The best replacement for textarea is input.

The best alternatives to textarea are rated as following:
★★★★★  input
★★★★  textbox
★★★★  textfield
★★★  contenteditable
★★★  textfield java
★★  jtextpane
★★  multiline textbox
★  input text
  jtextarea
  text
  editable div

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

Other search terms related to textarea and their ratings are:
★★★★★ scrollbar
★★ default text
★★ scrollbar css
★ form
★ html formatting
placeholder
You have in mind a companion for textarea and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of textarea in all years. Click on graph for more.
textarea
input
textbox