The 10 best clipboard managers for Mac in 2026

Introduction

Copy a snippet of code, then copy an address a minute later, and the code is gone. Your Mac only remembers the last thing you copied. macOS ships without a real clipboard history, so a stray Cmd+C wipes out the paragraph you meant to reuse. A clipboard manager fixes that. It keeps a searchable list of everything you copy, so pasting something from an hour ago stops being an archaeology project. Good ones also store reusable snippets, sync across your devices, and open from a single shortcut so your hands stay on the keyboard.

This guide ranks 10 clipboard managers for Mac, from free single-purpose tools to broader utilities. We evaluated each on history depth, search, sync, snippets, keyboard access, privacy, and price, using each product's official site and verified reviews. One disclosure up front: Spud is ours, and we rank it first. We back that placement with facts and credit every competitor for what it does well.

Key takeaways

• A clipboard manager stores a searchable history of what you copy, plus reusable snippets, so no copy is ever destructive.
• Best free minimalist pick: Maccy, open source and fast. Flycut is another free, plain-text option.
• Best cross-device pick: Paste, with iCloud sync across Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
• Best for launcher fans: Raycast and Alfred bundle clipboard history into a wider command tool.
• Free vs paid: Maccy, Flycut, and Clipy are free; Paste, Pastebot, and Alfred's Powerpack cost money. Spud has a free forever tier and $4.99/month Pro.

What is a clipboard manager?

A clipboard manager is a small app that records everything you copy instead of holding just the most recent item. On a stock Mac, each Cmd+C overwrites the last one. A clipboard manager keeps a running history you can open with a shortcut, search, and paste from. Most also store snippets, the text you type over and over, and many can strip formatting or skip passwords. It runs quietly in the menu bar and stays out of your way until you call it.

What makes a good clipboard manager?

A few things separate a clipboard manager you trust from one you forget to open.

Searchable history depth. Storing clips helps only if you can find them fast. Look for full-text search and a history that reaches back days, not minutes.

Cross-device sync. If you copy on a Mac and paste on an iPhone, you need iCloud or cloud sync. Local-only tools are private and fast, but stay on one machine.

Snippets and paste rules. Saved snippets cut repetitive typing. Paste rules can strip formatting or transform text before it lands.

Keyboard-first access. The best tools open from one global shortcut and let you paste without touching the mouse.

Privacy. A clipboard sees passwords and card numbers. Good managers skip concealed fields or clear a password when your password manager does.

Price. Options range from free and open source to one-time purchases and subscriptions. Match the cost to how much you paste in a day.

The best clipboard managers at a glance

Here are all 10 tools side by side. The table covers platform, who each one is best for, price, whether it syncs across devices, and whether it offers real search. Use it to shortlist two or three, then read the cards below for the detail on features, pricing, and verified reviews.

Best clipboard managers for Mac

1. Spud

Spud is our menu-bar app for macOS, and clipboard history is one piece of a wider tool for switching work contexts. Beyond a searchable clipboard, it saves whole workspaces: app and window positions, sizes, stacking order, and browser tabs, all restored with one keystroke. It is best for people who juggle deep work, calls, writing, and design on one machine and want the whole setup back in seconds. Because Spud ships direct rather than through the Mac App Store, it works without sandbox limits on window management.

Key features

• Searchable clipboard history opened from one shortcut
• Saved workspaces that restore window positions, sizes, stacking order, and browser tabs
• Snippets for text you type daily
• A searchable screenshot history and Talk, which reads copied text aloud

Pricing: Free forever tier (up to 2 saved workspaces, the last 10 clipboard items, 5 snippets, screenshots, and the switcher). Spud Pro is $4.99/month for unlimited workspaces, full clipboard history, unlimited snippets, and Talk. A 10-day trial needs no card and no sign-up, and nothing you make in it is taken away. Download direct from eatspud.com, signed and notarized.

Review: We haven't earned an independent review we can point you to yet.

2. Maccy

Maccy is a single-purpose, open-source clipboard manager for macOS Sonoma 14 or higher. It does one job and does it fast, with keyboard-first search across your whole history in a fraction of a second and a native macOS look. Everything stays on your computer, so it is a strong pick if you want a free, private history without extra tools. It also respects your password manager: if that tool clears a copied password, so does Maccy.

Key features

• Fast, keyboard-first search across your full clipboard history
• Native macOS interface, lightweight and quick
• Local-only storage for privacy
• Open source under the MIT license

Pricing: Free and open source on GitHub. A paid version on the Mac App Store supports development.

Review: Maccy holds a 4.9 out of 5 rating from 995 ratings on the Mac App Store. One user (Josteniok, 06/27/2025) wrote: "This little app does exactly what it says it does and does it very well. It stays out of your way and also stores all the stuff you are copying and pasting and makes it easy to get back to."

3. Paste

Paste runs on Mac, iPhone, and iPad and needs macOS 14.0 or later. Its strength is Apple-ecosystem sync: iCloud keeps your history in step across every device, so a clip copied on your Mac is ready on your phone. It offers powerful search with filters by app, date, device, or content type, plus Pinboards for reusable snippets. If you copy on one Apple device and paste on another all day, Paste is built for you.

Key features

• Unlimited clipboard history synced across devices via iCloud
• Search with filters by app, date, device, or content type
• Pinboards for reusable snippets
• Rules that skip passwords and sensitive content

Pricing: The Personal plan is $29.99 billed annually (shown as $2.49/month), with a standalone monthly option at $3.99 and a Lifetime option. Every plan starts with a free 7-day trial.

Review: Paste holds a 4.2 out of 5 rating from 1.3K ratings on the App Store. One user (Zero Ehxe, 03/24/2020) wrote: "All around, it's a perfect app and better than any of the other's I have tried on the App Store."

4. Raycast

Raycast is a full launcher platform with clipboard history built in, so it suits people who already run their Mac from a command bar. Alongside the clipboard, it offers thousands of extensions, Snippets, Quicklinks, window management, and Raycast AI. It runs on macOS, with Windows in beta and an iOS app. If you want one keyboard tool that launches apps and remembers your copies, Raycast covers both.

Key features

• Clipboard History inside a wider launcher
• Thousands of extensions, plus Snippets and Quicklinks
• Built-in window management and Raycast AI
• Cloud Sync on the Pro tier

Pricing: Free forever for individuals. Pro is $10/month, or $8/month billed annually. Free clipboard history reaches back 3 months; Pro is unlimited.

Review: Cult of Mac's Rajesh Pandey, in a 2025 review updated in 2026, wrote that "Raycast transforms how you get things done on a Mac." Read it on Cult of Mac.

5. Alfred

Alfred is a long-running macOS launcher whose clipboard history lives in its paid Powerpack. The free core searches and launches apps, and the Powerpack adds clipboard history, snippet expansion, workflows, and system commands. Its clipboard can store past clips, images, file paths, and colour hex codes. If you want deep customization and one-time pricing over a subscription, Alfred rewards the setup time.

Key features

• Clipboard history for text, images, file paths, and colour hex codes (Powerpack)
• Search and launch from the free core
• Snippet expansion and custom workflows
• Settings sync across your Macs

Pricing: The core is free forever. The Powerpack is a one-time purchase: Single License £34, or Mega Supporter £59 with lifetime free upgrades.

Review: MacSources scored Alfred 93% in a May 2026 review, with Robyn writing that "Alfred starts as a simple and fast alternative to Spotlight but grows into a deeply customizable productivity system over time." Read it on MacSources.

6. Pastebot

Pastebot, from Tapbots, is a Mac-only clipboard manager focused on filters and paste rules, and it requires macOS 26 Tahoe or later. Its Filters transform clippings before they paste, and they stack, so you can clean up text in one step. It keeps a running history you search by typing, adds Custom and Smart Pastebins, and offers a Quick Paste Menu on Shift+Command+V. Choose it when you paste a lot of text that needs reshaping.

Key features

• Stackable Filters that transform clippings before pasting
• Custom and Smart Pastebins, plus Stacks for sequential paste
• Quick Paste Menu (Shift+Command+V) and searchable notes
• iCloud Sync across computers, plus Universal Clipboard support

Pricing: $39 direct, including one year of updates, with further years at $19. An App Store subscription is $24.99/year or $2.99/month, both with a 14-day free trial.

Review: MacStories' John Voorhees called it "…so essential, in fact, that when the beta ran out on me just before the app's release date, my Mac immediately felt broken, which is about the highest recommendation I can give a Mac utility." Read the full review on MacStories.

7. Flycut

Flycut is a free, open-source clip stack built on the Jumpcut engine and aimed at developers. It keeps a plain-text history you recall by hotkey, and it pastes with Shift-Command-V even when the current clipboard holds something else. It ships on the Mac App Store and as a DRM-free build on GitHub, with a companion iOS app. Search is not among its listed functions, so it fits people who want a simple, free stack rather than deep filtering.

Key features

• Plain-text clip history recalled by hotkey
• Paste with Shift-Command-V regardless of the current clipboard
• Configurable hotkey and preferences
• Open source under the MIT license, DRM-free build on GitHub

Pricing: Free and open source. Donations are optional.

Review: Flycut holds a 4.5 out of 5 rating from 309 ratings on the Mac App Store. One user (Malfhok, 09/19/2020) wrote: "I cannot use a computer without a multi-clipboard utility and this is the best… I've tried several others and none of them come anywhere close to the simplicity of Flycut."

8. Clipy

Clipy is a free, open-source clipboard extension for macOS 13.0 or later, made possible by ClipMenu being released as open source. It handles plain text and images, and you call up a shortcut-key menu to reference your history or paste registered snippets. Its site emphasizes recall through that menu rather than full search, so it suits people who want a free history with quick snippet paste and little setup.

Key features

• Clipboard history for plain text and images
• Shortcut-key menu to browse recent clips
• Registered snippets and boilerplate text you can paste anytime
• Free and open source

Pricing: Free and open source.

Review: Clipy is not on the Mac App Store and gets little coverage on major review platforms, so there is no editorial rating to quote. Its open-source project stays active, with 8.6k stars and maintenance updated for macOS 26 Tahoe on GitHub.

9. CopyClip 2

CopyClip 2, from FIPLAB, is a Mac App Store clipboard manager built with AppKit, so no Electron or web views, and it needs macOS 11.5 or later. It silently saves everything you copy, from text to links to code, and its Instant Search filters that history in real time. Extras include pinned clips, multiple themes, Private Mode, and plain-text paste, plus automatic skipping of concealed fields. It is a good pick if you want a straightforward App Store install that keeps data local.

Key features

• Instant Search that filters clipboard history in real time
• Pinned clips and multiple themes
• Private Mode and automatic skipping of concealed fields
• Plain-text paste and a native AppKit build, no Electron

Pricing: CopyClip is free, and CopyClip 2 is a paid upgrade offered with a free trial download. The exact price is not displayed on FIPLAB's official page.

Review: CopyClip 2 holds a 4.5 out of 5 rating from 41 ratings on the Mac App Store. One user (Dick Weiler, 24/03/2017) wrote: "CopyClip2 is simple to use, practical and elegant (and it keeps everything on the local machine - no Cloud thank you!)"

10. Unclutter

Unclutter is a Mac utility that bundles a clipboard viewer with a file shelf and a notepad in one dropdown panel, on Apple Silicon and Intel, requiring macOS 10.13 or later. Its Clipboard tool tracks and lets you browse history, while Files gives you a drop zone and Notes holds quick text. The panel is resizable and reachable on every screen, even in full-screen apps. Pick it if you want a clipboard alongside scratch files and notes rather than a dedicated history tool.

Key features

• Clipboard, Files, and Notes tools in one dropdown panel
• Customizable, resizable layout
• Instant access on every screen, even full-screen
• Optional automatic sync of files and notes across devices

Pricing: One-time purchase of $19.99 (shown at 10% off), with a free demo.

Review: On the Mac App Store, a July 2026 five-star review from TanakritBenz reads: "I've been using this every day for the past 10+ years. Hands down the best money I've spent on a MacOS app." Read the App Store reviews.

Frequently asked questions

Does macOS have a built-in clipboard manager?

No. macOS keeps only the most recent item you copied, so each Cmd+C overwrites the last one. There is a clipboard viewer in Finder (Edit > Show Clipboard), but it shows a single item and cannot search or store a history. Universal Clipboard moves that one item between your Apple devices, yet it still holds just the latest copy. To keep a searchable history, you need a third-party clipboard manager like the ones in this guide.

Are clipboard managers safe with passwords?

They can be, if you pick one that respects sensitive fields. Maccy clears a copied password when your password manager does, Paste has rules that skip passwords and sensitive content, and CopyClip 2 automatically skips concealed fields. Read the privacy notes on each product's site before you trust it with card numbers or credentials. Local-only tools that store nothing in the cloud, such as Maccy and CopyClip 2, keep your history on one machine, which some people prefer for sensitive work.

Do free clipboard managers sync across devices?

Usually not. Free tools like Maccy, Flycut, and Clipy store history locally and do not advertise cross-device sync. Sync tends to sit behind a paid tier: Paste uses iCloud across Mac, iPhone, and iPad, Pastebot offers iCloud Sync, and Raycast's Cloud Sync is a Pro feature. Spud works on every Mac you sign in to on its Pro plan. If syncing your clipboard between devices matters, budget for a paid option built around it.

What's the best clipboard manager for Mac?

It depends on your workflow. For a free, minimalist history, Maccy is hard to beat. For syncing across Apple devices, Paste leads. If you want more than a clipboard, Spud pairs a searchable clipboard history with full work-context switching, saving and restoring whole window layouts with one keystroke. That combination suits people who lose time both to overwritten copies and to rebuilding their desktop after every switch.

Which clipboard manager should you choose?

Match the tool to how you work. If you want a free, focused history and nothing else, Maccy is the clean pick, with Flycut as a plain-text alternative for developers. If you copy on a Mac and paste on an iPhone or iPad, Paste is built around iCloud sync. If you already drive your Mac from a command bar, Raycast and Alfred fold clipboard history into a broader launcher, so you carry one tool instead of two. Pastebot earns its place when you paste text that needs reshaping through filters, and Unclutter fits people who want a clipboard next to scratch files and notes.

Spud makes sense when your problem is bigger than the clipboard. You get a searchable history and reusable snippets, plus saved workspaces that bring back your apps, windows, and browser tabs in seconds. That is the pick for switching between deep work, calls, and design all day.

Try Spud

Get a searchable clipboard history and saved workspaces set up in under a minute. Free download, plus a 10-day trial with no card required. Try Spud free →