Makro vs AutoHotkey
Makro vs AutoHotkey.
Windows-only scripting language with hotstrings. Power-user territory.
Matrix
Side by side, no hedge-words.
Pricing reflects AutoHotkey's published site as of April 2026 (US region).
Feature
Makro
AutoHotkey
Free tier
Yes
Yes
End-to-end encrypted sync
Yes
Local only
Local AI (Ollama / LM Studio)
Yes
No
On-device OCR (Smart Copy)
Yes
No
Import from other tools
10 formats
No
Platform
Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave
Windows
Lowest paid tier
$2.99/mo or $149 lifetime
Free (open-source; Windows only)
Verification: 2,495 automated tests in the Makro repo and continuous external code review. Full threat model on /security/architecture.
AutoHotkey strengths vs tradeoffs
Where AutoHotkey wins, and where Makro does.
AutoHotkey strengths
- Full scripting language, not just snippets
- Deep Windows integration (window controls, hotkeys)
- Free and open-source
AutoHotkey tradeoffs
- Windows only
- Text editor + script reload loop - no GUI
- Steep learning curve for non-programmers
Verdict: AutoHotkey is a scripting language that can do text expansion as a side effect. Choose it if you want Turing-complete automations on Windows. Choose Makro if you want cross-browser text expansion with a GUI.
Migration
Moving from AutoHotkey to Makro.
Step by step: Drop your .ahk script into Settings > Import > AutoHotkey (.ahk). Makro parses ::trigger::expansion lines; non-hotstring script logic is ignored. See the full migration guide for what carries over.