9 Best Keyboard Replacement Apps for Android Phones and Tablets

The stock keyboard of Android is good enough for typing and messaging but it still lacks a few features that are offered by some third-party keyboard apps for Android. If you are looking for an alternative to the stock Android keyboard app then you have come to the right place. Here, I have gathered a list of 9 best Android keyboard apps that will give you some extra new features and a whole new typing experience.

1. SwiftKey Keyboard
   SwiftKey Keyboard is one of the most popular keyboard apps for Android that offers excellent next-word prediction and fast typing experience. It is considered as the most accurate and best keyboard app available for Android phones and tablets.
   Swiftkey learns from the way you type on Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, messaging, and blog to improve its predictions. It will sync your language selections and personalized dictionary across all your Android devices using its own cloud service. You can also use its swipe input to type entire sentences in one motion by gliding over the space bar in between words.
   This app currently supports more than 60 languages and is now available for free to download on the Google Play Store.

2. Swype Keyboard
   Swype keyboard is the granddaddy of all alternative Android keyboards. Swype popularized a method of typing words using swipe action. It’s fast, intuitive and accurate. For those who love to type faster with just one finger, Swype is the one for you.
   Like SwiftKey, it features next-word prediction and adapts to the way you swipe. Swype also allows you to perform quick tasks such as Copy, Cut, Paste, and Select All by simply swiping on the keyboard.
   Swype for the tablet comes in two different mode: full-width mode and a compact mode. The full-width mode is more suitable for two hands typing while the compact mode is more suitable for swiping.
   Along with extensive list of features, Swipe allows you to personalize this app with new themes. Users can access 10 different keyboard themes for quick & cool keyboard customization. Swype keyboard is a paid app but they also offers a free trial version which lets you test for 30 days.

3. GO Keyboard
   Go Keyboard is a keyboard app for Android developed by the same team who made the popular Go Launcher. If you are looking for a highly customizable keyboard app for your Android device, then Go Keyboard might be your best options as it has over 140 themes to choose from, and it comes with 800+ free emoticons that makes the typing experience even more fun and personalized.
   Another interesting thing about Go Keyboard is that it allows you to customize the keyboard’s height, background and font size. It supports more than 60 languages and you can easily toggle between multiple languages in just a snap. This free app also allows you to easily switch between different keyboard layouts by swiping left or right. The keyboard also can be hidden by just sliding it down.

4. Google Keyboard
   Google Keyboard is the official Android keyboard that comes standard with all nexus devices and make it available for download at no cost. This is certainly the most beautiful and straight-forward input method for android.
   Google keyboard offers a lot of nifty features like voice recognition, next-word prediction, and emoji support. It also support the gesture typing with dynamic floating preview. Google keyboard has over 26 language dictionary.
   The only downside of this keyboard is that it’s only available for Android devices running Android 4.4 Kitkat or later.

5. TouchPal
   TouchPal keyboard is another great keyboard app that has everything a custom keyboard should have. All the premium features like gesture typing, next word prediction, auto-correction, multi language support (70+ languages), etc, are available in this app for free.
   Touchpad also features a typing tracker, which analyzes your typing speed and give you the statistics to improve it. Like the other keyboard apps, you can customize the keyboard using custom themes and layouts available in the app.
   Moreover, TouchPal keyboard also comes with an interesting and unique way of entering text, called “Wave”. When writing with Wave turned on, words will occasionally appear under some letters, based on the letters you’ve entered so far. If the word under a letter is the one you need, all you have to do is drag the letter to the spacebar and the word will be automatically completed.

6. Kii Keyboard
   Kii keyboard is an all-in-one keyboard solution for Android. This app combines all the best features from other third-party android keyboard apps like Swype, Swiftkey, GO keyboard, Thumb keyboard, Jelly Bean keyboard and Better keyboard in a single app.
   Some of the premium features include next-word prediction, gesture based control, swype like input method, many keyboard layouts, different HD themes and many more. The app lets you use all the premium features for free, but they will be reset every hour unless you upgrade to premium via in-app-purchase.

7. MultiLing Keyboard
   MultiLing keyboard is an app that allows you to type in different languages on your Android device. This particularly useful for those whose native language is not English. You can quickly switch between language with quick swype on the space key.
   MultiLing keyboard supports a lot of languages, but they are not installed by default. Once you have installed the app, you have to go to the Market and download the plug-in for the language you want in the app.
   Another good thing about MultiLing Keyboard is that it supports gestures typing. You can swipe down to hide the keyboard, swipe right to change the mode to number layout, and so on. Best of all, you can configure the gestures and its respective actions.

8. Hacker’s keyboard
   Hacker’s keyboard is a free keyboard replacement app that is designed to fully mimic a physical keyboard so you don’t have to learn a new keyboard layout and get confuse over the position of each character.
   Just like the standard keyboard, it has Ctrl, Tab, Alt, Esc and arrow keys. This is particularly useful for anyone who works with coding on their phones or tablets. One thing it doesn’t come with is the auto-correct feature. If you rely a lot on this feature, then this keyboard is not for you.

9. Thumb Keyboard
   Thumb Keyboard is a flexible keyboard that introduces a revolutionary and innovative “split” layout for Android tablets and phones. Like its name suggests, it splits the keyboard in two, so you can reach all the keys with only your thumbs. You will also find a standard layout, which you can switch to by simply tapping the Tablet button between the spacebars.
   You can adjust the size of the keyboard according to the screen size. You can also theme the keyboard and even use your own background. This keyboard comes with more than 25 different themes to choose from, all of which are customizable to fit your needs.
   Thumb Keyboard is a paid application, but its one of the best keyboard apps available for Android, so it may be worth it for you.

All these keyboard apps can be really useful as they can help you type much faster and accurately. They all provide similar features such as gesture typing, text prediction, and other aspects, while some are even more advanced as they provide additional features such as emoji, T9 layout, backup and sync, and more. So, which one is your favorite? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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