Guide
The best clipboard managers for Mac in 2026
Updated on
Short answer
- Free, minimal, open source: Maccy.
- Most polished, Mac + iPhone + iPad: Paste.
- Power features (filters, stacks), Mac-only: Pastebot.
- You want a launcher anyway: Raycast (free) or Alfred (Powerpack).
- Nothing to install, short history: Spotlight's clipboard in macOS Tahoe.
- Your Mac shares a clipboard with a Windows PC and an iPhone: Clipster.
Comparison table
| Spotlight (Tahoe) | Maccy | Paste | Pastebot | Raycast | Alfred | CopyQ | Clipster | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free (built in) | Free (optional paid App Store version) | Paid, free trial | Paid, free trial | Free; paid plan | Paid Powerpack | Free | — |
| Open source | ✗ | ✓ MIT | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ GPL | ✗ |
| History kept | 30 min, 8 h or 7 days | — | Unlimited | — | 3 months free, unlimited on paid plan | 24 h to 3 months | Configurable | — |
| Search | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Organization | ✗ | Pin items | Pinboards | Custom & Smart Pastebins | Pins, snippets | Snippets | Tabs, tags | Pins |
| Sync | ✗ | ✗ | iCloud (Apple devices) | iCloud (Macs) | ✗ for clipboard | ✗ | DIY folder | Mac ↔ Windows ↔ iPhone, E2E |
| iPhone | Universal Clipboard only | ✗ | ✓ app | Universal Clipboard | ✗ for clipboard | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ app + keyboard |
| Windows | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac requirements | macOS Tahoe | — | — | macOS Tahoe | Apple Silicon & Intel | — | — | Apple Silicon & Intel |
Spotlight's clipboard history (macOS Tahoe)
macOS Tahoe finally added a clipboard history to Spotlight: press Command-Space, then Command-4. You can search it, copy items back and clear it. In System Settings > Spotlight you choose how long it stays visible: 30 minutes, 8 hours or 7 days. No pins, no organization, no sync, but it's free and built in. A good first step before installing anything. What it does well and where it stops: Mac Spotlight clipboard vs a clipboard manager.
Maccy: the best free minimal manager
Maccy does one job: keep your copy history and let you find it fast from the keyboard. It's native, lightweight, open source under the MIT license and "is and will always be free" (you can also buy it on the App Store to support the developer). Everything stays on your Mac. No sync, no iPhone. If you use one Mac, it's hard to beat. See Clipster vs Maccy.
Paste: the most polished
Paste has over a decade of polish: a beautiful visual history, pinboards, search and iCloud sync across Mac, iPhone and iPad. It's paid (subscription or lifetime purchase, also included in Setapp), with a free trial and no free tier. Apple-only. See Clipster vs Paste.
Pastebot: the power tool
Pastebot by Tapbots (its latest release requires macOS Tahoe) adds text filters you can stack, paste stacks, Custom and Smart Pastebins, a Quick Paste menu, per-clipping shortcuts, Shortcuts and CLI support, and iCloud sync between Macs. It's paid, with a free trial. See Clipster vs Pastebot.
Raycast and Alfred: launchers with a clipboard
Raycast is free and its Clipboard History is excellent (type filters, "paste as", OCR, up to 3 months free, unlimited on the paid plan). It also runs on Windows, but clipboard history isn't synced between devices. See Clipster vs Raycast.
Alfred's Clipboard History is part of the paid Powerpack. It's off by default for privacy; you choose to keep clips for 24 hours, 7 days, 1 month or 3 months, and filter by typing.
CopyQ: cross-platform and scriptable
Free, open source, and on Mac, Windows and Linux, CopyQ brings tabs, tags and a full scripting API. Its interface is less Mac-like and setup is more involved. See Clipster vs CopyQ.
Clipster: when your Mac isn't your only device (our app)
Clipster is for people whose day spans a Mac, a Windows PC and an iPhone. With sync turned on, your copies sync between them over the internet, encrypted on your device (zero-knowledge, AES-256-GCM). The iPhone app includes a keyboard that pastes any copy into any app. On the Mac you get cards with previews, highlighted code, source-app icons, Pins, drag and drop, and light/dark themes. It's built with Tauri, so it stays lightweight and fast.
Honest limits: no filters or stacks; not open source; young app. It runs on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. Download Clipster.
How to choose
- One Mac, want free: Spotlight for light use, Maccy for a real manager.
- All Apple devices, want polish: Paste.
- Heavy text transformation: Pastebot.
- Already live in a launcher: Raycast or Alfred.
- A Windows PC is in your life: Clipster, or CopyQ if you don't need your phone.
FAQ
Does macOS have a built-in clipboard history?
Yes, since macOS Tahoe: open Spotlight and press Command-4. It keeps history for 30 minutes, 8 hours or 7 days, with no pins or sync.
What is the best free clipboard manager for Mac?
Maccy for most people: free, open source and minimal. Raycast is also free and includes a strong clipboard history inside a launcher.
Which Mac clipboard manager syncs with Windows?
Clipster syncs Mac, Windows and iPhone, end-to-end encrypted. CopyQ runs on both but has no built-in cloud sync. Paste, Maccy, Pastebot and Alfred are Apple-only.
Does Clipster work on Intel Macs?
Yes. Clipster runs on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, and the download page picks the right build for your Mac automatically.
Is Paste worth it compared with free apps?
If you live in the Apple ecosystem and value design and iCloud sync, many people find it worth it. If you just need history and search on one Mac, Maccy is free.
Disclosure: Clipster is our app. We checked each competitor's facts on its official site in October 2026. The Mac has some genuinely excellent clipboard managers, and for many people the right answer isn't Clipster.
Try it on your own devices
Available on Mac, Windows and iPhone.
Download ClipsterOther comparisons: Clipster vs Paste · Clipster vs Maccy · Clipster vs Ditto · Clipster vs ClipClip · Clipster vs CopyQ · Clipster vs Pastebot · Clipster vs Raycast · Clipster vs Windows clipboard (Win+V) · every app side by side
Details checked on official websites in October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us: contact@clipster-app.com