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Finding the right text expander is a bit like finding the right engagement ring. There are a lot of shiny options available (some of them are expensive, others are really old, and a few of them have really weird design quirks) but somewhere out there is the perfect option for you. That’s why—in order to save you time, money, and regret—our team has put to the test some of the top Text Blaze alternatives to help you find the right one.
Because while Text Blaze is a popular choice, it does have a few notable drawbacks. The big one that catches most people off-guard? It costs actual money. Here is a screenshot of the Text Blaze pricing page:
If you want to use more than 20 snippets of text, you’re going to need to pay for the privilege. And if you want to share snippets of text with your team? That’s going to cost you even more. Other common complaints from users include that Text Blaze only works on Google Chrome, and that it can be complicated to set up features like their dynamic formulas, autopilot commands, and connected snippets.
So what other options are out there? Let’s dig into some of the best alternatives to Text Blaze that are available today…
Top Free Alternatives to Text Blaze
They say the best things in life are free. Does that quote apply to text expanders? Maybe! Here are three options that will make the case.
1. Magical
Bias alert! This is the website you’re currently reading. But we couldn’t in good conscience write an article about Text Blaze alternatives without mentioning this popular free Chrome extension used by more than 450,000+ people at companies like Netflix, HubSpot, Amazon, and Verizon.
With Magical, you can supercharge your productivity by expanding text anywhere you need online. The text expansion shortcuts work across all your favorite web apps—including Salesforce, Zendesk, Gmail, LinkedIn, and any other websites. There are no integrations or complex workflow builders, either—just download the app and start creating text expansion shortcuts by choosing your triggers and what you want them to expand into.
Even better—with Magical, you can also populate your online spreadsheets and forms with just one click. No more toggling back and forth between tabs or copying and pasting manual data entry. The app works like magic, so you don’t have to.
Pros: 100% free, easy to set up and use, works across all web pages and web apps, has additional features like transfers and variables to help you save even more time.
Cons: Only available on Google Chrome. (For now. 😏)
2. Espanso
Espanso is another great Text Blaze alternative that is 100% free. Originally created by a software developer named Federico Terzi, it was meant for coders looking to improve their productivity. Since then though, the open source software has been used for everything from customer support replies, to sales pitches, and even medical reports.
You can use Espanso in a very similar way to Text Blaze. Instead of snippets, you create something called “Templates” in Espanso. You can call up saved templates with a simple keyboard shortcut (⌥+Space, on Mac) and simply select which one you want to insert into your message.
The app even comes with shell commands, script support, and complex workflows if you want to get fancy with it. (If you’re not technical though, you might want to just steer clear of these advanced features.)
Pros: 100% free, open source, and available system-wide on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Cons: Limited support due to this being a side-project of Federico. Also, the advanced features can be intimidating to a non-technical user.
3. Alfred
One of the most recommended text expansion apps for Mac is Alfred. This much-loved app is one of the text expander pioneers that originally brought together hotkeys, keywords, and snippets to improve the productivity of its users.
With Alfred, you can perform the same basic functionality as Text Blaze. (E.g., You can save frequently used text clips as snippets and auto-expand them anywhere.) But Alfred also lets you launch apps and files with a single hotkey, and use powerful search features to always keep your past copied text clips, images, file paths, and other notes easy-to-find.
Pros: Simple to use, but robust functionality that goes far beyond simple text expansion.
Cons: While the app itself is free, you’ll need to pay a one-time license fee for the Alfred 5 Powerpack to unlock all of the text expansion features. (Also, it’s just available on Mac.)
4. AutoHotKey
This option is a little more techy, but AutoHotKey is a free, open-source scripting language for Windows. It allows users to create small to complex scripts for all kids of tasks, such as form fillers, auto clicking, marcros, and more. You can automate any desktop task and it's beginner friendly.
Pros: Simple to use and it's free and open source.
Cons: If you're not into code, this might be over your head.
5. PhraseExpress
More than a text expander, PhraseExpress is an all in one document management tool. This tool has all the features of a typical text expander tool such as form filling and autotext features. PhraseExpress also has a document generator based on custom templates. They even have a portable option on a USB stick so you can use it on any computer or any account.
Pros: Offers more than text expansion capabilities.
Cons: After a 30 day free trial, it switches over to the freemium model which offers less capabilities. You also have to purchase a license to use the tool.
Top Paid Alternatives to Text Blaze
See value in paying a monthly or one-time fee for your text expander? Here are three more alternatives to Text Blaze that will get you a bit more bang for your buck.
6. TextExpander
This is the big one. TextExpander boasts “hundreds of thousands” of customers and is the top player in the text expansion space. (I mean, come on. Their name is literally “TextExpander.”) This means that when you subscribe to TextExpander, you get a more streamlined product that has been user-tested for decades in comparison to an app like Text Blaze which has only been around since 2019.
If you’re a larger team or an enterprise company, TextExpander also ticks all the boxes on features you might be looking for. (Single sign-on, Zapier integrations, and dedicated team training, to name a few.) So while it costs a little bit more than Text Blaze—you might just find the extra features and support to be worth it.
Pros: Top-tier customer support, full feature functionality across all major platforms.
Cons: Priced slightly higher than Text Blaze: $8.33 per user per month on the Business Plan, and $10.83 per user per month on the Growth Plan.
7. Oslash
Oslash has recently just expanded (no pun intended) into the text expansion space, and they’re already offering many of the same features as an app like Text Blaze. The app calls their text expansion feature “Oslash Snippets,” and they work pretty much exactly as you’d expect.
Unfortunately, their “Pro” pricing plan only allows you to use up to 5 snippets of text—which doesn’t really make sense for most use cases. If you’re going to go with this option, it probably only makes sense if you want to take advantage of their shortcut searching and sharing functionality, which lets you call up links to any files or web pages more easily.
Pros: Similar functionality to Text Blaze, but subscriptions also give you access to OSlash shortcuts which helps you find and share links easier.
Cons: You’ll need to go for the Expert Plan, which costs $6 per user per month on the annual plan. (And $8 per user per month on the monthly plan.)
8. aText
One final alternative to consider is aText. This app is available on both Mac and Windows, and the creators describe it as “a text template, text shortcut, text macro, text automation, and text expansion tool.” Available on both Windows and Mac platforms.
Two cool things to point out about this option. First, it comes with built-in snippets for misspelling correcting, HTML and JavaScript coding, and auto-emojis. So you don’t need to worry about adding in all of these basic templates when you first install the app. Second, it also lets you group and subgroup your text expansions to make them super easy to organize, edit, and delete.
Pros: It’s easy to use, easy to organize, and works pretty well for an app that costs about $15 per user for a lifetime business license.
Cons: There seems to be very little customer support, and it’s unclear how long the developers will continue to create or update new features.
9. Keyboard Maestro
Keyboard Maestro lets you automate text, websites, or applications You can launch your most used applications, open specific documents, even rearrange windows. In addition to its text expanding capabilities, you can also create reports and e-mail templates.
Pros: It's simple to use and low cost for beginners.
Cons: You have to purchase a license to use the product and you may have to pay for future product upgrades. It's also only for Mac OS.
10. Typinator
Typinator allows you to create templates for your most frequently typed text and saves them so you don't have to copy and paste again and again (and again). It also has a quick search feature so you can quickly find your templates. You can use Typinator in any program and it's availabel in four languages.
Pros: It's free to try.
Cons: It's currently only for Mac OS.
What is the best alternative to Text Blaze?
As mentioned above, the best alternative to Text Blaze depends on your particular case and how much you are looking to spend on a tool. For most people, the best alternative will be a 100% free text expander tool like Magical. Not only does Magical let you expand messages in the same way that Text Blaze does—it also lets you transfer data between any two web pages and fill out spreadsheets in the blink of an eye.
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