What open source keyboard alternative you suggest instead of gBoard on Android?

Thumb-Key is aiming to be a FOSS replacement to the now unmaintained MessageEase. Like MessageEase, it offers a 3x3 touch-and-swipe layout. It takes time to learn, but allows to type fast and accurately, thus getting rid of the dependence on prediction/auto-correction, without which QWERTY on small touchscreens would be unusable. Many people report typing more than 50 WPM on MessageEase and the same should be possible with Thumb-Key. It's a young project and is still missing many features and gestures of MessageEase, but it is active and has a community here at thumbkey@lemmy.ml.

I only recently switched from GBoard to MessageEase and ThumbKey, and I still around 25 WPM, but I found that I stopped making mistakes when typing out the long master password for my password manage on my phone, because this is one of the areas where auto-correct couldn't help.

But I am still far away from reaching the speeds of swiping on a QWERTY-keyboard without word prediction. So if you don't mind that and don't want to spend your free time learning alternative layouts, stick to QWERTY layouts, but if you want a keyboard layout to type exactly what you want, try one of these 3x3 boards. To be honest, if you want to give it a shot, out of the two I would probably still recommend MessageEase, as Thumb-Key is very alpha, but that might change. I have both with the same layout and switch back and forth.

That's a really smart idea: downloaded and using it to type this comment. I've often thought about how radial entry is so superior for many things (see CSGO buy menu). It's definitely a steep learning curve (as is any new input method) but I look forward to reaping the benefits!
This is cool! Typing with it right now. Have been hoping to see an innovation like this for a long time. (Maybe some proprietary products have come and gone but non-free software doesn't exist to me unless I really can't afford to abstain)
I test it on your post. It's weird. But I think I can get used to it.

Definitely Florisboard as it has the most features and best theming support but I was using AnySoftKeyboard in the past and it's okay too.

It hasn't been updated in like a year and there is no spell correction. Am I missing something or is this just an acceptable tradeoff for you?
- The next release of FlorisBoard should come soon (hopefully) after the main dev finishes the NLP core implementation. Even if not, I still don't mind using it.
  
  Spell correction works but isn't implemented that well. You need to change the default Android spell checker and then find some raw dictionary of words. But it works in the end.
I second FlorisBoard due to gesture typing even though it's got room for improvement. Couldn't get gesture to work reliably with AnySoft.

Now if Florisboard had kaomoji and gifs like Gboard, it'd be perfect (╥﹏╥ )
- There's a gesture tying (swipe) fork of open board as well which is simply brilliant: https://github.com/erkserkserks/openboard. The problem with FlorisBoard for now is the lack of autocorrect.

Used OpenBoard, but switched to Florisboard because OpenBoard seems abandoned and the developer of FlorisBoard came back with an update of what he's working on. So far I'm not mad, the lack of autocorrect did make my typing much better. But as a dyslectic person I can't wait for proper autocorrect to be implemented.

I am using OpenBoard as well. There even is a fork with gesture typing for the adventurous.

I like open board, but I wish it had better text prediction. I would love a privacy respecting keyboard that predicts what I'm going to say. Years ago I had Microsoft SwiftKey so well trained I usually barely even need to type, just hit the suggestions
Is there an apk on hand for that fork, or do I have to build it myself?
- Nevermind, found it

Openboard

AnySoftKeyboard

Simple Keyboard

Edit: Actually switched to FlorisBoard after reading this thread. The swipe is mostly accurate so far. Hoping it improves in the 0.4 release!

I use the slide-to-type feature a lot, and currently the only other keyboard I found with this feature is anysoftkeyboard, but it is (or at least it was the last time I tried) sadly so much worse than gboard, so I'm still using Gboard currently

Yeah, I use anysoft and just deal with it. It isn't great, but at least I'm not on Google. I definitely respect your position though, just wanted to show support for anysoft.

Hacker's Keyboard. The only keyboard I'll ever use on Android.

It hasn't had a real release in about 5 years though. It uses a very old API so it's slightly buggy.

I've been using Unexpected Keyboard lately instead. It's the only modern keyboard I've found that has stuff like control and function keys. It uses swiping on keys to get more characters though, so it takes some getting used to. I had to set the swipe distance higher so I don't have as many typos.

I used to use Florisboard for a while, but the lack of autocorrect (however annoying it may be sometimes) made me switch to AnySoftKeyboard. I mostly like that I can customize away all the unnecessary emoji and single use buttons (e.g. .com button when filing in links), as the usable space on a phone screen in portrait mode is already cramped.

Happy with it so far, but mobile phone keyboards (outside of physical ones), are generally still a bit of a pain IMO.

I can agree. Lack of autocorrect is really a bummer, as I'm so used to it.

Florisboard. It has glide-typing, and I found it to be better than AnySoftKeyboard. Main downside is it doesn't have next-word suggestions yet, but that's planned for the next major release.

but that’s planned for the next major release.

...for years at this point.

Don't get me wrong, the fact that this is a brand new keyboard app and not a fork of the AOSP one with no significant changes (hi OpenBoard) does throw quite a large wrench into the works, but development is going so slowly even on a de-Google'd ROM I had to resort to switching back to Gboard with internet access cut off to have anything I write have any sort of resemblance to understandable language.
- https://github.com/florisboard/florisboard/pull/2209 it's actually coming really soon, he spent a year working on learning NLP, and it's finally in the implementation phase.
I cannot find an option for glide typing. Where's that setting?
- In settings there's a 'Gestures & Glide typing' option. It does say that it currently only supports US English, so if you have another language set that could be the issue?
  
  That's also meant to be changing with the next major release though.