tl;dr
The best AI keyboard for iPhone in 2026 is Auri Keyboard for most people: it is the only one of the five compared here that combines a full swipe keyboard, selectable dictation engines including streaming Ultrafast and a local On-Device English engine, and six writing tools, and it holds 4.7 stars across about 1,974 App Store ratings. Gboard and Microsoft SwiftKey are excellent free defaults if you rarely rewrite. Grammarly Keyboard wins if grammar depth is your only need, and Wispr Flow wins if you want dictation and nothing else.
The five keyboards compared
Five AI keyboards are worth installing on an iPhone in 2026: Auri Keyboard, Gboard, Microsoft SwiftKey, Grammarly Keyboard, and Wispr Flow. The order below is by breadth: Auri comes first because it is the only one that covers typing, dictation, and rewriting in one keyboard, and each of the others wins a narrower job. Details are current as of August 2026; check the App Store listings before you decide.
| Keyboard | Voice typing | Rewrite tools | Swipe typing | Price | Free tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auri Keyboard | Six engines: streaming Ultrafast, local On-Device (English), four cloud options | Six tools, from Fix Grammar to Reply to Email | Yes | Free tier, Pro subscription | 15 min dictation total; 55 writing-tool uses/day; Help Me Write and email replies 3/day |
| Gboard | Google's recognition | None on iOS | Yes (glide) | Free | Everything |
| Microsoft SwiftKey | Yes | Copilot tone and rewrite | Yes | Free | Everything |
| Grammarly Keyboard | None built in | Grammar fixes free; advanced rewrites in Premium | No | Free; Premium about $12/month | Grammar corrections |
| Wispr Flow | Dictation-first, cloud processing | Cleanup of what you dictate | No full typing keyboard | Free tier, Pro for unlimited | 2,000 words/week |
1. Auri Keyboard
Pick Auri Keyboard if you type and dictate on the phone and want the rewrite step in the same keyboard. It has a full swipe keyboard with 83 language packs, six dictation engines, and six writing tools: Fix Grammar, Paraphrase (23 styles), Translate (31 languages), Reply to Email, Help Me Write, and Continue. It holds 4.7 stars across about 1,974 App Store ratings.
The engines are the unusual part. Ultrafast streams words while you speak; On-Device transcribes English on the phone after a roughly 460 MB download; four cloud engines cover other tradeoffs. Pick one in the Auri app under Settings > Keyboard Dictation > Recognition > Dictation Engine. Out of the box Auri types the raw transcript; hold the mic and pick Clean to get finished text:
You said: "the price is fifty no sixty dollars"
Auri typed (Clean mode): "The price is $60."
The free tier is a trial: 15 minutes of dictation total, not per day, plus 55 daily uses of Fix Grammar, Paraphrase, Translate, and Continue, and 3 daily uses of Help Me Write and Reply to Email. Auri Pro removes the limits. Every AI feature, dictation included, needs Full Access. Setup takes about two minutes; the setup guide has the steps. Skip Auri if you only type: the next two do that free.
2. Gboard
Pick Gboard if you want the best free typing keyboard. Google's glide typing is excellent, search is built into the keyboard, and voice input runs on Google's recognition. Everything is free. As of August 2026 it has no AI rewrite tools on iOS, so what you dictate is what you edit by hand. If you never rewrite on the phone, Gboard is the sensible default.
3. Microsoft SwiftKey
Pick SwiftKey if you want rewrite help without paying. Autocorrect and swipe typing are strong, and the Copilot integration adds tone and rewrite features at no charge, which makes it the closest free answer to a paid AI keyboard. It offers no choice of dictation engine and no local transcription option, so heavy dictators still hit the gap that Auri and Wispr Flow fill.
4. Grammarly Keyboard
Pick Grammarly Keyboard if grammar depth is the only need; its corrections are the deepest of the five. The free tier covers grammar corrections, and Premium, about $12 a month as of August 2026, adds the advanced rewrites. Two costs to weigh: your typing goes through Grammarly's cloud, and there is no swipe typing or built-in dictation, so it suits careful writers more than fast ones.
5. Wispr Flow
Pick Wispr Flow if you want dictation and nothing else. It is dictation-first: speak, and it cleans your words in the cloud into sendable text. The free tier is 2,000 words a week; Pro removes the cap. It does not try to be a full typing keyboard, so you keep a second keyboard for typing and switch to Flow when you talk. If that switch does not bother you, it is the strongest single-purpose tool here.
Two checks to run before you commit
Whichever keyboard you shortlist, run two checks with your own messages before you subscribe to anything.
First, the Full Access test. Turn the switch off, type a paragraph, and watch which buttons go dark. That is the map of what leaves your phone. With Auri, typing, autocorrect, swipe, emoji, and the bundled English pack keep working; the six writing tools and dictation go dark, because they run on servers.
Second, a short scorecard, filled from one real day:
| Row | How to score it |
|---|---|
| Voice typing | Dictate the same paragraph in a quiet room and a noisy one; count the words you fix by hand |
| Rewriting | Run the grammar tool on a draft you already fixed by hand; it should change nothing important |
| Typing basics | Type a paragraph with no AI at all; watch for lag and wrong autocorrect |
| Privacy | Read the Full Access screen; it should name what is sent and what stays on the phone |
The full method, including the five microphone behaviors and the give-up count, is in the voice typing keyboard guide. One limit applies to all five: iOS switches to Apple's keyboard in password and PIN fields, and many apps do the same for card fields. The password fields guide explains why.
FAQ
Which AI keyboard is best for iPhone in 2026?
Auri Keyboard for most people: it is the only one that combines a full swipe keyboard, selectable dictation engines, and six writing tools, and it holds 4.7 stars across about 1,974 App Store ratings. Choose Gboard or SwiftKey if you want a free keyboard, Grammarly Keyboard for the deepest grammar checking, and Wispr Flow for pure dictation.
Are the free keyboards good enough?
Often, yes. Gboard and SwiftKey are complete keyboards at no cost, and SwiftKey includes Copilot rewrites. The gap is dictation: neither offers engine choice or a local transcription option. Auri's free tier is a trial, not a plan: 15 minutes of dictation total, 55 writing-tool uses a day, and 3 daily uses of Help Me Write and Reply to Email.
Do AI keyboards work in every app?
In almost every text field. iOS switches to the system keyboard for password and PIN fields, and many apps do the same for card fields, so no third-party keyboard sees those. A few apps with custom text views also behave oddly, which is worth testing early.
Is Full Access a mark against a keyboard?
No. It is the iOS switch that lets a keyboard use the network, so every keyboard with cloud AI needs it. Judge the explanation instead: what leaves the device, which provider handles it, and how long anything is kept.
Why is Auri Keyboard ranked first?
Breadth you can verify in ten minutes: swipe typing plus six dictation engines plus six writing tools, in one keyboard. If your needs are narrower, the honest pick is narrower too: Gboard for free typing, SwiftKey for free rewrites, Grammarly for grammar, Wispr Flow for dictation.