TextExpander Free vs Makro Free: 5 Snippets or Unlimited?

Published October 22, 2026

TextExpander launched a free plan in October 2026. It keeps 5 snippets active at a time. Here is what that covers, where it stops, and how it compares with Makro Free.

For most of its life TextExpander was paid only. In October 2026 it added a Free plan, so you can now try it without a card. That is good news for anyone who has been curious about text expansion. The question is whether the free plan is enough to use every day, and the answer depends on one number: 5.

What TextExpander Free includes

• 5 active snippets. You can save as many snippets as you like, but only 5 expand at once. Activating a sixth swaps one out, starting with the one you used least recently.
• Up to 5 team members, each with their own 5 active snippets.
• Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad and Chrome, synced through your TextExpander account.
• A trial of paid features first. New accounts start on the paid feature set, then move to Free and keep every saved snippet.

Unlimited active snippets, and the rest of the paid features, need a paid TextExpander plan.

Is 5 snippets enough?

Count what you would set up on day one: an email signature, your address, your phone number, a meeting link, and a "thanks, got it" reply. That is 5. Anyone who types canned replies for work needs far more. A support agent answering refund, shipping and password questions, a recruiter sending outreach and scheduling notes, or a salesperson with follow-ups for each stage usually runs 20 to 100 snippets. On TextExpander Free, most of those sit saved but inactive.

Five active snippets is a good way to find out whether text expansion fits how you work. It is not built to be your daily library, and it is not meant to be: the limit is where the paid plan starts.

What Makro Free includes

• Unlimited macros and categories. No active limit, no swapping.
• No account. Install the extension and type. Your macros stay on your device, encrypted with AES-256-GCM.
• 44 placeholders for dates, clipboard, selected text, fill-in prompts, dropdowns, counters and text transforms. For example, [$DATE] -> 2026-10-22.
• Local AI at no cost. Smart Rewrite runs through Ollama or LM Studio on your own machine. Free also includes 25 Makro Credits a month for cloud Smart Rewrite and Smart Translate.
• Smart Copy, on-device text extraction from images, 50 extractions a month.
• Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Brave.

Side by side

What Makro does not do

• It only works in the browser. Makro is a browser extension. It does not expand in desktop apps such as Word, Outlook for Windows or the Slack desktop app, and there is no iPhone or iPad app.
• Makro Free is one device. Sync between browsers and computers is part of Pro ($2.99/month, 2 devices, end-to-end encrypted). TextExpander Free does sync its 5 snippets everywhere.
• Imports are plain text. TextExpander rich-text formatting and group structure do not carry over. Snippets land in one category you pick, and you re-sort them after.

If you need snippets in desktop apps or on your phone, TextExpander is the better fit. If your work happens in a browser tab, in Gmail, Zendesk, a CRM, or LinkedIn, Makro gives you an unlimited library for free.

Moving your snippets from TextExpander to Makro

1. In TextExpander, select a snippet group and export it as CSV.
2. In Makro, open Settings → Import and choose TextExpander (.csv).
3. Pick the category the snippets should go into, check the preview, and import.

Abbreviations and snippet text carry over, and your inactive TextExpander snippets work again in Makro. The switching guide lists exactly which fields import and which do not.

For teams

TextExpander Free covers 5 people with 5 snippets each. Makro for Teams gives every member the same shared, end-to-end encrypted macro library and writing voice, plus 25,000 AI credits a month per seat. It costs $7 per seat per month, and you can try it with up to 3 members and no card.