A PastePal Alternative for Mac

PastePal is Khoa Pham's universal clipboard manager for Mac, iPhone and iPad: searchable history organised by app, type and custom collections, 75+ text transforms, keyboard and share extensions, and iCloud sync. It's free to download, with a $14.99 one-time Pro unlock for unlimited paste and sync, and needs macOS 14. Notchy's clipboard history is complete with no Pro unlock, on macOS 13 — and 1.0.179 adds saved lists and opt-in iCloud sync between Macs.

Looking for PastePal itself? It lives on the App Store.

Try Free for 7 Days Buy Notchy$24.99

PastePal price: Free; Pro $14.99 one-time
PastePal requires: macOS 14.0 or later
Notchy price: $24.99 one-time, 7-day free trial

Why use Notchy instead of PastePal?

Nothing to unlock
Unlimited history, search, pins, paste-by-number, OCR on copied images and tracker-free links — all in the one $24.99 licence.
Saved lists and history that survives
Since 1.0.179: sort saved clips into your own lists, and keep the rolling history after quitting or restarting — stored owner-only on your Mac.
Private by default
1Password and Apple Passwords copies are ignored, and the clipboard can empty itself on a timer, on sleep or on lock. iCloud sync is off unless you turn it on.
Where PastePal is better
iPhone and iPad apps, a keyboard extension, full history sync and 75 text transforms. Notchy's sync (1.0.179) covers saved text clips between Macs only — no images, no rolling history, no iPhone.

At a glance

Everything Notchy does, in one app

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

Show all 51

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
Custom islands through the local developer API (off by default)
iPhone-style call island — Answer/Decline FaceTime on the notch
Notch Terminal — real VT100/xterm shell in a PTY, its own tab
Camera Guard — alert (or block) when any app opens your camera
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
134 languages, fully localized
Native SwiftUI, tuned for Apple silicon

The honest verdict on PastePal

If you copy on an iPhone and paste on a Mac, PastePal's $14.99 buys something Notchy doesn't do. If your clipboard lives on your Macs, Notchy's is already in the notch, with no separate unlock.

PastePal alternative — FAQ

Is PastePal free?

It's free to download; Pro is a $14.99 one-time in-app purchase for unlimited paste and iCloud sync, with Family Sharing and universal purchase.

Does Notchy sync the clipboard to my iPhone?

No. From 1.0.179 it can sync saved text clips and their lists between your Macs through iCloud; there's no iPhone app.

Does Notchy keep clipboard history after a restart?

Saved clips always persist. From 1.0.179 the whole rolling history can too, with images stored beside it and swept when no longer used.

What macOS does PastePal need?

macOS 14 or later, per its App Store listing. Notchy runs from macOS 13 Ventura.

Is Notchy free?

No. Notchy is a one-time $24.99 purchase for one Mac, with a 7-day free trial and updates included — no subscription or in-app purchase.