When comparing aText vs Unclutter, the Slant community recommends aText for most people. In the question“What are the best power user tools for macOS?” aText is ranked 49th while Unclutter is ranked 64th.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro No Update
Pro A snippet can be expanded to plain or styled text and include pictures
Pro Has built-in snippets for common typos
Pro Cheaper than competition
$4.99, cheaper than textExpander ($35)
Pro Compatible with TextExpander snippets
TextExpander snippets can be imported into aText
Pro Works with VMs
Pro Imports from most alternative text expansion apps
aText can import data from TextExpander, TypeIt4Me, SpellCatcherX, Automaton and CSV file.
Pro Has common HTML & JS snippets built-in
Pro Snippets can include editable fields
Pro Data can be synced through cloud storage services
Pro Snippets can include a wide variety of variables
Possible variables include date, time, other snippets, clipboard content, etc.
Pro Convenient and fast access to files and notes
Unclutter lives in the navbar at the top of your screen, and is always accessible. Any files and notes stored in Unclutter can be quickly accessed from anywhere, with just a mouse movement and scrolling down.
Pro Keep desktop clean(er)
Instead of keeping commonly used files on the desktop, you can tuck them away to the top of the screen. This can unclutter your screen, or create more room for more icons if you like quick access to everything.
Cons
Con Frequent crashes in MacOS Sierra
aText crashes frequently, and the developer is unresponsive. Not clear if app is supported or under current development: last update was in 11/15; last post to aText Facebook page 10/15.
Con Doesn't work in Mojave
The current version, with no issues. In fact, I've never had any issue with it with Mojave, so I assume when Mojave was released, aText was already up to date for it.
Con Long time no update
Seems to be abandoned.
Con Can't keep visor open when typing in other applications
The unclutter visor will not stay open when working/typing in other apps. Sometimes it is desirable to use the visor to re-type things, it's not possible outside of copying and pasting, or opening and re-closing the visor.