# aText

> Low-cost text expander for macOS and Windows

aText is a text expansion tool for macOS and Windows from Tran Ky Nam Software. It replaces abbreviations you type with stored phrases in any application, including formatted text, images and attachments, and offers fields, date and time calculations, keystrokes and scripts for more involved snippets. Data can be synced between computers, including between a Mac and a Windows PC, through a cloud drive or a shared network folder.

- **Category:** Desktop Utilities
- **Made by:** Tran Ky Nam Software
- **Website:** https://www.trankynam.com/atext/
- **Runs on:** macOS, Windows
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 9, 2026

## Pricing

aText has a free plan. Paid plans start at $4.99 for a one-year Personal license.

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** The Windows app is a free download with paid Premium features, and the buy page refers to a free version. The vendor's pages do not list what the free version leaves out.
- **Free trial:** Free 21-day trial of version 3 for macOS.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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. |

Read from https://www.trankynam.com/atext/buy on Oct 9, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with aText before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Personal Lifetime license for $29.99** (Lifetime license): 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. Source: https://www.trankynam.com/atext/buy
- **Volume pricing on Business licenses** (Other savings): 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. Source: https://www.trankynam.com/atext/buy

## Key features

- **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.

## Good for

- 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

## Worth knowing

- 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.

## Works with

OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud Drive

**Tags:** Text expansion, One-time purchase

## Alternatives

- [TextExpander](https://toolgpa.com/tools/textexpander): Text snippets that expand as you type, shared across a team. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/atext-vs-textexpander)
- [Espanso](https://toolgpa.com/tools/espanso): Open-source text expander for Windows, macOS and Linux. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/atext-vs-espanso)
- [Typinator](https://toolgpa.com/tools/typinator): Text expander for Mac, iPhone and iPad that stores snippets locally. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/atext-vs-typinator)
- [PhraseExpress](https://toolgpa.com/tools/phraseexpress): Text expander and template manager with on-premise sharing. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/atext-vs-phraseexpress)
- [Text Blaze](https://toolgpa.com/tools/text-blaze): Text expander with forms, formulas and shared team snippets. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/atext-vs-text-blaze)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 9, 2026:

- https://www.trankynam.com/atext/
- https://www.trankynam.com/atext/buy
- https://www.trankynam.com/atext/doc/
- https://www.trankynam.com/atext/portable
- https://www.trankynam.com/atext/changelog.mac
- https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9n68hc1srr0k?hl=en-US&gl=US

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/atext
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).