By default, your Mac only remembers the last thing you copied. Copy a link, then copy a line of code, and the link is gone. A clipboard manager fixes that: it keeps a searchable history of everything you copy, so you can find it again, reuse it, and organize the snippets you paste all day.
macOS 26 Tahoe finally added a basic clipboard history inside Spotlight (press ⌘-Space, then ⌘-4). It is fine for grabbing something you copied a few minutes ago, but it is off by default, Mac-only, and temporary. The moment you want history that sticks around, opens at your cursor, pastes several things in order, or reads text out of a screenshot, you want a dedicated clipboard manager.
Quick disclosure: we make OneNotch, one of the apps below. We have tried to rank every app on its merits and to be upfront about where OneNotch is not the right pick, so you can judge for yourself. Prices and features are accurate to the best of our knowledge as of July 2026; check each app's own site before you buy.
What to look for in a Mac clipboard manager
Not every point matters to everyone, but these are the things worth weighing before you pick one.
- Where it opens. A menu-bar dropdown means a mouse trip to the top of the screen every time. A panel that opens at your cursor, or on the notch you are already looking at, keeps you in flow.
- Search. Finding the thing you copied last Tuesday is the whole point. Look for fast search plus filters by type and source app.
- Formats. Text is table stakes. Also check for rich text, links, colors, images, and files.
- Organization. Can you pin or group the snippets you reuse into boards, instead of scrolling the whole history?
- Sequential paste. For forms, lists, and repetitive work, being able to collect several clips and paste them in order is a real time-saver.
- Keyboard-first. You reach for a clipboard manager dozens of times a day. It should work end to end without touching the mouse.
- Privacy. Your clipboard sees passwords and private messages. Prefer an app that keeps history on your Mac and lets you exclude sensitive apps.
- Price. Free, one-time, or subscription. All three are below.
Quick comparison
| App | Price | Model | Cross-device sync | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OneNotch | Free · Pro $9.99 lifetime | Notch-native, one-time | No (Mac only) | Clipboard on the notch, at your cursor, keyboard-first |
| Maccy | Free (open source) | Menu bar | No | The best free, open-source pick |
| Paste | ~$2.49/mo · $29.99/yr | Subscription, sync | Yes (iCloud) | Design and Mac/iPhone/iPad sync |
| Raycast | Free · Pro from $8/mo | Launcher extension | No | People already living in Raycast |
| Alfred + Powerpack | Powerpack ~$45 one-time | Launcher extension | No | Workflow builders |
| PastePal | Free · ~$14.99 one-time | Standalone | Yes (iCloud) | A tidy one-time standalone |
| macOS Spotlight | Free (built into Tahoe) | Built-in | No | The occasional recent copy |
The best clipboard managers for Mac in 2026
1. OneNotch — the clipboard that lives on your notch
Most clipboard managers live in the menu bar, which means a trip to the top corner of the screen every time you need them. OneNotch takes a different route: it wraps your clipboard history around the MacBook notch you are already looking at, and it can also pop a floating panel right at your cursor with a global shortcut. Hover the notch to browse recent clips, or press the shortcut over any app to search and paste without leaving your window.
The clipboard features go deep. Search by type with filters like @image, @link, and @text, then combine them with keywords to reach the exact copy you need. Pin the snippets you reuse into boards and paste them with ⌘1, ⌘2, and ⌘3. Everything is fully keyboard-driven: arrow keys move through history, Return pastes, and you never have to reach for the mouse.
Two features stand out for repetitive work. Copy Stack: double-press ⌘ to start a stack, keep copying as you work, then paste every item in order with ⌘V. OneNotch numbers the queue, shows the next clip on the notch, and consumes the stack as you paste. You can also multi-select clips and paste them as an ordered queue. And with built-in OCR, you can pull text straight out of a copied image and paste it as editable text.
OneNotch is more than a clipboard, too. The same notch surfaces music controls, Live Activities, your calendar, and AI-agent status (Codex and Claude usage, approvals, and running tasks), so one lightweight app handles the whole edge of your screen (see how it stacks up against the best Mac notch apps). It is built natively with SwiftUI and AppKit, tuned to keep CPU and memory use very low at idle, and it is private by design: clipboard history stays on your Mac, with no account and no telemetry, and you can exclude apps so sensitive copies are never saved.
What it does well:
- Clipboard on the notch, plus a floating panel that opens at your cursor
- Copy Stack (double-press ⌘) and multi-select ordered paste
- Fast search by type and keyword, boards with ⌘1/⌘2/⌘3 paste
- 100% keyboard-driven: arrow keys to navigate, Return to paste
- Built-in OCR, rich link previews, colors, SVG, and files
- Also handles media, Live Activities, calendar, and AI-agent status
- Native SwiftUI, ultra-light at idle, local-only and private
- Runs as a focused menu-bar clipboard manager too, if you prefer no notch UI
What it doesn't:
- No iCloud sync and no iPhone or iPad app yet, so it is Mac-only. If you copy on your Mac and paste on your phone, Paste is the better fit.
- Direct in-place editing of clipboard text is on the roadmap, not shipped yet
- Requires macOS 15 or newer on Apple Silicon
- Newer app with a shorter track record than Maccy or Alfred
Price: free, and genuinely useful on its own (up to 50 clipboard items, 24 hours of history, and 1 board). Pro is a one-time $9.99 lifetime purchase (launch price $6.99), covers up to 3 Macs, and lifts the limits to 200 items, retention from a day to forever, and up to 10 boards.
For whom: anyone on a Mac who copies and pastes constantly, wants it a hover or a keystroke away instead of a mouse trip to the menu bar, and prefers a one-time price over a subscription.
2. Maccy — the free, open-source standard
Maccy is probably the most recommended clipboard manager on r/macapps, and for good reason. It is free, open source, lightweight, and does the basics very well. If you want free software and a classic menu-bar dropdown, you do not need to look further.
What it does well:
- Free and open source (MIT), inspectable on GitHub
- Very lightweight and fast
- Instant search and pinning
- Maintained for years
What it doesn't: lives in the menu bar, so there is always a trip up there; text and images only, with no Copy Stack, ordered paste, or OCR; a functional UX rather than a polished one.
Price: free from GitHub or Homebrew; a small paid build on the Mac App Store supports the developer.
For whom: open source matters most, or you want the simplest thing that works without ever paying.
3. Paste — the polished one with iCloud sync
If aesthetics matter to you and you need your clipboard to sync between Mac, iPad, and iPhone, Paste is the app to beat. It has set the design bar in this category for years, and iCloud sync is its killer feature.
What it does well:
- Best-in-class design and animations
- iCloud sync across Mac, iPhone, and iPad
- Pinboards for grouping clips, and a sequential Paste Stack
- Fast search with type, app, and date filters
What it doesn't: it is subscription-only, which is a dealbreaker if you dislike recurring bills; the panel is fixed to the bottom of the screen rather than opening at your cursor; there is no meaningful free tier beyond a trial.
Price: about $2.49/month or $29.99/year, with a lifetime option and Setapp availability.
For whom: you live across Apple devices, copy on one and paste on another all the time, and value design over price. If the subscription is your only sticking point, see our guide to a Paste alternative without a subscription.
4. Raycast — only if you already use it
Raycast is a launcher that happens to include clipboard history as a built-in extension. If you already use it as your main launcher, its clipboard history is good enough for most people, and there is no reason to install anything else.
What it does well: clipboard history is built into the free tier; search is fast and integrated with the rest of Raycast; it is polished and keyboard-first.
What it doesn't: the free tier caps history retention, and longer retention needs Raycast Pro (from $8/month); it opens in a command palette rather than at your cursor; adopting a whole launcher just for clipboard is overkill.
Price: free with limited retention; Pro from $8/month.
For whom: you already pay for or use Raycast and want clipboard history in the same window.
5. Alfred + Powerpack — for workflow builders
Alfred is the original Mac launcher, and its clipboard history is part of the paid Powerpack. Once you have it, the history pairs tightly with Alfred's snippets and workflows.
What it does well: a powerful workflow engine; one-time Powerpack payment; text, images, and file lists with merging; a decade of trust.
What it doesn't: clipboard requires the paid Powerpack; it is Mac-only with no device sync; the UI feels dated next to Paste; there is a learning curve.
Price: Powerpack from roughly $45 one-time.
For whom: you already build Alfred workflows and want clipboard history alongside them.
6. PastePal — the tidy standalone
PastePal sits between Paste and Maccy: a one-time purchase with a clean UI and iCloud sync across Apple devices, without Paste's subscription.
What it does well: one-time payment; a modern, well-crafted UI; iCloud sync between Mac and iOS; fast search.
What it doesn't: fewer advanced features (no Copy Stack, no ordered paste); a smaller community and maintenance footprint.
Price: free to download with a one-time upgrade around $14.99.
For whom: you want a one-time purchase with device sync and a nice history, and do not need power features.
7. macOS Spotlight clipboard history — the free built-in
If you are on macOS Tahoe, start with what is already on your Mac. Spotlight now keeps a short clipboard history (⌘-Space, then ⌘-4). It is free and already there.
What it does well: free, built in, and fine for re-copying something from a few minutes ago.
What it doesn't: off by default; Mac-only with no sync; temporary by design (items clear after a window you set, from 30 minutes to 7 days); no boards, no OCR, no sequential paste; not available on macOS Sequoia or earlier.
Price: free with macOS 26 Tahoe.
For whom: light needs on Tahoe, and you do not want to install anything.
How to choose
- You want your clipboard on the notch and at your cursor, keyboard-first, for a one-time price. OneNotch.
- Free software above all else. Maccy.
- You copy on your Mac and paste on your iPhone or iPad. Paste.
- You already live in Raycast. Use its built-in clipboard history.
- You build deep automations. Alfred + Powerpack.
- You want a tidy standalone with device sync and one-time pricing. PastePal.
- You just need the last few things you copied on Tahoe. The built-in Spotlight history.
Our pick
For a Mac-only workflow, OneNotch is the one we would reach for: the clipboard is a hover or a keystroke away instead of a trip to the menu bar, Copy Stack and ordered paste handle the repetitive work, and the free tier is useful before you ever pay. If you need your clipboard to follow you to an iPhone, choose Paste instead. If you want free and open source, choose Maccy. That is exactly the point of this guide: pick the one that fits how you actually work. If that sounds like your setup, download OneNotch free and try it on your own Mac.
Frequently asked questions
Does macOS have a built-in clipboard manager?
Only recently, and only a basic one. For years macOS kept just the single most recent copy. macOS 26 Tahoe added a limited clipboard history inside Spotlight (⌘-Space, then ⌘-4), but it is off by default, Mac-only, and clears items after a window you set. A dedicated clipboard manager adds a lasting, searchable, organized history.
What is the best free clipboard manager for Mac?
Maccy is the best free, open-source option for a lightweight menu-bar history. OneNotch also has a genuinely useful free tier that keeps up to 50 items and adds Copy Stack, boards, search by type, and OCR, with clipboard living on the notch or a panel at your cursor.
Which clipboard manager syncs to iPhone and iPad?
Paste and PastePal sync across Apple devices via iCloud, so you can copy on your Mac and paste on your phone. OneNotch, Maccy, Raycast, and Alfred are Mac-only. If cross-device sync is your priority, Paste is the strongest pick.
Can you trust a clipboard manager with passwords?
Only if you choose carefully. Prefer an app that keeps history on your Mac rather than a server, and that lets you exclude sensitive apps. OneNotch and Maccy are local-only, and OneNotch lets you add apps to an exclusion list and skips items that source apps mark as concealed. Still, pause capture or clear history when handling secrets.
How much does OneNotch cost?
OneNotch is free, with a genuinely useful free tier (up to 50 clipboard items, 24 hours of history, and 1 board). Pro is a one-time $9.99 lifetime purchase (launch price $6.99) that covers up to 3 Macs and lifts the limits to 200 items, retention from a day to forever, and up to 10 boards. There is no subscription.