Text expander apps are handy tools that help you cut down on the time you have to spend on repetitive typing tasks. One of the best-known text expander apps is TextExpander. But if you’re looking for TextExpander alternatives right now, it isn’t doing the job for you.
At a basic level, TextExpander apps allow you to create keyboard shortcuts that will expand your frequently used text, but some of them have more advanced features like automatically adding your contact’s details to messages, moving data across tabs, collaboration features, and more.
Text expansion tools can save users up to 30 minutes per day and over 50% of small businesses use text expansion tools to streamline communication.
Whether you’re looking for free or freemium, browser-based or device-based, here are eight different TextExpander alternatives to consider.
8 TextExpander alternatives to try
1. Magical
Full disclosure: Magical is our app! But bear with us—people working at companies like Disney, Uber, Facebook, Loom, and Salesforce happen to agree it’s pretty helpful.
Magical makes it easy for you to:
- Turn your frequently used text into shortcuts so you never type the same thing over again
- Find and retrieve your shortcuts anywhere with just two simple keystrokes
- Share shortcuts with your teammates so everyone can speak the same language
- Automatically add your contact’s personal information like Name, Company, or Job Title to your message without toggling between tabs.
There are also handy macro functions that let you add the date and time or the last contents of your clipboard to your shortcuts.
Magical also has capabilities beyond text expansion, including automatically filling sheets or forms to complete sourcing or prospecting workflows quickly.
When you sign up, there’s a user-friendly onboarding tutorial that will help you get the most out of Magical. Plus, you get access to our Magical Community, where you can meet and share tips with other magicians and gain early access to new features.
We also prioritize your privacy: Magical never collects or stores your keystrokes.
Chrome store rating: 5 stars with 2,396 reviews (TextExpander only has 3 stars, by the way!)
Where can you use it? Magical is available as a Chrome extension so that you can use it on any site.
Pricing: Totally free
As Natali says on G2:
The shortcuts make the creation of a baseline LinkedIn connection request a lot easier, meaning you don't have to type the "Hi X, ... Thanks, Y" and then fill in the personalised parts in the middle. It makes a much bigger difference than you'd expect!
2. aText
As well as making it simple for you to insert text snippets, the aText app also lets you add images and multimedia content to your shortcuts. Its autocorrect function will help you out by correcting misspelled words. Plus, you can organize all your shortcuts into groups and subgroups.
Where can you use it? Mac and Windows
Microsoft rating: 4.5 out of 32
Pricing: Freemium
As James says on G2:
The most helpful thing about this product is how much of a ""set it and forget it"" thing it is. I have several shortcuts I configured many years ago and hardly ever think about - they just work!" There are two downsides I've experienced over the years - the first is that aText is unable to expand into secure form fields (for example, password fields), which happens to include all fields in my password manager (not just the password). It is also a little slow to detect when you leave a secure field for a non-secure field, and you're taken by surprise by the fact that text expansion is not working. The latter issue may have been fixed by now, but I know it's definitely been a interruption to the otherwise seamless operation of the workflow.
3. PhraseExpress
The premium version of the PhraseExpress app comes with an array of features, including macro functions that let you add dynamic content to your snippets, template customization, and translation of words and phrases.
You can organize your snippets into multi-level folders and easily share them with teammates.
Where can you use it? Mac, Windows, and iOS
Pricing: Freemium. The basic version is available for free; for all the features it’s a one-off fee to buy a license, which includes 12 months of free updates. After that, you’ll need to pay to renew the maintenance of the software.
As Cee says on G2:
I can quickly send standard responses, remember my color codes, send frequently used hyperlinks and so forth without looking up a messy spreadsheet or document. Sometimes the copy-to-clipboard is broken and will somehow expand a previously copied item when using a shortcut, instead of the actual expansion programmed behind the shortcut.
4. Espanso
Espanso is an open-source text expander with similar capabilities to other text expander tools. Because the app uses a code-based method for creating shortcuts, you might need to be a bit more technologically savvy to feel comfortable using it.
Where can you use it? Mac, Windows, and Linux
Pricing: Free
5. Text Blaze
Text Blaze allows you to enhance your snippets with dynamic commands. For example, you can add in formulas to calculate numerical values (such as tax or interest). You can also create shortcuts to forms with blank fields, so you can easily fill in the relevant data each time you use them.
Where can you use it? Text Blaze is available as a Chrome extension and can be used on all Chrome-supporting devices.
Chrome rating: 5 stars out of 584
Pricing: The basic free version gives you a limited number of snippets, some snippet sharing, and trial forms support. You'll need to pay for a subscription for access to more snippets and full forms support.
As one user says on G2:
I was looking forward to making my repetitive work easy. I have to write a lot of emails to my client, mostly repetitive. I was exploring google chrome and randomly find this amazing tool that helped me create snippets which saved me a lot of time and increased productivity. I'm in sales and it has helped me save a lot of time and efforts. It indirectly helped send more proposals and bring in more revenue for my company. Not sure if this could work on mobile as well but so far so good. Although this tool helps me increase my productivity. I could figure out that this doesn't help me add tables. I think it should have this feature at least, maybe they can provide this in the paid version.
6. TypeIt4me
TypeIt4me is actually the original text expander app developed for use with Mac computers. It’s been around for over 30 years!
This user-friendly app has many of the typical text expander features, including shortcuts, templates with fill-in fields, and date and time macros. You can sync your snippets on multiple Macs by using your preferred cloud service.
Where can you use it? Just on a Mac
Pricing: You pay a one-off fee for a license. No need to set up an account.
7. Beeftext
This is a dependable, open-source text expander that can be used in any Windows app that supports copy/pasting. Beeftext only lets you create plain text shortcuts—there’s no dynamic content. Also, the app doesn’t have the capacity for you to share shortcuts within your team.
Where can you use it? Just on Windows
Pricing: Free
8. Breevy
Another straightforward text expander tool, Breevy also has a handy autocorrect function for tricky spellings. There’s the option to import snippets from TextExpander, and you can sync snippets on all your computers using Dropbox.
Where can you use it? Just on Windows
Pricing: You pay a one-off fee for a license.
Text expander FAQs
Is there a free text expander?
As you can see from the list of apps above, most text expander apps use a freemium model—you can often get a basic version of the app for free, but it might not come with all the features you want. Other app providers simply charge you one upfront fee for downloading the software.
But there are a few free text expanders, including Magical. If you’re looking for a free text expander app that you can easily use across multiple devices, Magical is a great option. As it’s a Chrome extension, it works on any device that supports Chrome.
Does Windows have a built-in text expander?
Windows doesn’t have its own built-in text expander, but there are plenty of text expander apps that you can download and use on a Windows computer. Seven out of the eight TextExpander alternatives listed above should work with Windows (as long as you have a Chrome browser, in the case of Magical and Text Blaze).
What is the best text expander?
Ultimately, the best text expander app will be the one that best suits your needs. You want to find a tool that works well for your device(s), that has the features you’ll find useful, and that you’ll feel comfortable using.
Ask yourself:
- Is this app just for my use?
- Do I want to use it on just one device or multiple devices?
- Do I need the capacity to share shortcuts within a team?
- What kind of tasks will I be using the app for?
- How much am I willing to pay for the app?
If you want an app that’s free, that can be used on multiple devices, and that lets you share shortcuts with teammates, Magical could be the right text expander for you.
So, are you ready to give it a try? Download the app to get started!
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