Clipdiary vs PhraseExpress (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Clipdiary and PhraseExpress share a 2.6 GPA, both have a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on whether you care more about value for money and ease of use, where Clipdiary grades higher, or features and platforms, where PhraseExpress does.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Clipdiary
Windows clipboard history manager with snippets and encryption
PhraseExpress
Text expander and template manager with on-premise sharing
Which one is for you
Pick Clipdiary if
- Fits if you want a clipboard history that keeps for months on Windows
- Works for home users who qualify for the free license
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use a Mac, as it is Windows only
- Not for you if you freelance or run a business, since the free license excludes that
- Watch out: business use is $29.99 per PC
- Watch out: versions 5.72 and 5.73 are listed as beta on the download page
Pick PhraseExpress if
- Fits if you run a help desk or an office with a large library of stock replies
- Works for teams whose phrases must stay on their own network or SQL Server, not a vendor's cloud
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you like seeing a price before the checkout, because the site doesn't show one
- Not for you if you're on a Mac and want everything on the website, as that describes the Windows version
- Tight if you expect updates for good: a license includes 12 months, later versions need a paid renewal, and old installers aren't kept
- Watch out: at work, license reminders and inserted license text start after 30 days of free use
- Watch out: fill-in forms, clipboard history and SQL Server sharing sit in higher editions, and there's no Android or web version
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAClipdiaryGood | 2.6GPAPhraseExpressGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | APersonal is $19.99 one-time, under a year of what the category's middle subscription charges. | CWe can't tell you what it costs, because the vendor's site shows no price: it appears only in the PayPro Global checkout. No published price puts it mid-table by default. What is on record is that a licence includes 12 months of updates, and later versions need a paid maintenance renewal. |
| Free plan and trial | B60-day full trial, and free for non-commercial personal use. Freelancing and running a business are excluded. | BFree for personal use on Windows and Mac, and the iPhone and iPad app is free. License reminders start after 30 days of professional use, and input forms and clipboard history sit in the Professional edition. |
| Features | CClipboard history, several formats, labels, snippets and a protected database. A focused job, done fully. | BIt covers the text expander job: abbreviations expand in any program, phrases live in multi-level folders, and macro functions add dates, calculations and conditions. Fill-in forms, SQL Server sharing, a document generator and AI rewriting are in the higher editions. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record, but you install it and start using it. | CNo store rating on record, and the work is yours: the value is in the phrase library you build, with folders, templates and fill-in forms. Picking an edition takes reading too, since the website describes the Windows version and the Mac editions have a different feature set. |
| Platforms and integrations | DWindows only. No Mac, Linux or phone version mentioned. | BWindows, Mac, and an iPhone and iPad app, which is phone and computer covered. It hooks into Outlook, Word, SQL Server, Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive, with OpenAI and DeepL for the AI side. No Android app and no web version. |
| Best for | long-term clipboard history on Windows | big shared phrase libraries kept on your own network |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Clipdiary and PhraseExpress. How we grade
Where they differ
- PhraseExpress also covers templates.
At a glance
| Clipdiary | PhraseExpress | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $19.99 one-time (Personal License) | Not published |
| Free plan | Free for non-commercial personal use, nonprofits, and private computers where income is under $2000/month. | Free for personal use on Windows and Mac; license reminders start after 30 days of professional use or use of commercial-edition features. The iPhone and iPad app is free. |
| Free trial | 60-day full-featured trial | Free demo with every feature; professional use needs a license after 30 days |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Clipdiary | Bartels Media GmbH |
| Price read from | clipdiary.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Clipdiary
- Windows only; the site mentions no Mac, Linux or mobile version.
- Free use excludes remote work, freelancing and running your own business.
- Version 5.72 and 5.73 are listed as beta releases on the download page.
PhraseExpress
- License prices are not shown on the vendor's site: the shop lists Standard, Professional and Enterprise editions, and the price appears only in the PayPro Global checkout.
- Free use is for personal users only. In a professional setting, license reminders and inserted license text begin after 30 days.
- A license includes 12 months of updates. Later versions need a paid maintenance renewal, and the vendor keeps no archive of old installers.
- Features described on the website refer to the Windows version; the Mac editions have a different feature set.
Key features
Clipdiary
- Long-term clipboard history
- Saves clipboard contents to a database automatically, so clips remain retrievable even after many years.
- Several data formats
- Records plain text, RTF, HTML, images (BMP), files and more, so a series of screenshots can be saved too.
- Stars and labels
- Mark important clips with stars and use labels to arrange history into folders.
- Snippets
- Keep standard replies, addresses or code as snippets and paste them in a few clicks.
- Password-protected database
- History stays on your computer and can be locked with AES-256 database encryption.
PhraseExpress
- Autotext in any program
- Typed abbreviations expand into stored phrases in any program, and a menu can suggest phrases from their first letters. Phrases are kept in multi-level folders.
- Fill-in forms and macro functions
- Forms collect input that is placed into a template, and macro functions add dates, calculations, conditions and external data. Input forms need the Professional edition.
- Phrase sharing
- Phrases can be shared through a network folder, a NAS, a synced cloud folder or a client-server setup on Microsoft SQL Server. SQL Server support needs Professional or Enterprise.
- AI support
- AI can summarize or rewrite phrases and process text in any application, using self-hosted or cloud-based language models. It is part of the Enterprise edition.
- Document Generator
- Builds a whole document, saved as a Microsoft Word file, from a chosen set of templates. With multi-language phrases and the Outlook add-in, it is in the Windows Enterprise edition.
- Clipboard and spelling tools
- Clipboard Collections keep a history of clipboard contents, from the Professional edition up, and a system-wide spelling correction fixes typing mistakes as you type.
Plans
Clipdiary
Personal License$19.99
one-time, lifetime license
Non-commercial use at home only; free updates from version 5.72.
Business License$29.99
per PC, one-time
For business, academic or government use; $24.99 each for 5 to 20, $19.99 each for 21 or more.
Extended License$39.99
one-time, up to 5 computers
Up to five computers owned by family members, including a work PC.
Site license$1499.99
one-time, up to 150 PCs
One license covering 150 PCs.
PhraseExpress
Pricing could not be confirmed. See phraseexpress.com.
Ways to pay less
Clipdiary
- Nonprofit
Free for nonprofits and some personal use
The register page says Clipdiary is free for personal computers, not-for-profit organizations, and private computers with income under $2000 a month.
PhraseExpress
- Other savings
Volume discounts from five licenses
The shop page advertises volume discounts for five or more licenses, shown in the cart once the quantity is entered. The vendor says it gives no coupons for single purchases.
- Other savings
Discounted maintenance renewal
Existing customers can renew maintenance at a discount by entering their license key, which restores access to updates and new major versions.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Clipdiary or PhraseExpress?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Clipdiary starts at $19.99 one-time (Personal License), and PhraseExpress has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Clipdiary or PhraseExpress?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Clipdiary and PhraseExpress have a free plan.
Which platforms do Clipdiary and PhraseExpress run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only PhraseExpress lists macOS and iOS apps. Both list a Windows app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.