The best replacement for dash is hyphen.

The best alternatives to dash are rated as following:
★★★★★  hyphen
★★★  colon
★★★  comma
★★  semicolon
★★  en dash
★  em dash
★  bash
★  crash
★  slash
★  pearl
★  wing
★  curve
★  vitamix
★  underscore
★  blackberry pearl
  automatic
  double dash
  pinch
  blackjack
  tac
  tough mudder
  sonic
  hls
  mda
  jay z
  hyphen keyboard
  spartan race
  chumby
  n dash
  minus
  parentheses
  starscream
  insignia
  white sox
  underscore seo
  short dash
  suzuki smash 115
  prowl
  applejack
  fluttershy
  ellipsis
  sidekick
  semi-colon
  hp dreamscreen
  splash

Your alternative for dash is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about dash, one probably shouldn't forget about umlaut.

Other search terms related to dash and their ratings are:
★★★★★ umlaut
★★★★ alfred
You have in mind a companion for dash and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of dash in all years. Click on graph for more.
dash
hyphen
colon