Awesome Android Keyboards

A curated, maintainable map of Android keyboard and input method ecosystems.

Awesome Android Keyboards is a professional index for the android keyboard ecosystem: Android IME apps, input method engines, privacy keyboard choices, open-source keyboard projects, Rime and Trime front-ends, F-Droid packages, commercial keyboards, developer keyboards, theme systems, and Android InputMethodService resources. It is built for users comparing daily keyboards, developers studying Android IME architecture, Chinese input method users evaluating Rime-based workflows, and maintainers looking for realistic open-source keyboard bases.

The list is intentionally conservative. It does not rank projects by hype, copy marketing text, or treat closed-source claims as implementation facts. Each entry is backed by structured data in YAML, source links, maintenance notes, privacy/network signals, theme suitability, Chinese input support, and a short original review.

Data file: data/keyboards.yml. Generated from structured data on 2026-07-13.

Table of Contents

• Quick Recommendations
• Categories
  • Commercial Keyboards
  • Open Source Keyboards
  • Rime-based Keyboards
  • Privacy-focused Keyboards
  • AI-assisted Keyboards
  • Developer / Hacker Keyboards
  • Theme and Customization Resources
  • Android IME Development Resources
• Detailed Entries
• Maintenance

Quick Recommendations

• 普通用户推荐: Gboard, Microsoft SwiftKey, HeliBoard
• 隐私优先推荐: HeliBoard, FUTO Keyboard, FlorisBoard, Simple Keyboard
• 中文输入推荐: Trime, Fcitx5 for Android, WeChat Keyboard, Sogou IME
• 适合二次开发推荐: FlorisBoard, HeliBoard, Simple Keyboard, Unexpected Keyboard
• 适合 iOS-like 主题改造推荐: FlorisBoard, HeliBoard, AnySoftKeyboard, Trime
• 适合 Glassmorphism 主题改造推荐: FlorisBoard, HeliBoard, FUTO Keyboard, Trime

Categories

The tables stay intentionally compact. Full evaluation fields live in data/keyboards.yml and the collapsible detail blocks below.

Commercial Keyboards

Name	Source	License	Stars	Signals	Short review
Baidu IME	Baidu IME	Proprietary	N/A	Chinese: excellentTheme: advancedOffline: partialPrivacy: medium	Worth tracking for Chinese input UX patterns, especially commercial theming and prediction.
Gboard	Gboard	Proprietary	N/A	Chinese: goodTheme: goodOffline: partialPrivacy: medium	Best baseline recommendation for users who want reliability and broad language support.
Microsoft SwiftKey	Microsoft SwiftKey	Proprietary	N/A	Chinese: goodTheme: advancedOffline: partialPrivacy: medium	Strong mainstream choice for users who value prediction quality and visual customization.
Sogou IME	Sogou IME	Proprietary	N/A	Chinese: excellentTheme: advancedOffline: partialPrivacy: medium	Useful reference point for Chinese commercial keyboard features and theme marketplaces.
WeChat Keyboard	WeChat Keyboard	Proprietary	N/A	Chinese: excellentTheme: basicOffline: partialPrivacy: medium	Practical option for Chinese users already living in Tencent services.

Open Source Keyboards

Name	Source	License	Stars	Signals	Short review
AnySoftKeyboard	AnySoftKeyboard	Apache-2.0	3,335	Chinese: basicTheme: advancedOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Strong candidate for studying plugin-like language and theme packaging.
FlorisBoard	FlorisBoard	Apache-2.0	8,479	Chinese: basicTheme: advancedOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Best candidate for serious UI experiments, Compose-based refactors, and custom themes.
HeliBoard	HeliBoard	GPL-3.0	5,620	Chinese: basicTheme: goodOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Best starting point for privacy-minded users and theme-oriented forks.
OpenBoard	OpenBoard	GPL-3.0	2,728	Chinese: basicTheme: basicOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Good reference for minimal offline keyboard behavior, but check maintenance before forking.
Simple Keyboard	Simple Keyboard	Apache-2.0	1,536	Chinese: noneTheme: basicOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Good for learning Android IME basics or building a deliberately simple fork.

Rime-based Keyboards

Name	Source	License	Stars	Signals	Short review
Fcitx5 for Android	Fcitx5 for Android	LGPL-2.1	5,420	Chinese: rime-basedTheme: goodOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Best reference for bringing desktop IME architecture and Rime support to Android.
Trime	Trime	GPL-3.0	4,469	Chinese: rime-basedTheme: advancedOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Best Android choice for serious Chinese Rime users and schema-heavy workflows.

Privacy-focused Keyboards

Name	Source	License	Stars	Signals	Short review
Fcitx5 for Android	Fcitx5 for Android	LGPL-2.1	5,420	Chinese: rime-basedTheme: goodOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Best reference for bringing desktop IME architecture and Rime support to Android.
FlorisBoard	FlorisBoard	Apache-2.0	8,479	Chinese: basicTheme: advancedOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Best candidate for serious UI experiments, Compose-based refactors, and custom themes.
FUTO Keyboard	FUTO Keyboard	NOASSERTION	2,852	Chinese: basicTheme: goodOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Interesting bridge between mainstream prediction quality and privacy-first design.
HeliBoard	HeliBoard	GPL-3.0	5,620	Chinese: basicTheme: goodOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Best starting point for privacy-minded users and theme-oriented forks.
Thumb-Key	Thumb-Key	AGPL-3.0	1,502	Chinese: noneTheme: goodOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Good reference for alternative mobile typing mechanics and compact UI experiments.
Trime	Trime	GPL-3.0	4,469	Chinese: rime-basedTheme: advancedOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Best Android choice for serious Chinese Rime users and schema-heavy workflows.

AI-assisted Keyboards

Name	Source	License	Stars	Signals	Short review
Baidu IME	Baidu IME	Proprietary	N/A	Chinese: excellentTheme: advancedOffline: partialPrivacy: medium	Worth tracking for Chinese input UX patterns, especially commercial theming and prediction.
FUTO Keyboard	FUTO Keyboard	NOASSERTION	2,852	Chinese: basicTheme: goodOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Interesting bridge between mainstream prediction quality and privacy-first design.
Microsoft SwiftKey	Microsoft SwiftKey	Proprietary	N/A	Chinese: goodTheme: advancedOffline: partialPrivacy: medium	Strong mainstream choice for users who value prediction quality and visual customization.
Sogou IME	Sogou IME	Proprietary	N/A	Chinese: excellentTheme: advancedOffline: partialPrivacy: medium	Useful reference point for Chinese commercial keyboard features and theme marketplaces.

Developer / Hacker Keyboards

Name	Source	License	Stars	Signals	Short review
Hacker's Keyboard	Hacker's Keyboard	Apache-2.0	2,361	Chinese: noneTheme: basicOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Historically important hacker keyboard, but new projects should account for age and maintenance risk.
MessageEase	MessageEase	Proprietary	N/A	Chinese: noneTheme: basicOffline: YesPrivacy: medium	Included as a design reference for non-QWERTY mobile input methods.
Unexpected Keyboard	Unexpected Keyboard	GPL-3.0	3,124	Chinese: noneTheme: goodOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Excellent reference for non-mainstream layouts and dense gesture-accessible symbols.

Theme and Customization Resources

Name	Source	License	Stars	Signals	Short review
AnySoftKeyboard	AnySoftKeyboard	Apache-2.0	3,335	Chinese: basicTheme: advancedOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Strong candidate for studying plugin-like language and theme packaging.
Baidu IME	Baidu IME	Proprietary	N/A	Chinese: excellentTheme: advancedOffline: partialPrivacy: medium	Worth tracking for Chinese input UX patterns, especially commercial theming and prediction.
FlorisBoard	FlorisBoard	Apache-2.0	8,479	Chinese: basicTheme: advancedOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Best candidate for serious UI experiments, Compose-based refactors, and custom themes.
FUTO Keyboard	FUTO Keyboard	NOASSERTION	2,852	Chinese: basicTheme: goodOffline: YesPrivacy: high	Interesting bridge between mainstream prediction quality and privacy-first design.
HeliBoard	[HeliBoard](https://github.com/Helium314/