and copy	Linux only The homepage gives little detail about features
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0-or-later AND BSD-3-Clause	License: GPL-3.0-or-later
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Offline features available	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Characters apps.gnome.org/Characters Catalog checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Smile smile.mijorus.it Catalog checked October 1, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.