TypeSnap vs TextExpander

The Quick Version

	TypeSnap	TextExpander
Price	$17.99 once	$40/year
5-Year Cost	$17.99	$200
Cloud Required	No	Yes
Account Required	No	Yes
Import from TE	Yes, full	N/A
Import from TypeIt4Me	Yes, full	No
Fill-in Fields	Yes	Yes
Date Math	Yes	Yes
Nested Snippets	Yes	Yes
Team Features	No	Yes
Cross-Platform	Mac only	Mac, Windows, iOS, Chrome

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Why People Are Switching to TypeSnap

1. The Subscription Problem

TextExpander moved to a subscription model in 2016. At $40/year, here’s what you’re looking at:

• Year 1: $40
• Year 3: $120
• Year 5: $200
• Year 10: $400

TypeSnap costs $17.99. Once. You own it forever.

That’s not a small difference -it’s $182 saved in just 5 years. And unlike a subscription, you never have to worry about losing access to your snippets if you decide to stop paying.

2. Your Data Stays on Your Mac

TextExpander requires cloud sync. Every snippet you create -including potentially sensitive content like email templates, addresses, API keys, or code snippets -lives on their servers.

TypeSnap takes a fundamentally different approach:

• Local storage only: Your snippets are stored in standard JSON files on your Mac
• No servers: We literally have no servers to store your data on
• No account: You don’t need to create an account or provide an email
• Optional iCloud: If you want to sync between Macs, you can use your own iCloud storage

We can’t see your data because we never have access to it in the first place.

3. Seamless Migration

Worried about your years of TextExpander snippets? Don’t be. TypeSnap imports everything:

• ✅ All your snippets and content
• ✅ Groups and folder structure
• ✅ Fill-in fields (text, dropdowns, checkboxes)
• ✅ Date and time macros with calculations
• ✅ Clipboard references
• ✅ Nested snippet references
• ✅ Cursor positioning
• ✅ Key simulations

The entire process takes about 60 seconds. Export from TextExpander, drag into TypeSnap, done.

See the complete import guide →

4. No Account Friction

With TextExpander, you need to:

1. Create an account
2. Verify your email
3. Enter payment information
4. Manage your subscription
5. Remember another password

With TypeSnap, you:

1. Download from the Mac App Store
2. Start using it

That’s it. No email. No password. No subscription management.

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What TextExpander Does Better

We believe in honest comparisons. Here’s where TextExpander has advantages:

Team Collaboration

If you need shared snippet libraries across a team, TextExpander’s team features are genuinely useful. You can share snippets, manage permissions, and collaborate on templates.

TypeSnap is designed for individuals. Each person manages their own snippets independently.

Cross-Platform Support

TextExpander works on:

• Mac
• Windows
• iOS/iPadOS
• Chrome (via extension)

TypeSnap is Mac-only. If you need to expand snippets on Windows or in a browser, TextExpander is your only option among these two.

Advanced Scripting

TextExpander supports AppleScript and shell scripts directly in snippets. This allows for powerful automations like running terminal commands or interacting with other apps.

TypeSnap supports JavaScript snippets, but they run in a sandbox for security reasons. This means you can do calculations and transformations, but you can’t run arbitrary system commands.

Organizational History

TextExpander has been around since 2006. They have an established track record, enterprise customers, and a dedicated support team.

TypeSnap is new. While we’re confident in our product, TextExpander has nearly two decades of refinement.

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Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Text Expansion Basics

Both apps handle core text expansion well:

Feature	TypeSnap	TextExpander
Abbreviation expansion	✓	✓
Trigger after delimiter	✓	✓
Case sensitivity options	✓	✓
Works in all apps	✓	✓

Dynamic Content

Feature	TypeSnap	TextExpander
Fill-in text fields	✓	✓
Dropdown menus	✓	✓
Optional sections	✓	✓
Date/time insertion	✓	✓
Date math (+7 days, etc.)	✓	✓
Clipboard content	✓	✓
Cursor positioning	✓	✓
Nested snippets	✓	✓
Random numbers/UUID	✓	✓
Rich text formatting	✓	✓
Regex triggers	✓	✗
Image expansion	✓	✓
App-specific snippets	✓	✗
JavaScript	✓ (sandboxed)	✓
AppleScript	✗	✓
Shell scripts	✗	✓

Organization & Access

Feature	TypeSnap	TextExpander
Snippet groups	✓	✓
Tags	✓	✓
Smart views	✓	✗
Quick search	✓	✓
Menu bar access	✓	✓
Per-snippet hotkeys	✓	✓
Clipboard history	✓	✗
Version history	✓ (50 versions)	✗

Privacy & Data

Feature	TypeSnap	TextExpander
Local storage	✓	✗ (cloud only)
No account required	✓	✗
No analytics	✓	✗
iCloud sync option	✓	✗
Data export	✓ (JSON)	✓ (CSV)

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Making the Switch

If you’re considering switching from TextExpander to TypeSnap, here’s our recommendation:

1. Export your TextExpander data - Use their export feature to get a backup
2. Try TypeSnap - Download from the Mac App Store and import your snippets
3. Test for a week - Make sure everything works as expected
4. Cancel TextExpander - Once you’re confident, cancel your subscription

Your TextExpander subscription will continue until the end of your billing period, so there’s no rush. Take your time to make sure TypeSnap meets your needs.

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The Bottom Line

Choose TypeSnap if:

• You’re an individual Mac user
• You want to stop paying subscription fees
• You care about keeping your data private and local
• You’re switching from TextExpander and want easy migration

Choose TextExpander if:

• You need team collaboration features
• You need cross-platform support (Windows, iOS, Chrome)
• You rely heavily on AppleScript or shell script snippets
• Your company already pays for it

For most individual Mac users, TypeSnap offers everything you need at a fraction of the long-term cost, with the added benefit of true data privacy.

Get TypeSnap - $17.99 →