The best clipboard manager for Mac in 2026

1. macOS Tahoe's built-in history — start here

As of macOS 26 (Tahoe), Spotlight has clipboard history built in. It's off by default: turn on Results from Clipboard in System Settings → Spotlight, then press ⌘Space followed by ⌘4 to see your recent copies. Since macOS 26.1 you can keep items for 30 minutes, 8 hours, or 7 days.

The limits are real, and deliberate: history expires on that timer, copied text is stored as plain text with formatting stripped (and very long text isn't saved at all), there's no pinning or organization, and nothing syncs between Macs. But it's free, private, and already installed. If it covers you, you're done — no download required.

2. Maccy — the best free app

Maccy is open source (MIT), free forever, and superb at its one job: a minimal, keyboard-first list of everything you've copied. Type to filter, Enter to paste. Everything stays local on your Mac, and concealed passwords are never recorded. There's a $9.99 App Store version that's functionally identical — buying it just supports the developer.

Its trade-offs are the flip side of its minimalism: no sync between Macs, no visual previews, and organization stops at pinning. Our detailed Maccy comparison goes deeper — and honestly recommends Maccy for a lot of people.

3. Raycast — best if you already live in Raycast

If Raycast is already your launcher, its built-in Clipboard History extension is genuinely good: pinning, type filters, paste as plain text. The free plan keeps history for up to three months; unlimited history and cloud sync are part of Raycast Pro at $8/month billed annually ($10 month-to-month).

Two caveats: it's a subscription for the unlimited tier, and sync runs through Raycast's own cloud rather than your iCloud. As one feature inside a launcher you already use, though, it may be all the clipboard manager you need.

4. Paste — the premium subscription

Paste popularized the visual clipboard shelf and remains the most polished cross-device option: Mac, iPhone, and iPad, synced through your Apple Account, with pinboards for organization. It's $29.99/year (or $89.99 as a one-time lifetime purchase) after a 7-day trial.

If you genuinely want your clipboard on your iPhone, Paste is the recommendation — nothing else here does that as well. If you only ever use it on Macs, you're paying yearly for apps you don't run; that's the case our Paste alternative page makes in detail.

5. Pastebot — the power user's toolkit

Pastebot 3, from Tapbots, is the automation pick: text filters that transform clips as you paste them, a sequential paste queue, custom pastebins, and iCloud sync. It's $39 direct with one year of updates included, then $19 per additional year of updates — you always keep the last version you paid for. (The App Store version is a $24.99/year subscription.) There's a 14-day trial.

If you regularly munge text on its way through the clipboard — stripping formatting, rewriting, pasting in sequence — Pastebot earns its price. If you just want history and organization, it's more machine than you need.

6. PasteMyClip — the pay-once shelf

PasteMyClip is our app, so calibrate accordingly. It exists for one specific person: someone who wants Paste's visual shelf experience — ⇧⌘V, cards, direct paste into the frontmost app, colored labels and pins, sync between Macs — without a subscription. It's $15 once, with free updates and a 14-day no-questions refund.

Sync runs through your own private iCloud; there are no PasteMyClip servers and no account. It imports your Paste history and pinboards in one click, honors concealed passwords, and runs on macOS 14 and later with full Liquid Glass design on macOS 26. What it deliberately doesn't do: iPhone/iPad apps and Pastebot-style text automation. See the full feature tour.

Which one is for you?

• Casual copying, nothing to install: macOS Tahoe's built-in Spotlight history.
• Free forever, minimal list, one Mac: Maccy.
• Already a Raycast user: Raycast's clipboard history (Pro if you need more than 3 months).
• Clipboard on iPhone and iPad too: Paste.
• Text transformation and paste automation: Pastebot.
• The visual shelf with iCloud sync between Macs, paid for once: PasteMyClip.

All prices and limits verified on each vendor's own website or App Store listing in August 2026. If something here has changed, email [email protected] and we'll fix it.