The best clipboard managers for Mac
A clipboard manager remembers everything you copy, so you can search it and copy it back later. Here’s which one to pick, depending on how you work.
We make On Hand, so we’re not neutral. We’ve tried to be fair: every fact below was checked in October 2026 against each app’s own site, release notes, or App Store listing, and we say when another app is the better fit.
Our picks
Best free and open source: On Hand or Maccy
Both are free, MIT-licensed, keep history on your Mac, and need macOS 14. Both search text in images. Maccy is a compact popup with years of releases behind it. On Hand is a menu bar window with previews, pinboards, and a keep-open mode, and it won’t save card numbers or secret keys. Try both; they can run side by side.
Best if you also use an iPhone or iPad: Paste
Paste syncs your clipboard across Mac, iPhone, and iPad through iCloud, and it’s the most polished app here. It’s a subscription, from $2.49 a month on its website, with a lifetime option on the App Store. Compare On Hand and Paste.
Best one-time purchase with sync: PastePal
PastePal covers Mac, iPhone, and iPad for a one-time $14.99 Pro unlock, with collections and dozens of text transforms for developers. Compare On Hand and PastePal.
Best if you already use a launcher: Raycast or Alfred
If Raycast or Alfred is already open all day, use its clipboard history. Raycast’s is free, with OCR, but Raycast 2 needs macOS Tahoe and Apple silicon. Alfred’s needs the paid Powerpack. Compare On Hand and Raycast.
Best for guarding API keys: ClipAudit
ClipAudit is built around secrets: it recognizes 700+ kinds of keys, keeps them masked in history behind Touch ID, hides them while you screen share, and scrubs them from shell history. It’s $29 per Mac at launch. On Hand covers the basics for free, with 25+ kinds that it won’t save, hides from other clipboard managers, and clears after 90 seconds. Compare On Hand and ClipAudit.
Best for reusable snippets: Clipy
Clipy’s snippet folders are great for boilerplate you paste often. It’s free and open source, and it shipped its first release in years in June 2026. Compare On Hand and Clipy.
Built in: Spotlight on macOS Tahoe
macOS Tahoe 26 can show recent clipboard items in Spotlight. Turn it on, then press ⌘Space and ⌘4. Items expire, 8 hours by default, and you can’t pin anything, so it’s best for “what did I just copy?”
Every option side by side
| App | Price | Source code | Search text in images | Sync | Requires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On Hand | Free | Open source (MIT) | Yes, on your Mac | No. History stays on your Mac | macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon or Intel |
| Maccy | Free on GitHub, $9.99 on the Mac App Store | Open source (MIT) | Yes | No | macOS 14 or later |
| Clipy | Free | Open source (MIT) | Not documented | No | macOS 13 or later |
| Paste | From $2.49/month or $29.99/year. $99.99 lifetime on the App Store. 7-day trial | Closed source | Yes | Yes, iCloud across Mac, iPhone, and iPad | macOS 14 or later |
| Flycut | Free | Open source (MIT) | No | Optional iCloud sync | macOS 10.10 or later (App Store version) |
| CopyClip | CopyClip free. CopyClip 2 $7.99 | Closed source | No | No | macOS 10.13 (CopyClip), 11.5 (CopyClip 2) |
| PastePal | Free download. Pro $14.99 one-time | Closed source | Captures text from a screen area | iCloud (App Store version) | macOS 14 (App Store), macOS 12 (direct) |
| Raycast | Free. Pro $96/year for unlimited history and sync | Closed source | Yes | Pro only | Raycast 2: macOS 26 and Apple silicon |
| Alfred | Powerpack £34 one-time | Closed source | Not documented | Not documented | macOS 10.14 or later |
| Supaste | $29 one-time for one device ($15 early-user offer) | Closed source | Yes | iCloud | macOS 14 or later |
| ClipAudit | $29 per Mac at launch (normally $59), with one year of updates; 14-day trial | Source shared with buyers; can’t be redistributed | Not stated on its site | No. It blocks network access | macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon or Intel |
What to look for
- Where your history lives. Your clipboard sees passwords, addresses, and private messages. Decide whether you want it synced to the cloud or kept on one Mac.
- Password manager exclusions. Good clipboard managers skip items that password managers mark as concealed, and let you exclude apps yourself.
- Keyboard speed. You’ll use it dozens of times a day. Check how fast you can open it, search, and copy without the mouse.
- Images and links. Some apps are text-only. If you copy screenshots, make sure images are kept, and ideally searchable by the text in them.
- Price and maintenance. A free app that’s actively maintained beats a paid one that stopped getting updates.
New to this? Start with how to see clipboard history on Mac.