When comparing PhraseExpress vs HovText, the Slant community recommends HovText for most people. In the question“What are the best clipboard managers?” HovText is ranked 3rd while PhraseExpress is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose HovText is:
HovText has existed for 20 years and has always been open source.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Easy to use
Very clear and thoughtful user interface.
Pro Flexible shortcut system
Offers many options for autotext.
Pro No subscription, perpetual license
Unlike other text expanders, PhraseExpress is a one time purchase.
Pro Versions for Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android
Pro Phrase menu
Pro Document generator
Pro Portable option
Can run from a USB device.
Pro Works with Mac and Windows and iPhone
There are versions for all platforms, that can synchronize snippets.
Pro Sophisticated macro language
It has many macro functions. Macros can be combined and nested.
Pro Supports RTF formatting and Word documents
Pro Does not force to use a cloud service
It can run standalone without the need to connect to the Internet.
Pro Fill-In forms with may options
You cannot only add simple text input but also radio buttons, check boxes, etc.
Pro Includes Outlook addon to automate email replies
Pro Clipboard Manager with cool extra features
If email addresses or URL are part of the clipboard contents, PE offers you to send an email to that address or to open the web site.
Pro Trusted signed executable and open source
HovText has existed for 20 years and has always been open source.
Pro Remove formatting from text copied
Copying text from the internet or from Office applications most often will include styles and formatting when pasting, but HovText can remove all this formatting, so only the raw unformatted cleartext will be pasted - this is a life-saver :-)
Pro Keeps the most used clipboard entries at top
Most recent entries copied/pasted are available from a top-down principle.
Pro Trim whitespaces and empty new-lines on copied text
When marking text with the mouse, it often adds a whitespace at the beginning or the end of the text or there are some empty lines above or below that gets copied too, but HovText has an option to remove whitespaces at beginning and end - very useful.
Pro Intuitive, fast and modern UI for finding previous copied texts or images
When viewing the list of previous copied clipboards, then it is easy to find the relevant text or image you need.
Pro Fully user configurable
All hotkeys can be configured and all layout, style and screen display can be tweaked, so there is a chance you can have it setup as you want.
Pro Portable and no installation needed
Fast, light, no installation process and no registration needed - just "click and use".
Pro Save clipboards on computer
The clipboards can be saved to local computer, so it can be reused after a computer shutdown.
Cons
Con No Linux version
Some people might want it.