Free Pastebot Alternative for Mac
Pastebot is the clipboard manager other clipboard managers get compared to — Tapbots build carefully and the filters and pastebins are genuinely deep. Version 3 also asks $39 up front (or $24.99 a year on the App Store) and requires macOS 26 Tahoe. Notchy keeps a searchable clipboard history in the notch instead, free, on macOS 13 Ventura and later.
- Pastebot price
- $39 one-time, or $24.99/year on the App Store
- Pastebot requires
- macOS 26 Tahoe
- Notchy price
- Free — donations optional
Why use Notchy instead of Pastebot?
- Runs on the Macs Pastebot 3 left behind
Pastebot 3 requires macOS 26 Tahoe. If your Mac is on Ventura, Sonoma or Sequoia — or can't take Tahoe at all — the current version is simply out of reach. Notchy supports macOS 13 and later, on Apple Silicon and Intel.
- No purchase, no subscription, no trial clock
The App Store route makes Pastebot a $24.99/year subscription; buying direct is $39 with one year of updates. Notchy is free, with optional donations — there is no licence to buy, no trial to run out, and no feature gated behind a tier.
- History where you're already looking
Pastebot opens a window over your work. Notchy's history lives in the notch: click down, search, click a clipping to paste it. Files, screenshots, timers and media controls sit in the same island, so one gesture covers the lot.
- Where Pastebot still wins
Rule-based Smart Pastebins, chained paste filters, sequential Stacks, iCloud sync between Macs and Universal Clipboard with an iPhone. If you transform text on paste or work across two Macs and a phone, Pastebot does things Notchy does not.
How Notchy stacks up
Honest, feature-by-feature comparison of every major macOS notch app — no affiliates.
Swipe the table sideways to see every app.
| Feature | Notchy | Alcove | NotchNook | Boring Notch | DynamicLake | MediaMate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 100% Free | $17 one-time | $25 (or $3/mo) | Free (Open Source) | Paid | Paid |
| Minimum macOS | macOS 13 Ventura+ | macOS 14 Sonoma+ | macOS 14 Sonoma+ | macOS 14 Sonoma+ | macOS 14 Sonoma+ | macOS 14 Sonoma+ |
| Architecture | Pure SwiftUI (Native) | Swift (Native) | Swift (Native) | Swift (Open Source) | Swift (Native) | Swift (Native) |
| Now Playing Controls | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI Usage Tracker (Claude / Codex / Cursor) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Command Palette (⌃⌥K) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Localized (134 languages) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Clipboard History | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pomodoro Focus Timer | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| File Stash / Drop Shelf | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| System HUDs (Volume/Brightness) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AirPods Connected Reveal | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — |
| Lock Screen Widgets | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Quick Notes | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Calendar Widget | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — |
| Caffeine Toggle | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Synced Lyrics | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Image Converter (HEIC/JPG/PDF) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Apple Reminders Capture | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Audio Output Switcher | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Device Battery (Mouse/Keyboard) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Download Finished Alerts | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Run Apple Shortcuts | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| Camera Mirror / Webcam Preview | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| Zip & Unzip Files | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hide the Notch | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Window Snapping (drag to notch) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| App Launcher Tab | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| OCR + Searchable Clipboard | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Text Snippets / Expander | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Menu-Bar Icon Hiding | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| System-Wide Mic Mute | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Live System Stats (CPU/RAM) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| iPhone-Style Call Island | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Built-In Terminal | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Camera/Mic Privacy Indicator | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
Everything Notchy does, for free
- Fluid Dynamic Island animations on the Mac notch
- Command palette (⌃⌥K) — every action one keystroke away
- Knock — double-tap a modifier key to open the notch
- AI usage tracker (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot)
- Detach any tab into a menu-bar popover
- Now Playing music controls (Apple Music & Spotify)
- Time-synced karaoke lyrics under the notch
- Mac clipboard history shelf (password-manager safe)
- Searchable clipboard — filter by text, file name, or OCR'd words
- On-device OCR — copy a screenshot, get its text (Apple Vision)
- Window snapping — drag a window to the notch to tile it
- App Launcher — pin apps to the notch, open with one tap
- Text snippets — TextExpander-style pastes from the ⌘K palette
- One-tap screen capture to clipboard + shelf
- Color eyedropper — sample any pixel, hex auto-copied
- System-wide mic mute for every meeting app at once
- Keystroke HUD for demos & screencasts (secure-input safe)
- Keyboard cleaning lock with countdown island (⌘⎋ unlocks)
- Menu-bar icon hiding — Bartender-style separator & chevron
- Live CPU / memory / network stats flyout
- Open GitHub PR count in the notch (Keychain-stored token)
- iPhone-style call island — Answer/Decline FaceTime on the notch
- Notch Terminal — real VT100/xterm shell in a PTY, its own tab
- Privacy Indicator — pill when any app's camera or mic goes live
- Caps Lock HUD — brief island on every toggle
- Full Charge island with adjustable threshold + low-battery sound
- Alt HUD styles — edge-pinned bar or circular gauge off the notch
- Audio-reactive Now Playing visualizer (real FFT of system audio)
- Custom closed-notch idle animation — drop in your own Lottie JSON
- Drag-and-drop file drop shelf — persists across relaunches
- Zip & unzip files right from the shelf
- Image converter (HEIC, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, PDF) + video → GIF
- Run Apple Shortcuts with one tap
- Screenshots auto-staged on the shelf, ready to drag
- Download finished alerts with Reveal in Finder
- USB drive mount island with one-tap Eject
- Apple Reminders quick capture & due list
- macOS Pomodoro notch timer & stopwatch — streaks + 7-day chart
- Resizable expanded panel (width & height, live preview)
- System HUDs (volume, brightness, battery)
- Audio output switcher (speakers, AirPods, monitor)
- AirPods connection manager & battery
- Magic Mouse, Keyboard & Trackpad battery + low-battery alerts
- Quick notes & Calendar widgets
- Camera Mirror (check your appearance)
- Keep Awake (caffeine toggle)
- Teleprompter (Cuely) for Zoom calls
- Focus-aware alerts & native haptic feedback
- Lock screen widgets & hide-the-notch mode
- 133 languages, fully localized
- Native SwiftUI, tuned for Apple Silicon
The honest verdict on Pastebot
Pastebot is the better clipboard manager, and for people who paste for a living the filters and iCloud sync justify the price. But it now demands macOS 26 and a payment, and most people want history, search and pinning — which Notchy gives you in the notch, free, on a Mac from 2020.
Pastebot alternative — FAQ
How much does Pastebot cost?
Tapbots lists Pastebot 3 at $39 USD bought directly, which includes one year of updates, or $24.99 USD a year (or $2.99 a month) as an App Store subscription. Notchy is free, with optional donations.
Does Pastebot work on my Mac?
Pastebot 3 requires macOS 26 Tahoe or later. On anything older you're stuck on an earlier version with no updates. Notchy runs on macOS 13 Ventura and later.
Is there a free Pastebot alternative?
Yes — several. Notchy is free and puts clipboard history in the notch alongside 50+ other tools; Maccy and Flycut are free, open-source, single-purpose clipboard managers. None of the three match Pastebot's paste filters.
Does Notchy sync clipboard history between Macs?
No. Notchy's history is stored locally on the Mac that copied it and never leaves the device. Pastebot syncs over iCloud, so if you paste across two Macs that's a real reason to pay for it.
How many clippings does Notchy keep?
The history is searchable and not capped behind an upgrade — you set how much to retain in settings, including pinning items you want to keep and excluding apps that shouldn't be recorded at all.
Can I paste plain text without formatting?
Yes. Notchy can paste a clipping as plain text, which covers the most common reason people reach for a paste filter. Anything more elaborate — regex transforms, chained filters — is Pastebot territory.