Mac clipboard managers compared

Written October 2026 from each product’s public pages. Prices and features change, so check their sites. We make Pocketry, so weigh our view accordingly.

Every clipboard manager does the basics: save what you copy, let you paste it again. The differences are in price model, sync, privacy and extras.

App	Known for	Price model
Maccy	Small, fast, simple, open source	Free to build; also sold on the Mac App Store
Paste	Polished visual timeline, iCloud sync, iPhone and iPad apps	Subscription, or a higher lifetime price
Pastebot	Powerful text filters and automation, sync	One-time purchase with paid major upgrades
Raycast	A launcher with clipboard history built in	Free tier, paid plan for more
Pocketry	Privacy: encrypted history, secrets removed, on-device AI, plain-English search	$12 one-time (14-day free trial), no subscription

Where Pocketry is a good fit

You want your clipboard history to stay on your Mac, encrypted, with passwords and keys filtered out.
You like AI help (summaries, clean-up, reading text from screenshots) without sending text to a cloud.
You would rather pay once than subscribe.
You search by describing what you remember: “links from Safari yesterday”, “emails from last week”.

Where it is not (yet)

No iCloud sync and no iPhone app. If you need your history on several devices today, Paste or Pastebot fit better. We are considering it for a future version.
Apple silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later only.
Not on the Mac App Store. It is sold directly, because the App Store’s sandbox blocks pasting into other apps and expanding snippets as you type.

How to choose

Try one for a week. Most have a trial or a free tier. Note whether you reach for it without thinking, how it handles passwords, and whether the price model suits you. For privacy questions to ask any of them, see this checklist.

Common questions

What is the best clipboard manager for Mac?

It depends on what you value. Maccy is free and simple. Paste and Pastebot offer sync and polish. Raycast bundles clipboard history into a launcher. Pocketry focuses on privacy and on-device AI with a one-time price.

Is there a free clipboard manager for Mac?

Yes. Maccy is open source and free to build yourself, and some launchers include a free clipboard history.

Which clipboard manager has no subscription?

Several do. Pocketry is a one-time purchase. Check each product’s page, because pricing models change.

Does Pocketry sync to iPhone?

Not yet. Sync and an iPhone app are planned, but today it is a Mac-only app.

Try Pocketry free for 14 days · then $12 once, no subscription.