aText vs Espanso

aText

• People who want a low-cost text expander on a Mac or a Windows PC
• Syncing snippets between Windows and macOS through a cloud folder already in use
• Work inside virtual machines and remote desktop sessions

Espanso

• People who move between Windows, macOS and Linux and want one text expander
• Developers who want snippets that run shell commands or scripts
• Users who prefer snippets stored locally in plain files

aText

• Mac and Windows licenses are separate purchases; a license for one platform does not work on the other.
• A license for version 3 for macOS does not cover version 2 or a future version 4, and there is no upgrade discount from version 2.
• The website's downloads are dated 2024: version 3.21 for macOS, listed for macOS 10.12 to 15, and version 1.41 for Windows.
• Personal One year and Floating licenses expire after a year, and the site does not say what the free Windows version leaves out.

Espanso

• There is no graphical editor: snippets and settings are written in YAML files. The site says a GUI is planned.
• Sync is manual. The docs describe moving the configuration folder into a cloud folder such as Dropbox and linking to it.
• It supports Windows, macOS and Linux only; the installation page lists no mobile apps.
• Wayland support on Linux is labeled experimental in the project's README.

aText

Abbreviation expansion

Typing an abbreviation in any application replaces it with a phrase you defined. Snippets can also be searched and inserted without typing the abbreviation.

Rich text snippets

Snippets can hold formatted text, images and attachments for insertion into apps such as Word, Mail, Outlook, Pages and Gmail.

Fields, dates and scripts

Advanced functions include editable fields, date and time calculations, generated keystrokes, mouse scripts and scripting; the Windows app supports Batch, PowerShell, JavaScript and VBScript.

Auto-correction and built-in snippets

Capitalizes new sentences and corrects double capitals, and ships with snippet sets for common misspellings, HTML and JavaScript coding, and emoji.

Sync and sharing

Data syncs through OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud Drive or a shared network folder, between Macs and Windows PCs, and can be shared in a multi-user setup.

Virtual machines and remote desktops

The vendor says aText works in virtual machines and remote desktop clients, and offers a configurator for adapting it to individual applications.

Espanso

Keyword-triggered expansion

Detects a trigger keyword as it is typed and replaces it in place, in most applications. Triggers can also be written as regular expressions.

Search bar

Pressing ALT+Space opens a search bar for finding and inserting a snippet when you do not remember its trigger.

Dates, shell commands and scripts

Snippets can insert past or future dates and the output of shell commands or custom scripts directly into the application being typed in.

Forms

A match can open a form with text fields, choice boxes and list boxes. The values entered fill the template and can be passed on to a script.

Packages and Espanso Hub

A built-in package manager installs community packages from the Espanso Hub, such as emoji, accents, mathematical symbols and HTML snippets.

File-based, app-specific configuration

Matches and options are defined in YAML files, and separate configuration files can change or disable behavior for individual applications.

aText

• Personal One year$4.99

  for one year, 1 user; does not renew automatically

  One user on up to 3 computers. The license cannot be moved between computers and expires after a year without an automatic charge.

• Personal Lifetime$29.99

  one-time purchase, 1 user

  One user on up to 5 computers, with transfers between computers allowed up to 5 activations a year.

• Business$29.99

  one-time, per computer; $14.99 or $9.99 at volume

  A lifetime license for one computer with unlimited users. The single-license price is set higher to deter personal use.

• Floating$9.99

  per concurrent user, for one year

  One concurrent user at a time on unlimited computers, with a 30-minute seat time-out. Needs an internet connection; suggested for the portable version.

Espanso

• Espanso$0

  The complete text expander for Windows, macOS and Linux, including the search bar, forms, scripts and the package manager.

aText

• Lifetime license

  Personal Lifetime license for $29.99

  A one-time Personal Lifetime license costs $29.99 for one user on up to 5 computers, against $4.99 for a license that lasts one year.

• Other savings

  Volume pricing on Business licenses

  The buy page shows Business licenses at $29.99, $14.99 or $9.99 depending on quantity, and says volume discounts also apply to Personal One year licenses.

Espanso

No public discounts listed.