The short answer. CleanClip is the one to try first if you want a free, clean clipboard history with no subscription. Paste is the polished option, and the one to pay for if you want history to follow you between devices and you use snippets heavily. ClipFlow is for people who want to navigate history from the keyboard in a terminal-style list. Buffer is the open-source pick if you want bookmarks for things you copy often, including text pulled out of images. Whatever you choose, decide deliberately whether clipboard history is on at all — it captures passwords too.
This guide covers 12 clipboard managers for macOS. Every fact below is drawn from the same verified records that back each app’s own page. The recommendations are our editorial judgment, not payment. Last verified 2026-10-05.
Quick comparison
| App | What it is | Pricing | Licence | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer | clipboard manager | Open source | MIT | 3.0.0 |
| CleanClip | clipboard manager | Free | not published | 2.4.7 |
| Clipbara | clipboard manager | Open source | GPL-3.0 | 1.3.3 |
| Clipboard | clipboard manager | Open source | GPL-3.0 | 0.10.0 |
| ClipFlow | clipboard manager | Open source | not published | 1.0.2 |
| ClipHistory | clipboard manager | Open source | MIT | 1.3.4 |
| ClipMenu | clipboard manager | Open source | not published | 0.4.3 |
| Clippy | clipboard manager | Open source | not published | 1.0.17 |
| ClipTools | clipboard manager | Free | not published | 1.5.2 |
| Clipy | clipboard manager | Open source | MIT | 1.3.0 |
| CopyQ | clipboard manager | Open source | GPL-3.0 | 17.0.0 |
| Paste | clipboard manager | Subscription | Proprietary | 7.0.1 |
What actually decides this
- What lands in the history. A clipboard manager captures everything you copy, and what people copy includes passwords, tokens and private messages. Whether the tool can exclude password managers, pause, or clear itself is a security question before it is a convenience one.
- History depth and search. A history you cannot search is a history you scroll. The depth is only useful to the extent you can find the item again, which is why search quality matters more than the maximum number of entries.
- Sync between devices. Syncing history across machines is the feature people pay for, and it is also the one that moves your clipboard off your computer. Check whether it is end-to-end encrypted and whether you can turn it off per device.
- Navigation style. A visual grid, a list, and a keyboard-driven terminal-style browser suit different habits. The one you will actually use is the one that matches how you already reach for the keyboard.
- Whether history survives a restart. Some tools keep history only for the session; others persist it to disk. Persisting is more useful and leaves more behind, so the choice is a deliberate one.
Our picks
- CleanClip — It is offered free of charge and aims at being the cleanest clipboard manager on macOS, which is the whole point for a tool that should stay out of the way. Choose it when you want a free clipboard history with a clean interface.
- Paste — It combines clipboard history and snippets and is sold as a subscription, which is the model that funds cross-device sync. Choose it when you want history across devices and use snippets often.
- ClipFlow — It is open source and built around terminal-style navigation, which suits people who would rather type than point. Choose it when you want to browse history from the keyboard in a terminal-style list.
- Buffer — It is a lightweight open-source manager with bookmarks and OCR for images, which is useful when what you copy is a picture of text. Choose it when you want bookmarks for the things you copy repeatedly, including text from images.
The apps
Buffer
Buffer is a clipboard manager for macOS. Lightweight native clipboard manager with bookmarks and OCR for images. It is released under MIT.
What it does. A lightweight, privacy-focused clipboard manager for macOS with searchable history and a quick ⇧⌘V shortcut.
Buffer is listed with current version 3.0.0.
Full profile and verified facts for Buffer →
CleanClip
CleanClip is a clipboard manager for macOS. The cleanest Clipboard Manager on macOS, ever! It is free.
What it does. An immersive clipboard management tool designed for Mac, allowing you to quickly search, preview, and use clipboard history at your input position.
CleanClip is listed with current version 2.4.7.
Full profile and verified facts for CleanClip →
Clipbara
Clipbara is a clipboard manager for macOS. Free Paste-like clipboard manager with pinboards, Quick Look previews, and one-click copying. It is released under GPL-3.0.
What it does. Text, rich text, HTML, images, links, files, and colors. Search by content, title, or source app, with filters for type and date. Pinboards for the clips you keep reusing. Quick Look preview without leaving the panel.
Clipbara is listed with current version 1.3.3.
Full profile and verified facts for Clipbara →
Clipboard
Clipboard is a clipboard manager for macOS. Easy-to-use terminal clipboard manager for all platforms. It is released under GPL-3.0.
What it does. The fully-featured yet oh-so-easy-to-use clipboard manager for anyone. Introducing your new second brain that remembers anything, anytime, anywhere.
Clipboard is listed with current version 0.10.0.
Full profile and verified facts for Clipboard →
ClipFlow
ClipFlow is a clipboard manager for macOS. Free clipboard history manager with terminal-style navigation. It is open source.
What it does. Clipboard History - Saves last 50 copies (text + images). Terminal-style Navigation - Use ↑↓ like shell history. Delete Items - Remove unwanted items with Cmd+Shift+Delete. Recently Used First - Pasted items move to top of list.
ClipFlow is listed with current version 1.0.2.
Full profile and verified facts for ClipFlow →
ClipHistory
ClipHistory is a clipboard manager for macOS. Lightweight native clipboard manager with instant hotkey popup, search, pinning, and text/image history. It is released under MIT.
What it does. Instant popup — press ⌥V from any app, your clipboard history appears at the cursor. Text & images — captures plain text, screenshots, images from Finder, browsers, Preview. Search — type to filter instantly; searches content and source app name. Pin favourites — pinned items float to the top and are never evicted by newer copies.
ClipHistory is listed with current version 1.3.4.
Full profile and verified facts for ClipHistory →
ClipMenu
ClipMenu is a clipboard manager for macOS. Clipboard manager for Mac OS X. It is open source.
What it does. A clipboard manager for Mac OS X.
ClipMenu is listed with current version 0.4.3.
Full profile and verified facts for ClipMenu →
Clippy
Clippy is a clipboard manager for macOS. Smart clipboard manager with content-aware previews, AI transformations, a built-in screenshot editor, and file converter. It is open source.
What it does. Clipboard Manager for macOS.
Clippy is listed with current version 1.0.17.
Full profile and verified facts for Clippy →
ClipTools
ClipTools is a clipboard manager for macOS. Clipboard utility set for quick copy, paste, and text cleanup tasks. It is free.
What it does. MacMost: ClipTools: Clipboard Manager and More From MacMost.
ClipTools is listed with current version 1.5.2.
Full profile and verified facts for ClipTools →
Clipy
Clipy is a clipboard manager for macOS. Clipy is a Clipboard extension app for macOS. Based on ClipMenu. It is released under MIT.
What it does. Clipboard extension app for macOS.
Clipy is listed with current version 1.3.0.
Full profile and verified facts for Clipy →
CopyQ
CopyQ is a clipboard manager for macOS. Clipboard Manager with Advanced Features. It is released under GPL-3.0.
What it does. CopyQ : Clipboard Manager with Advanced Features.
CopyQ is listed with current version 17.0.0.
Full profile and verified facts for CopyQ →
Paste
Paste is a clipboard manager for macOS. Smart clipboard history & snippets manager. It is released under Proprietary. It is subscription.
Strengths. One purchase covers Mac, iPhone and iPad, with iCloud sync keeping clipboard history and pinboards in step across them. According to the developer, the developer states clipboard history is stored on your devices and in your private iCloud, never on its servers, and that rules can exclude passwords and sensitive apps. A one-time Lifetime purchase is offered alongside the subscriptions, so the app can be bought without an ongoing commitment.
Trade-offs. There is no free tier: after the 7-day trial, continued use requires a subscription or the Lifetime purchase. Purchases are split across the App Store, the developer’s website and Setapp, and two plans are channel-exclusive — the Family plan is App Store-only and the Team plan is website-only. Sync of history and pinboards depends on the user’s private iCloud. Apple Silicon support is developer-stated rather than independently verified.
Not for. Anyone who needs a free clipboard manager — Paste has no free tier after the 7-day trial. Users who want a Mac-only purchase — every plan covers Mac, iPhone and iPad together. Teams that want a Team plan from the App Store — the Team plan is sold only on the developer’s website.
What it does. Unlimited clipboard history across Mac, iPhone and iPad, synced through private iCloud. Search across everything copied, including text inside screenshots and photos. Pinboards for snippets, links, colours and templates that do not expire. Paste Stack queues items so they can be pasted in order.
Paste is listed with current version 7.0.1.
Full profile and verified facts for Paste →
How to choose
- Free of charge. CleanClip and ClipTools — no payment is required.
- No licence fee, source available. Buffer, Clipbara, Clipboard, ClipFlow, ClipHistory, ClipMenu, Clippy, Clipy and CopyQ — the source can be read and, under the terms of each licence, reused.
- Subscription. Paste — billed on a recurring basis.
Open source: Buffer, Clipbara, Clipboard, ClipFlow, ClipHistory, ClipMenu, Clippy, Clipy and CopyQ (9 of 12).
Common mistakes
- Leaving clipboard history on while copying passwords. Everything you copy is captured, and a password in a searchable history is a password in a file.
- Assuming clipboard sync is encrypted. Check the claim before you let your history travel between machines.
- Installing a manager and never using its search. If you scroll the list by hand, you have added a step rather than removed one.
- Expecting history to survive a restart without checking. Session-only and persisted histories behave very differently, and only one of them is what you probably want.
How this guide was put together
Each app’s facts come from its own record: the developer’s own pages and repository, the App Store listing where one exists, and the documentation, each with a source grade and an access date. Where a fact rests on the developer’s own statement rather than on something we verified independently, the sentence says so. Where our data has no value for something, the guide says “not published” instead of guessing.
A price appears here only where the record carries one from a stated source; the guide never estimates one, and it records the pricing model alongside so the two can be read together. Prices change and vary by region, so each app links to its own page for the current detail.
The facts and the recommendations are kept apart on purpose. Everything in the app entries, the comparison table and the answers above is composed from the records. The short answer, the criteria and the picks are our editorial judgment: they reflect what we would choose and why, and they are not paid for. Where we make a recommendation we name the condition it applies under, because we do not call anything “the best” without explaining the criteria.
Verified 2026-10-05.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose between these clipboard managers?
There is no single answer — it depends on what you need. This guide covers 12 clipboard managers: Buffer, CleanClip, Clipbara, Clipboard, ClipFlow, ClipHistory, ClipMenu, Clippy, ClipTools, Clipy, CopyQ and Paste. They differ mainly in pricing model, licence and the trade-offs each one carries. Pick by the trade-off you care about rather than by rank.
Are these clipboard managers free?
Pricing across this group: open source (Buffer, Clipbara, Clipboard, ClipFlow, ClipHistory, ClipMenu, Clippy, Clipy and CopyQ), free (CleanClip and ClipTools) and subscription (Paste). We quote a price only where the record carries one from a stated source, and we never estimate one. Prices change and vary by region and by store, so always check the developer’s own page for the current figure.
Which of these clipboard managers are open source?
Buffer (MIT), Clipbara (GPL-3.0), Clipboard (GPL-3.0), ClipFlow (not published), ClipHistory (MIT), ClipMenu (not published), Clippy (not published), Clipy (MIT) and CopyQ (GPL-3.0) are open source.
Do these clipboard managers support Apple Silicon?
Apple Silicon support is explicitly stated for Paste. For the others our data does not carry an explicit statement either way, so we do not infer one.
How do I choose between them?
Start with how you pay: the guide groups these apps by pricing model, because the budget is the constraint most people actually have. Then check the trade-offs listed for each app: the limitations are the part that decides most people’s choice, because they describe what the app will not do for you.
Who should not use these apps?
Paste each list an audience they are explicitly not aimed at. Those notes come from the same verified records as the rest of this guide, and they are worth reading before you install anything.
When was this data last verified?
The facts in this guide were last confirmed on 2026-10-05. Every app page carries its own verification dates and source list, so you can check any individual claim.
