Paste

A better way to copy and paste on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

4.8•32 reviews•

2.3K followers

A better way to copy and paste on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

4.8•32 reviews•

2.3K followers

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Paste is a time machine for your clipboard that lets you instantly find anything you've ever copied and use it whenever you need it again.

The Best Paste Alternatives

The best Paste alternatives are Maccy, Pasta, CleanClip, CopyCat Clipboard, and Planck.

Maccy

5.0 ·

Choose Maccy if...

✓you want a minimal, keyboard-first clipboard manager
✓you prefer open-source and no subscription
✓you need fast search, pinning, and multi-paste

See details ↓

Pasta

5.0 ·

Choose Pasta if...

✓you want a free tier you can stick with
✓you need simple clipboard history without paying
✓you prefer a lightweight, designer-friendly experience

See details ↓

CleanClip

Choose CleanClip if...

✓you want a paste menu at the cursor
✓you like selecting clips by number keys
✓you do repetitive form filling and snippets

See details ↓

CopyCat Clipboard

5.0 ·

Choose CopyCat Clipboard if...

✓you need clipboard sync between Mac and Android
✓universal clipboard feels unreliable for you
✓you want open-source with a strong free plan

See details ↓

Planck

Choose Planck if...

✓you want real-time sync across Mac, Windows, Linux
✓you need simple clipboard history with sync
✓you want offline support with cloud backup

See details ↓

What to Consider

Paste is one of the best-known clipboard managers on macOS, loved for its polished, visual history and premium “everything in one place” feel (often paired with an Apple-ecosystem mindset). But the alternatives landscape is surprisingly diverse: Maccy goes the minimalist, keyboard-first route with an open-source, no-subscription ethos, while Pasta leans into a freemium model that many users find “good enough” indefinitely. Others differentiate on interaction style—CleanClip brings a cursor-position paste menu for low-friction form-filling—and on where your clipboard can travel, with CopyCat Clipboard and Planck emphasizing cross-device (and even cross-OS) sync beyond what Paste typically targets.

In evaluating Paste alternatives, the key considerations were pricing and long-term value (free, freemium, or paid), workflow speed (keyboard control, search, pinning, multi-item paste), and how “invisible” the UI feels during daily use. We also weighed platform coverage and sync reliability (Apple-only vs Mac-to-Android or Mac/Windows/Linux), plus trust factors like open-source availability and encryption/key ownership where relevant.

Maccy

Lightweight. Open source. No fluff.

5.0 · 4 reviews

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Maccy takes the opposite approach to Paste’s polished, visual shelf by staying minimal, fast, and almost invisible until it’s needed. It’s designed for people who live on the keyboard and want clipboard history to feel like a built-in system utility rather than a separate workspace.

Where Paste often shines with a rich UI and curated browsing, Maccy prioritizes speed: instant search, quick selection, and a smooth flow for high-volume copying throughout the day. Pinning keeps critical snippets from getting buried, and multi-item pasting supports power workflows without constant mouse detours.

Another differentiator is philosophy and cost: Maccy is open-source and avoids subscription friction, making it appealing to users who want a dependable tool with a straightforward footprint. Hotkey customization also makes it easier to fit into existing muscle memory, especially for developers and heavy multitaskers.

The trade-off is that it’s more Mac-centric and utilitarian than Paste, which some users prefer precisely because it’s “no fluff.” If the goal is maximum throughput and minimal UI overhead, Maccy is a strong alternative.

Best for

Best for Mac power users who want a lightweight, keyboard-driven clipboard history tool.

Standout features

✓Keyboard-first clipboard history
✓Fast search across clipboard items
✓Pin important clips
✓Multi-item paste workflows
✓Customizable hotkeys

Pasta

Clipboard time machine

5.0 · 1 review

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Pasta is a compelling alternative to Paste when the priority is getting most of the value without committing to a paid plan. It delivers the core benefit people want from a clipboard manager—reliable history—while keeping the day-to-day experience approachable and lightweight.

Compared with Paste’s premium positioning, Pasta’s freemium model makes it easier to adopt on a budget, especially for users who simply need quick access to recent copies and don’t want subscription pressure. It still supports the “clipboard time machine” use case: finding something copied earlier and bringing it back instantly.

Pasta also tends to suit visually oriented workflows, making it a comfortable pick for designers or anyone who prefers a friendly interface over a purely utilitarian list. For many, it hits the sweet spot of “enough features, low friction,” without trying to become an all-encompassing clipboard hub.

If cross-device Apple sync and a highly curated, premium UI are the main reasons to choose Paste, Pasta may feel simpler. But for everyday clipboard history at a cost that’s easy to live with, it stands out.

Best for

Ideal for budget-conscious Mac users who want capable clipboard history with a strong free tier.

Standout features

✓Freemium plan with long-term usefulness
✓Clipboard history for quick retrieval
✓Lightweight, approachable interface
✓Fast access to recent clips

CleanClip

The Easiest Way to Use Clipboard History like a Pro

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CleanClip stands out by bringing the clipboard menu directly to the cursor, turning pasting into a quick, in-context action instead of a separate shelf to open and browse. That interaction model can feel faster than Paste for form filling, support replies, and repetitive text entry.

Instead of relying on a large visual history view, CleanClip focuses on rapid selection at the insertion point, including number-key picking that keeps hands on the keyboard. This reduces context switching and makes it easier to paste the right item without leaving the field being edited.

For users who frequently reuse a set of snippets, concepts like stacks and formatting presets can streamline repetitive work and keep output consistent. The emphasis is less on curating a long timeline and more on making the next paste action frictionless.

CleanClip is a strong choice when Paste’s richer UI feels like extra steps and the goal is pure speed at the caret. It’s especially appealing for workflows where every second counts and pasting happens dozens or hundreds of times per day.

Best for

Best for people who want ultra-fast, at-the-caret pasting for repetitive entry workflows.

Standout features

✓Cursor-position paste menu
✓Number-key selection of clips
✓Paste stacks for reusable snippets
✓Formatting presets for consistent output

CopyCat Clipboard

Clipboard Experience You Always Wanted

5.0 · 2 reviews

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CopyCat Clipboard is built for people who need clipboard sync beyond Apple’s ecosystem, making it a practical alternative to Paste for Mac-to-Android workflows. It’s also useful when the built-in Universal Clipboard isn’t reliable enough for day-to-day handoffs between devices.

While Paste is often chosen for an Apple-centric experience, CopyCat focuses on cross-platform continuity and a strong free offering that covers the essentials like saving, searching, and syncing clips. That makes it easier to standardize copy/paste across different devices without paying upfront.

Trust and control are also part of the appeal: being open-source can be a meaningful differentiator for users who care about transparency and long-term maintainability. Its security model emphasizes user-controlled encryption keys, which can be attractive for anyone who treats clipboard content as sensitive.

If the priority is seamless sharing between Macs and iPhones with a premium Mac-first UI, Paste may still fit better. But for cross-platform sync and a privacy-forward posture, CopyCat Clipboard is a standout alternative.

Best for

Ideal for users who need cross-platform clipboard sync, especially Mac and Android.

Standout features

✓Cross-device clipboard sync
✓Works well for Mac to Android
✓Search and save clipboard history
✓Open-source codebase
✓User-controlled encryption keys

Planck

Cross-platform clipboard manager with real-time sync

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Planck is oriented around real-time clipboard sync across desktop operating systems, which makes it a natural alternative to Paste for mixed Mac, Windows, and Linux setups. It aims to remove the “send to self” habit by keeping clipboard history and transfers consistent across machines.

Compared with Paste’s Apple-leaning approach, Planck’s value is breadth: a single clipboard layer that follows users across work and personal computers regardless of OS. It also positions itself as simple and low-maintenance, focusing on the basics that need to work every time: history, search, and sync.

Offline support and secure cloud backup are key parts of the pitch, helping users keep access even when connectivity is spotty while still preserving continuity across devices. That combination suits people who move between environments, travel often, or work with multiple machines throughout the day.

The main trade-off versus Paste is mobile maturity if iOS or Android is essential to the workflow. For cross-desktop workflows where reliability and platform coverage matter most, Planck is a strong choice.