A free Paste alternative for Mac

On Hand vs Paste: what each is good at, what they cost, and which one fits how you copy and paste.

The short version: Paste is the most polished paid option, and it’s the one to pick if you need clipboard history on your iPhone and iPad too. If you only need it on one Mac and don’t want a subscription, On Hand covers the everyday parts for free.

On Hand vs Paste at a glance

	On Hand	Paste
Price	Free	From $2.49/month or $29.99/year. $99.99 lifetime on the App Store. 7-day trial
Source code	Open source (MIT)	Closed source
Images	Yes	Yes
Search	Yes, by text or source app	Yes
Pinned clips	Yes, with named boards	Yes, with Pinboards
Search text in images	Yes, on your Mac	Yes
Sync	No. History stays on your Mac	Yes, iCloud across Mac, iPhone, and iPad
Skip password managers and apps	Yes. Password managers skipped; card numbers, SSNs, and 25+ kinds of keys never saved, concealed, and cleared after 90 seconds	Yes
Shortcuts	⌘⇧Space to open (changeable), ⌘1–9 to copy	⇧⌘V to open, ⌘1–9 to paste
Requires	macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon or Intel	macOS 14 or later

Checked October 6, 2026 against Paste’s own site, release notes, or App Store listing. Prices and features change, so check before you buy. Something out of date? Open an issue.

Choose Paste if

You want the same clipboard history on Mac, iPhone, and iPad through iCloud.
You want Pinboards to organize clips, Paste Stack, and AI and MCP integrations.
You’re happy to pay for a mature, polished app.

Choose On Hand if

You don’t want a subscription. Paste costs $29.99 a year, or $99.99 for lifetime on the App Store.
You’d rather your clipboard never leaves your Mac.
You want an open-source app whose code you can read.

Is Paste still maintained?

Actively maintained. Version 7.0.1 shipped in October 2026.

Switching from Paste

On Hand starts fresh. It doesn’t import history from Paste, so pin anything you want to keep after you copy it again. Both apps can run at the same time while you try On Hand; give them different shortcuts. On Hand opens with ⌘ ⇧ Space, and you can change that in Settings.