Lightning Assist Plans & Pricing

AI Credits are a metered balance you use for AI features like AI Chat and content generation for snippets. Credits are purchased in USD, do not expire, and taxes may apply. There are no daily or monthly caps—once you run out, AI features pause until you buy more credits. Credits are non‑refundable except in limited cases (e.g., duplicate purchase or verified metering error) or where required by law.

You can view your balance in the app. Usage depends on the task size (e.g., length of prompts and outputs). We may apply fair‑use protections to keep the service stable for everyone.

No. Push-to-talk voice typing (AI Speech) works on the free tier — no Pro subscription required. It uses AI Credits per use, which you purchase separately, so you only pay for what you dictate.

Lightning Assist is a native desktop app for Windows, macOS, and Linux — not a browser extension — so snippets, AI commands, and push-to-talk dictation work across the desktop apps you type in (email, IDE, terminal, Slack, CRM, and more).

You get classic text expansion (abbreviation + hotkey) plus built-in AI to rewrite, translate, or summarize selected text in place, and AI Speech for hands-free voice-to-text. Teams can share snippet libraries; pricing is straightforward with a full-feature trial.

If you want one tool for repetitive typing, AI-assisted edits, and voice input across your whole desktop, Lightning Assist is built for that workflow.

A snippet is a defined section of text that can be used, referenced, or shared within Lightning Assist. It serves as a reusable content block, helping users streamline their workflow by quickly accessing and inserting frequently used text. Snippets can be created, modified, and organized to enhance efficiency, making them useful for developers, writers, and anyone who works with structured or repetitive text.

An abbreviation is a short word or code you assign to each snippet — like "sig" for your email signature or "addr" for your address. When you type that abbreviation, Lightning Assist expands it into the full snippet inline as you type — no hotkey needed (or press your Hotkey if you switch to Hotkey Mode). Short, memorable abbreviations make retrieval fast and effortless.

By default, your snippet trigger is As-You-Type: the moment you finish typing your snippet's abbreviation, Lightning Assist expands it into the full snippet inline — no switching tabs, no copy-pasting, no hotkey needed. If you switch to Hotkey Mode instead, you type the abbreviation and then press your configured hotkey to trigger the expansion.

No. Your trigger is whatever text you choose when you create a snippet — a plain word like sig, or something with a leading character like ;sig or /addr to keep it distinct from words you type normally. It's your choice, not a fixed prefix you have to configure. You type the trigger exactly as you set it and it expands inline as you type — the same way on Latin, Cyrillic, Hebrew and Arabic keyboards. For scripts that compose through an input method, have no easy inline key, or aren't direct-input — Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Greek, Thai and many Indic scripts — Lightning Assist switches to Hotkey Mode instead: you type your snippet's abbreviation and press a shortcut to expand it, which works on any keyboard on Windows, macOS and Linux. Either way the app shows you the exact trigger while you create each snippet, so there's nothing to set up.

A snippet example is a text snippet recommended by Lightning Assist users to assist others in creating the snippets they need. These suggestions can be made at any time and, once approved by a Lightning Assist admin, become visible to all users.

In Lightning Assist, you have multiple ways to seek support or ask questions. You can create tickets for inquiries, which allow you to track your requests efficiently. Tickets can have two statuses: pending or completed. Once a ticket is marked as completed, it remains in the system for one month before being automatically deleted. Additionally, you can ask questions and engage with the community on Discord for quick discussions and peer-to-peer support.

By default, the chat function is not live. However, once an employee is assigned to a specific ticket, real-time chat can be enabled to facilitate direct communication and faster resolution.

Certainly! You start with a two-week (14-day) Pro Trial, during which you have unlimited access to all features, snippets, and advanced tools. Feel free to start with this version and upgrade whenever you're ready for an expanded experience!

After the trial ends, text expansion stays free and unlimited: every snippet you created is still yours and still expands as you type. Nothing is deleted, disabled or hidden — ever. The free plan holds up to 20 snippets, so if you built more during the trial you keep all of them working; you just cannot create new ones until you subscribe or delete some. A subscription also adds suggestions as you type, Lightning Recall and extra teams. Importing from another text expander is free on every plan; a subscription only removes the per-import batch limit.

Yes. Lightning Assist reads TextExpander exports (XML/plist and CSV), Espanso YAML, Text Blaze exports, and plain CSV or JSON. It converts every trigger, its content and its placeholders, and then shows you the whole converted library — row by row — before anything is written to your account. That preview is free and needs no subscription: the point is that you can check your snippets survive the move before you decide to pay. Bringing the converted library in is free too, on every plan: the free plan brings in 5 snippets per import and can repeat until it reaches its 20, a trial brings in 20 per import, and a paid plan brings in the whole library at once.

Lightning Recall means you do not have to remember a trigger. Type the phrase the way you would normally write it — "thanks so much for reaching out" — and Lightning Assist recognises it and offers the snippet you saved for it. It runs on your own device and never reads other applications; it only sees what you type into the field you are working in. Recall is part of the Pro plan.

New users receive a Pro Trial subscription for fourteen (14) days without the need to provide payment information or a credit card. If you choose to subscribe to a paid plan while your Pro Trial is still active, the remaining days of your trial will be added to the duration of your paid subscription.

Yes. You can request a refund within 14 days of activating your subscription. The amount is prorated for the time you have used — a full refund straight after purchase, proportionally less later; the exact formula and worked examples are in our Cancellation & Refund Policy. Refunds are handled by a person, not a button: open a request from the app (Help → Refund) or email us, and we will process it and reply. Cancelling your subscription stays a one-click, self-service action at any time.

If you have any questions or need assistance with your refund request, our support team is available to help. Just drop us an email at support@lightning-assist.com.

Yes — and you do not need a subscription to try it. The free plan includes one team, so you can share a snippet library with someone for real. A Pro subscription raises that to 15 teams.

Absolutely! Looking to power up your company with Lightning Assist? Simply contact us, and we'll set up a dedicated company account for you. Once the company is created, we will assign a Company Admin, who will have the ability to manage users within your organization.

The Company Admin can invite and create company users, giving them access to the platform. Each company user can create their own snippets, and these snippets will be available at the company level, ensuring seamless sharing and collaboration across all company users. This setup allows teams to maintain consistency, improve efficiency, and streamline workflows across the organization.

For more details or to get started, reach out to us today at support@lightning-assist.com!

Occasionally, we may provide promotional codes that offer discounts of anywhere from 1% up to 100% on purchases and subscriptions. Users can apply promotion codes either within the app or during Stripe checkout. Codes remain valid even if you already have an active subscription, and you're free to remove any applied code at any point before completing your payment.

If you participate in our Refer-a-Friend program, you will receive a promotion code for a 100% discount once a referred user has subscribed and their subscription has been active for at least fourteen (14) days. This code will be sent to you via email and will also be visible within the application.

Each time you submit a Snippet Example, a Lightning Assist admin will review the submission. You will receive a 100% discount promotion code each time you reach 100 approved Snippet Examples. The promotion code will be sent to you via email and will also appear in the application.