Compare software

Characters vs UnicodePad: catalog facts
Characters	UnicodePad
Best for: Finding and copying special characters and emoji on a GNOME desktop	Best for: Entering unusual symbols and characters on Android
Free Free and open source under the GPL-2.0-or-later and BSD-3-Clause licences.	Free Free and open source.
Linux	Android
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	Covers every Unicode character Copy to clipboard or insert via Mushroom All 4 strengths for UnicodePad Covers every Unicode character Copy to clipboard or insert via Mushroom Shows code points and enlarged glyphs Saved favourite characters
Linux only Basic feature set aimed at lookup and copy	Android only Mushroom input works only in apps that support it
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0-or-later AND BSD-3-Clause	License: Apache-2.0
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 UnicodePad github.com/Ryosuke839/UnicodePad f-droid.org/packages/jp.ddo.hotmist.unicodepad Catalog checked October 2, 2026

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