Automation Tools
Best Text Expansion Apps in 2023 (Free & Paid)
By Alex · Updated Mar 4, 2023
Do you find yourself typing the same thing over and over again? If so, you need a text expander!
Text expanders can save you a lot of time by automatically inserting text that you type often. In this blog post, we will discuss the best text expanders on the market.
The best text expansion apps
- Best overall: TextExpander
- Best free on Windows: AutoHotkey
- Best free on Mac: MacOS settings
- Best Chrome extension: Text Blaze
How to choose
There are a lot of different text expanders on the market, so how do you choose the right one for you? The best way to decide is to think about what features are important to you. Here are some things we considered:
- Is it easy to use?
- How much does it cost?
- Those it come with a pre-built library of snippets?
- Does it work across all of your devices?
Best overall text expander: TextExpander
- Pricing: $4.16/month (or $3.33/month billed annually)
- Available on: Windows, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Chrome
- Pro: Ease of use
- Con: Annoying recommendation pop-ups
- Extra features: Cross-platform sync and extensive snippet library
TextExpander is your instant access knowledge base for outgoing communication. Share text and images from your knowledge base anywhere you can type.
Best free text expander for Windows: AutoHotkey
- Pricing: free
- Available on: Windows
- Pro: Large user community
- Con: Complex to use
- Extra features: Advanced scripting features
Free keyboard macro program. Supports hotkeys for keyboard, mouse, and joystick. Can expand abbreviations as you type them.
Best free text expander for Mac: MacOS settings
- Pricing: free
- Available on: Mac
- Pro: Easy to use
- Con: Snippets not supported in all apps
- Extra features: Auto capitalize and quote correction
MacOS has a built-in feature that lets you replace text and punctuation in many apps.
Best text expander for Chrome: Text Blaze
- Pricing: free
- Available on: Chrome
- Pro: Ease of use
- Con: Snippets not available outside of Chrome
- Extra features: Dynamic templates and sharing
Text Blaze is an auto text Chrome Extension to insert snippets, templates and macros in Google Chrome. Speed up your work and type faster with this text expander.
All text expanders
| Name | URL | Platforms |
|---|---|---|
AutoHotkey | Windows | |
MacOS settings | Mac | |
Text Blaze | Chrome | |
TextExpander | MaciPadiPhoneWindowsChrome | |
Alfred | Mac | |
Keyboard Maestro | Mac | |
aText | WindowsMac | |
Magical | Chrome | |
PhraseExpress | WindowsMaciPhone | |
Espanso | WindowsMacLinux | |
Typinator | Mac | |
Breevy | Windows | |
TypeIt4Me | MaciPadiPhone | |
FastKeys | Windows | |
PhraseExpander | Windows | |
Texpand | Android | |
Rocket Typist | Mac | |
Gmail Snippets | Chrome | |
Beeftext | Windows | |
FastFox | WindowsMac | |
OSlash | ChromeMac |