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Text Blaze vs. OSlash: Which text expander alternative is right for you?

With an in-depth comparison of features & pricing, we wrote this comprehensive blog to make the choice between Text Blaze and OSlash text expander easier for you.
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Which is the best text expansion app out there? It’s like asking which is the best restaurant in the world, the best country to travel to, or the best job to undertake. 

You might end up with as many answers as the people you ask. 

Of course, some names will come up more often and will truly offer better features, higher versatility, greater ease of usage etc. Which is why you might find yourselves confused between choosing Text Blaze and OSlash text expander, two of the most popular text expander alternatives in the market right now.

The comparison can be overwhelming and time-consuming. And who wants to waste productive time researching from multiple sources (or typing repetitively in the meantime!). 

This is why you can simply read this blog. It has all the information you need to make the right decision. Let’s get started!

Text Blaze vs. OSlash text expander at a glance

What is Text Blaze?

Text Blaze is a text expansion software that helps users save time and increase productivity by allowing them to insert frequently used text snippets with just a few keystrokes. 

It works by creating custom shortcuts for text snippets, email templates, and other repetitive pieces of information. When a user types the shortcut, Text Blaze automatically expands it into the full text. Text Blaze also includes advanced features like form filling, dynamic text, and conditional logic to further streamline repetitive tasks.

What is OSlash text expander?

OSlash is a fantastic text expander that can help increase your productivity with its wide range of built-in features. With OSlash, you can use shortcuts to auto-type commonly used text anywhere you work. But wait, there's more! OSlash also includes a link management solution that lets you replace frequent URLs you access & share everyday links using human-readable shortcuts such as o/meet, o/budgets, o/roadmap etc.  

OSlash is essentially a combination of three productivity tools: Text Blaze, a URL manager, and a knowledge management solution, providing you with the best of all worlds for the price of one.

OSlash text expander vs. Text Blaze: A quick comparison

With this overview, let’s head to a quick comparison between Text Blaze and OSlash text expander. This is the only checklist you’ll need when deciding which of these popular text expansion productivity apps fits your use-case in the best possible way. 

Now that you’ve an idea about both the apps, let’s take a detailed look at their individual features, strengths, limitations, and pricing options.

OSlash text expander vs. Text Blaze: A quick comparison
OSlash text expander vs. Text Blaze: A quick comparison

OSlash text expander: Overview

Tired of productivity apps that just complicate workflows even more?

Look no further than OSlash—the app that extracts order from the chaos of scattered work. 

OSlash text expander

As a text expander, OSlash does more than just expand abbreviations into your frequently used words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. In addition to snippets, it also lets you extend discoverability and accessibility to your workplace links—within teams and across departments.

By organizing your links and snippets with clear, easy-to-recall names, OSlash can help turn scattered information into a superpower. With OSlash shortcuts, you'll have a single source of truth for important organizational resources. The time saved by everyone while looking for information can then be devoted to more impactful activities. 

Oslash text expander helps transform your links & snippets into quick shortcuts
Oslash text expander helps transform your links & snippets into quick shortcuts

Using OSlash can save you up to 30 hours per employee per month, which translates to an average of $1176 in savings per employee per month. 

Case study: ​​How internal shortlinks save Stripe over 20,000 hours every week

OSlash text expander: Core features and benefits

The key benefits of using OSlash text expander are:

  • Easily convert long links and snippets into simple shortcuts that can be quickly accessed with advanced control over user permissions
  • Collaborate with your team across various apps, webpages, and documents by opening URLs quickly and effortlessly
  • Create customizable templates for routine messages, emails, and other texts using a rich-text editor, macros, and variable snippets. You can also access pre-made templates from the OSlash snippet library
  • Instantly save anything on the web as a snippet
  • Seamlessly search and autocomplete snippets from the dropdown input widget without needing to memorize complex abbreviations
  • Organize links and snippets with ease using tags and collections (folders that group related links and snippets together)
  • Use the launcher to navigate all your shortcuts, tabs, and browser activity in one convenient window, saving you time

Pros of using OSlash text expander

  • It provides a complete productivity suite in one tool
  • It works across all browsers unlike Text Blaze which only supports Chrome & Chromium-based browsers
  • It is both free and easy to try out 
  • You can use it collaboratively to manage and share your work with your team, department, or entire organization
  • It doubles up as a knowledge management tool without you needing to pay extra
  • Referring others to the tool earns both the referrer and the referee $10 in credits, which they can use to buy or upgrade subscription plans

Limitations of using OSlash text expander

  • It lacks advanced automation features supported by Text Blaze
  • It doesn’t allow you to connect and transfer data between multiple browser apps via snippets
  • It doesn’t support date and time math in expanded snippets yet
  • It doesn’t have a free-forever version (but does offer a 15-day free trial)

OSlash text expander pricing

OSlash offers 3 subscription plans with the following pricing:

Billed annually

  • Pro: $3 per user per month
  • Expert: $6 per user per month; free 15-day trial available
  • Enterprise: Custom 

Billed monthly

  • Pro: $4 per user per month
  • Expert: $8 per user per month; free 15-day trial available
  • Enterprise: Custom

Text Blaze: An overview

Fingers practically smoking from all the repetitive typing? 

Text Blaze might just be the hose you need! With simple keyboard shortcuts, Text Blaze can help you insert pre-written snippets of text anywhere on the web. 

Text Blaze text expander
An overview of Text Blaze

And these snippets aren't just basic, boring text. They can be fancy templates with smart placeholders and even some slick business logic. 

What’s more? Text Blaze provides a host of automation features that can shave hours of busywork off your work-plate each week. Be it auto-text, canned responses, or macros—you can generate them all with Text Blaze, share and edit them on the fly with your team, and ace those productivity metrics

Text Blaze: Core features

  • Convert frequently used pieces of text into snippets to insert them anywhere on the browser within a few keystrokes
  • Share snippets with friends and coworkers, using access control and permissions
  • Stay on the same page with shared snippets as everyone's snippets are updated automatically when changes are made
  • Create forms with fill-in variables such as name or other data each time you use a snippet. Use dynamic formulas to calculate values like taxes on the fly. 
  • Simulate clicks or key presses to automate parts of your workflow with Autopilot
  • Add commands to your snippet to automatically insert values associated with the command (e.g., number, today's date) or action (e.g., place the cursor).
  • Remove extra line breaks or new lines in your inserted snippets with the Trim setting.

Pros of using Text Blaze

  • It can help you automate a host of repetitive tasks across the browser
  • You can also connect different browser apps and fetch data from them directly in your snippets using Connected Snippets
  • It offers a free forever version for individual use (with up to 20 snippets)
  • It has command packs that add new dynamic commands to Text Blaze extending the capabilities of snippets across specific apps such as LinkedIn and Gmail etc. 
  • It comes with the ability to tidy up extra whitespace for better formatting in expanded snippets 

What could be better with Text Blaze

  • Doesn’t work on all browsers, unlike OSlash
  • Doesn’t come with URL management functionality like OSlash
  • Doesn’t work natively on macOS apps
  • Doesn’t offer multi-language support

Text Blaze pricing

Text Blaze offers 4 subscription plans billed annually with the following pricing:

  • Basic: Free (up to 20 snippets)
  • Pro: $2.99 per user per month
  • Business: $6.99 per user per month
  • Enterprise: Custom

Text Blaze vs. OSlash text expander: Snippet shortcuts

For creating snippet shortcuts that make you go wow, Text Blaze may be a better alternative than OSlash simply because it comes with a host of advanced features lacking in OSlash at the moment. These include:

  • Automating repetitive tasks in addition to typing using Autopilot
  • Connected Snippets that let you transfer data between multiple browser apps
  • The ability to perform date & time math in snippets
  • Command packs for automating writing actions on specific apps such as Gmail and LinkedIn
  • Existing Windows support (which is still in pipeline for OSlash)

However, OSlash can prove to be slightly more budget-friendly if you’re a small looking for a no-fuss text expander for your everyday phrases, emails, messages etc. on your browser and Mac.

Text Blaze vs. OSlash text expander: URL shortcuts

If the idea of transforming https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Pj_KnC78de8EQ-iLG4jpyGax0PvquiMKGq1raRLxSLQ/edit# into a clickable shortcut like o/meet-notes appeals to you, then I’m afraid Text Blaze won’t be much help to you. Sure, it will let you invoke the URL using the shortcut, but it won’t allow you to navigate to the destination page instantly, as OSlash will.

As a result, you won’t be able to store centrally important documents and resources for everyone to access using handy shortcuts. 

Text Blaze vs. OSlash text expander: Knowledge management capabilities

Want the benefits of both text expansion and knowledge management in one tool? Then OSlash should be the app of your choice. 

Of course Text Blaze can help you create, store, organize, and manage your snippets, and become a knowledge base for commonly used snippets across your org. 

However, in the absence of support for shared documents and links, it will fall short of being the 360-degree knowledge management tool that modern companies require. OSlash takes care of this problem with URL shortcuts that replace complex links with simple shortcuts such as o/prd for your product requirement documentation, o/call-notes for a central record of all customer calls taken up by your Sales team, or o/memo for quick access to the company memo for all departments. 

With OSlash, you can easily create variable shortcuts to navigate through different websites, search engines, and even your email, saving you valuable time. Say goodbye to complex navigational labyrinths and hello to efficient information retrieval! Take a look for yourself!

Use the OSlash text expander to create variable shortcuts to navigate through different websites, search engines, and even your email
Use the OSlash text expander to create variable shortcuts to navigate through different websites, search engines, and even your email

Text Blaze vs. OSlash text expander: Task automation capabilities

If you just want to automate everyday writing tasks, you can’t go wrong with either Text Blaze or OSlash. 

But, if you also want an automation assistant that can perform more of your repeatable workflows, I’ll have to recommend Text Blaze over OSlash. Why? 

Because Text Blaze’s autopilot can grant your snippets web-page scripting abilities to automate clicks, navigate automatically between different items and fields, and fill repetitive forms, all by itself.

Text Blaze vs. OSlash text expander: Platform support

When it comes to platform support and compatibility, both the apps are somewhat lacking. 

OSlash makes up for Text Blaze’s lack of Firefox and Safari support by working across all browsers. And Text Blaze wins a point with its native Windows app, a feature OSlash doesn’t support yet. That said, OSlash does come with its native macOS app.

Both the apps don’t have a mobile app so far. 

Browser/Mac user? Go for OSlash. Use text expander mostly on Chrome/Windows? Try Text Blaze.

Text Blaze or OSlash: Which is the right text expander alternative for you?

Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?

We rated Text Blaze and OSlash on a scale of 1-5 (1 being the lowest and 5, the highest) after a detailed evaluation of all the above features. And boy, was it a close contest!

Check out the ratings below. OSlash scores a 3.83 while Text Blaze logs a 3.33 on our scale. 

Comparison of OSlash text expander and Text Blaze on a rating scale of 1-5
Comparison of OSlash text expander and Text Blaze on a rating scale of 1-5

But, I understand how subjective these ratings can be. The ultimate decision for you might look very different from mine, based on the features you want to prioritize. 

However, I won’t lie. If you do pick OSlash text expander, I’ll do a (not-so) secret dance and jump in joy. The best way to know if OSlash is right for you? Trying it out for free! 

Get OSlash now and discover the joy of text that types itself, 30x faster ⚡️

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