Short answer: Microsoft SwiftKey is a free iPhone keyboard built around swipe typing, predictions and themes, and Microsoft's support page says its voice typing supports English only. Voice Keyboard Pro is a paid keyboard built around dictation in 19 languages, with cleanup and voice edits. SwiftKey is the better pick if you mainly type and want it free.
Microsoft SwiftKey is a free iPhone keyboard known for swipe typing and predictions that learn how you write. If you're looking for a SwiftKey alternative for iPhone, it's often because you want to speak your messages rather than type them, and SwiftKey's voice typing is documented in English only.
We make Voice Keyboard Pro, so keep that in mind. Every fact about SwiftKey here comes from Microsoft's own pages and its App Store listing, checked in October 2026. We've also said where SwiftKey is the better pick, because for typing it is.
What SwiftKey does well
The App Store listing describes a keyboard that "learns your writing style", with autocorrect and predictions that adapt to your slang, nicknames and emoji, swipe typing or tap-to-type, dozens of themes, and emoji and GIFs. It's listed as free. The in-app purchases shown are themes at $0.00. It requires iOS 15.0 or later. Microsoft's iPhone product page adds typing in two languages without switching settings.
It's also actively maintained: the listing shows version 4.3.7 from October 9, 2026. The listing's subtitle reads "Copilot | Emojis | Tone change" and the description mentions artificial intelligence, but the listing doesn't describe those features in detail, so we don't compare them here.
For someone who wants a good typing keyboard at no cost, with themes and GIFs, that's a lot for nothing.
Why people look for a SwiftKey alternative
1. Voice typing is English only on iPhone
Microsoft's support page for voice to text says that on iOS you tap the microphone icon on the SwiftKey keyboard, and that if English is your SwiftKey language, voice typing is enabled by default. Its FAQ adds: "Currently we support English only for voice to text." If you dictate in Spanish, Hindi or German, that rules it out.
2. Your voice goes to Microsoft's speech services
The same page says data from voice typing "will be sent to Microsoft's speech services to turn your speech into text". It also explains that you can share de-identified voice clips to help improve recognition, and how to stop contributing in the app's settings. That's clearly disclosed. It's still something to weigh if you dictate sensitive text.
3. Voice typing isn't the headline
The App Store description doesn't mention voice typing at all. Microsoft's own SwiftKey page lists voice typing on its Android tab, while its iPhone tab lists themes, swipe, the toolbar and typing in two languages, with no voice typing. Only the support page covers it for iOS. That's not a flaw. It does mean voice is an extra on a typing keyboard, not what the keyboard is built around.
4. It's a phone keyboard with no Mac companion
The App Store listing covers iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple Vision, and we found no Mac version. If you also dictate on a Mac, you'd use something else there, and your settings won't follow you.
What to look for in an alternative
- Dictation in the languages you actually speak.
- A keyboard you can still type on: swipe, predictions, emoji.
- Cleanup of fillers, punctuation and grammar, so you're not editing afterwards.
- A way to fix a mistake by voice.
- Clear information on where your audio goes.
- Whether you need the same tool on a Mac.
Voice Keyboard Pro as an alternative
Voice Keyboard Pro is a full iPhone keyboard with a microphone built in, and it runs on iPad too (iOS 17 or later). You tap Speak, talk, and tap Stop, and the text goes into whatever app you're typing in, from Messages and WhatsApp to Mail, Notes and Slack. It doesn't stop when you pause. It listens until you tap Stop, though a very long single dictation has a safety cap of about ten minutes.
It cleans up as it goes: punctuation, grammar and filler words, with a stutter collapsed to one copy. Smart Rewrite can be switched off in the app's settings if you want your words exactly as spoken. You can speak a change to fix what you just dictated, long-press Speak for actions like fixing grammar, changing tone, shortening or making bullet points, and translate while dictating into 24 target languages.
It still types: swipe typing, word predictions, emoji and whole-word delete. It detects which of 19 languages you're speaking. A personal dictionary learns names and jargon and can import names from Contacts. There's meeting transcription on iPhone, with an AI summary, decisions and action items.
The costs and limits, plainly. There's no free tier. On our website it's $4.99 a month (the monthly plan starts with a 3-day free trial), $34.99 a year, or $1.99 a week, with a 14-day refund, and App Store prices differ. It needs Allow Full Access, which our Full Access guide covers. Because iOS doesn't let keyboards use the microphone directly, tapping Speak may briefly open the Voice Keyboard Pro app. It doesn't work offline on iPhone: audio goes to the transcription provider over an encrypted connection, is turned into text and thrown away, and recordings are never kept. We don't claim themes or GIF search.
If you want a few more options before you choose, see our roundups of the best third-party keyboards for iPhone and the best voice keyboards for iPhone. Apple's built-in dictation is also worth trying first.
Which kind of user switches
Going by SwiftKey's own pages, it's built for people who type: the listing leads with a keyboard that learns your writing style, and voice typing sits on a separate support page. So it's a weaker fit if you speak most of what you write, or if you dictate in a language other than English.
That might be someone who finds typing on a phone slow, or someone who writes long notes and messages by voice and then tidies them. For that kind of use, the useful things are what happens after you speak: punctuation placed for you, fillers removed, and a way to correct a sentence by voice. Those are the places a dictation-first keyboard spends its effort, and they're where we've put ours.
It's also worth being clear about what you'd give up. SwiftKey's themes and GIFs are part of its appeal, and we don't claim to match them. Our swipe typing and predictions are there so you can type when speaking isn't practical, such as in a quiet room, not to replace a keyboard built around customisation.
How to switch, step by step
You don't have to give up SwiftKey to try another keyboard. iPhone lets you keep several installed and switch between them with the globe key, so you can keep SwiftKey for typing and use the other for dictation.
- Install Voice Keyboard Pro from the App Store. It runs on iPhone with iOS 17 or later.
- Open Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard and choose Voice Keyboard Pro.
- Tap the new keyboard and turn on Allow Full Access. It needs this to work.
- In any text field, tap the globe key until Voice Keyboard Pro is showing, then tap Speak.
- Expect a quick hop when no listening session is running: tapping Speak briefly opens the app to start one, and then you come back to where you were typing.
No account is needed to start. If the keyboard keeps flipping back to another one, our post on keyboards that keep switching back has the fixes.
Head to head
| What | SwiftKey | Voice Keyboard Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | No charge on the App Store | Subscription |
| Swipe typing | Yes | Yes |
| Voice languages | English only | 19, auto-detected |
| Where voice goes | Microsoft's speech services | Cloud, audio discarded |
| Cleanup of speech | Not described on its pages | Punctuation, filler words |
| Fix by voice | Not described | Yes |
| Themes and GIFs | Yes | Not claimed |
| Mac app | None listed | Yes, same plan |
SwiftKey cells are from its App Store listing, Microsoft's support page and Microsoft's SwiftKey page in October 2026.
When SwiftKey is the better pick
Stick with SwiftKey if you mostly type, want a free keyboard, and care about themes, GIFs and predictions that learn your style. If you only dictate in English now and then, its built-in voice typing may be enough. No subscription beats a free keyboard that does the job.
Choose Voice Keyboard Pro if:
- You dictate more than you type.
- You speak a language other than English.
- You want filler words and punctuation handled for you.
- You want to fix mistakes by voice.
- You also dictate on a Mac.
Frequently asked questions
Does SwiftKey have voice typing on iPhone?
Microsoft's support page says yes, through the microphone icon on the keyboard, and that it supports English only. The App Store description doesn't mention it.
Is SwiftKey free on iPhone?
The App Store lists it as free, with theme purchases shown at $0.00. Check the listing for current terms.
Why does SwiftKey keep switching back on iPhone?
iOS swaps in its own keyboard in some places, such as password fields, and that applies to every third-party keyboard. Our post on third-party keyboards that switch back explains the usual fixes.
Can I use dictation and swipe typing together?
Yes, on a keyboard that has both. We cover how in swipe typing with voice dictation.
What should I use for dictation in other languages?
Check the keyboard's own language list before installing. Voice Keyboard Pro supports 19 languages and detects which one you're speaking, and Apple's built-in dictation has its own list, which we cover in iPhone dictation languages.
The bottom line
SwiftKey is a strong free typing keyboard whose voice typing is English only. If speaking is how you write, Voice Keyboard Pro puts dictation first and keeps swipe and predictions, in exchange for a subscription.
Tap Speak, talk in any of 19 languages, and tap Stop. Clean-up happens as it goes.
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