Best Mac Clipboard Managers in 2026: Free & Paid Compared
Maccy, Paste, PastePal, Raycast and Notchy compared as Mac clipboard managers — history depth, sync, privacy, price, and the free one in your notch.
By Vishva VariyaPublished Updated
Copy two things on a Mac and the first one is gone — in 2026, stock macOS still ships a single-slot clipboard. A clipboard manager is the highest-leverage utility you can install, and the market has four serious answers: Maccy, Paste, PastePal, Raycast, and Notchy. Ranked, honestly.
1. Notchy — history that lives in the notch (free)
Notchy's clipboard manager takes a different position on the screen: your recent copies — 40 by default, up to 500; text, links, images — live one hover away in the MacBook notch, searchable, with a global hotkey (⌃⌥C) when your hands are on the keys. Pin what you reuse, strip tracking from links, and paste as plain text on demand. History stays on-device and password-manager copies are never recorded; from 1.0.179 saved clips go into lists, history survives a restart, and saved text can sync between your Macs if you opt in. Because it's part of a notch app, the same install also covers music, timers, and file drops. Free, macOS 13+.
2. Maccy — the minimalist standard (free, OSS)
Maccy is the community default for a reason: open-source, keyboard-first, instant fuzzy search from a menu-bar popup. It does one job and does it very well. What it doesn't do: rich previews, pinned boards, or anything beyond the clipboard — and it's another menu-bar icon in an already crowded bar.
3. Paste — the beautiful subscription
Paste has the nicest UI in the category — a full-width visual timeline, pinboards, and iCloud sync to iPhone and iPad. The catch is the model: ~$30/year, subscription-only, for a utility others give away. If cross-device clipboard sync is core to your workflow, it's the one to pay for; otherwise the free tools cover 95% of it.
4. PastePal — sync without the subscription ($14.99 once)
PastePal is the universal option: Mac, iPhone and iPad apps, custom collections, 75+ text transforms, a keyboard extension and iCloud sync. It's free to try with a $14.99 one-time Pro unlock (Family Sharing included), and needs macOS 14. If you want Paste's cross-device sync without a yearly bill, this is it.
5. Raycast — good enough if you're already there
Raycast's built-in clipboard history is solid — searchable, fast, free tier — and if you already live in Raycast it may be all you need. It's ranked last only because it's a feature inside a launcher, not a clipboard product: no notch presence, and you adopt a whole launcher to get it.
The comparison
| Notchy | Maccy | Paste | PastePal | Raycast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free (OSS) | $29.99/year | Free; Pro $14.99 once | Free tier |
| Lives in | The notch | Menu bar | Full-screen shelf | Menu bar + iPhone | Launcher |
| Image history | Yes | Yes | Yes, rich previews | Yes | Yes |
| Cross-device sync | Saved text, Mac to Mac (1.0.179, opt-in) | No | Yes, iCloud | Yes, iCloud (Pro) | Paid tier |
| Also gets you | Music, timer, shelf, HUDs | — | — | iPhone and iPad apps | A launcher |
Bottom line
Dedicated tool, zero cost: Maccy. Cross-device sync, money no object: Paste. The same sync for one payment: PastePal. But if your MacBook has a notch doing nothing, Notchy turns it into a clipboard manager and a Dynamic Island in one free install — start there and see if you still need a second app.
Mac clipboard manager FAQs
Does macOS have built-in clipboard history?
No. The system clipboard holds exactly one item — copy something new and the previous item is gone. Every clipboard history feature on Mac comes from a third-party app.
What’s the best free clipboard manager for Mac?
Maccy if you want a dedicated menu-bar tool; Notchy if you’d rather have clipboard history built into a notch app you may already want for music and timers — both are free. PastePal has a free tier too, with a $14.99 Pro unlock.
Is Paste worth the subscription?
Paste is the most polished visually and syncs across devices, but it costs $29.99 a year for what Maccy and Notchy do free locally. Pay for it if syncing your whole history to an iPhone is essential — or look at PastePal, which syncs for a one-time $14.99.
Are clipboard managers a privacy risk?
Choose one that stores history locally. Notchy keeps clipboard history on-device, never records concealed or password-manager copies, and can clear itself after a delay, on sleep or on lock.
Which Mac clipboard manager syncs between devices?
Paste and PastePal sync your history across Mac, iPhone and iPad through iCloud. From 1.0.179 Notchy can optionally sync saved text clips between Macs; Maccy doesn’t sync.