4 best Pastebin alternatives for sharing code and text

Pastebin.com is the first document hosting website of this type. It is used to easily store and share snippets code with others online. But if you are not interested in Pastebin, you will find many alternatives to this tool on the web.

Let's take a look at the best Pastebin alternatives you can use to store text. The article will look at the best features of these tools and why they outperform the famous Pastebin service.

What is pastebin?

In case you wonder why someone is interested in sites like Pastebin, let's quickly look at what Pastebin does.

Pastebin appeared in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a way to easily share code blocks in the right format and not interrupt the flow of conversation. IRC chat rooms (Internet Relay Chat) at that time were much more rudimentary than modern chat applications like Slack or WhatsApp.

These are the most unique one-line messages, as you can see in the screenshot below:

Posting a 50-line block of code into such a conversation will obviously interrupt others. Therefore, pastebin websites were born to allow you to paste a huge block of code with syntax highlighting and formatting. When you're ready to share, you can post a link in the conversation. Because URLs only occupy a single line, this is a great solution.

Today, people still use websites like Pastebin to share code if their IM app doesn't support the right format. You can also use it to share a large amount of debug output when asking for online help. Other common uses for Pastebin include a list of dark web links and hackers that leak information, such as passwords.

1. How to find an active .onion site?

Pastebin.com is a good site, but some functions can only be unlocked with a Pro subscription and the strength is not privacy. Here are some Pastebin alternatives worth considering.

4 best Pastebin alternatives

1. ControlC.com

Formerly known as Tinypaste, this pastebin site makes sharing simple. Enter a title for the content you paste, then you have a few options for formatting text. You can use bold, italic, underline and dash text, as well as enable highlight code. In addition, ControlC supports adding videos, plus changing text color and size.

Unlike Pastebin, you will not see recently pasted content along the side of the site. All pasted sections will be hidden from search engines by default and you can set a password to protect your pasted content, if desired. Although you can create an account to better track what has been sent, that is not necessary.

When you open a ControlC link, you will have to close an ad before viewing the pasted content. From there, you can convert the number of lines of pasted content or even create a new version based on the original.

Overall, ControlC is a very realistic pastebin site. It doesn't have many unique features but works well when you need to share some text quickly.

2. Hastebin.com

If you are in a hurry, consider Hastebin. It is a Pastebin-specific replacement for code, in which the entire interface of the page is an editable text field, making it visually appealing. Type or paste the text you want to share, then press Ctrl + S or click the Save icon in the upper right corner.

This will instantly save your text and change the URL in the address bar into a shareable link. It also detects the language you have used and automatically marks syntax.

In addition, the bar in the upper right corner has a New button , you can press to start pasting new content immediately. When viewing a pasted content, the Duplicate and Edit buttons allow you to change from the original content. And you can click Just Text to display raw text on a separate page, perfect for a lightweight copy.

All content posted on this site will be saved for 30 days from the last viewing. While search engines will not find your pasted content, you should not expect any privacy from what you have shared here. Another plus point is that this site has no ads, CAPTCHA or registration.

3. Justpaste.me

Those who find the above options too focused on the code will prefer Just Paste Me. Although you can use it to share code, this tool also provides a great rich text editing box for importing notes, tutorials or similar common text blocks.

You will find all the typical text options here, such as bullets, titles, hyperlinks and images. There is a Preview button so you can check what your page looks like before sharing it.

Do not miss the Additional options section below. There, you can set a page title, choose a custom URL, or ask the website to email you a link to the page to stay safe.

When you have completed the CAPTCHA and clicked Publish, you will see a link to your site that you can share anywhere. You can even edit the page after publishing it, if the session has not expired and you have not closed the browser.

Just Paste Me does not require registration and the small ads on this site are not annoying. Try this tool next time you need a Pastebin replacement for normal text.

4. PrivateBin.net

You might think that all websites for pasting content are the same, but it's not. PrivateBin stands out as a privacy focused place for creating pasted pieces of content. Use the Format drop-down menu at the top to select Plain Text, Source Code or Markdown . You can then enter your text in the editor.

PrivateBin includes a Preview tab to let you know what the output will look like before sharing. Click the Send button to get the sharable URL. The service also includes a QR code option if you want to share it that way. Regardless of what you choose, no ads bother you.

At the top, you will see several options to control how you share. By default, the Expires field is set to a week, but you can change this to at least 5 minutes. If you check the Burn after reading option , the message will self-destruct after the link is opened once.

Alternatively, you can choose Open discussion to allow people to record comments on pasted content. Lastly, be sure to set a password to protect sensitive content.

The website says that the PrivateBin server is not interested in pasted data, so it is the best option when you want to share something sensitive. Of course, there are better ways to share private data, such as passwords, securely online.

The article has looked at several websites like Pastebin to help you find the best site for your needs. Pastebin should be fine, but another option may better serve your needs than the site most people use for this purpose.

If you often share code blocks with other developers, you may be interested in the Live Share feature of Visual Studio Code, which allows you to collaborate programming.

Wish you find yourself a suitable choice!