Cutting, copying, and pasting items repeatedly can be an exhausting task, especially if you’re dealing with multiple sets of text, images, or files. The best way to efficiently do tasks like this is to use a clipboard manager. This guide provides six of the best clipboard managers for Mac.
What Is a Clipboard Manager?
There is no macOS feature that lets you access your Mac’s clipboard, which means you can’t have a visual board of everything you’ve cut and copied. You’ll only be able to see the last item you cut or copied. A clipboard manager enhances your system’s clipboard by storing cut and copied data, such as text, images, files, etc. in a single board where you can retrieve them as needed.
If you need to repeatedly cut, copy, and paste multiple items, a clipboard manager is an essential tool to make your task easier to do. You don’t have to go back and forth between folders and files to highlight, cut or copy, then paste data.
What Should You Look for in a Clipboard Manager?
When choosing a clipboard manager, these are things you should consider, apart from your personal preferences and needs:
- History size – each clipboard manager has a specific number or volume of items it can store.
- Supported data types – it’s important to find out which data types are supported on various clipboard managers.
- User interface – consider whether its user interface (UI) is user friendly and provides you with the clipboard item views and access you need.
- Customizability – a clipboard manager should offer features like custom keyboard shortcuts that will make managing clipboard data quicker.
- App integration – look for a clipboard manager that’s widely used, available in different operating systems, and designed to integrate with the apps or software you need.
- Platform support – if you use multiple devices to cut or copy and paste items, you should use a clipboard manager that works with all of those devices.
- Price – you can opt to pay for an app or use one that is free. Both are widely available.
Tip: want to manage your Windows computer’s clipboard better? Read on to learn about the best free clipboard managers for Windows.
The Best Clipboard Managers for Mac
These six Mac clipboard managers offer different prices, features, and selling points, and some are cross-platform. Read through and pick the best one that suits your clipboard management needs.
1. CopyQ
Price: Free
The CopyQ clipboard management tool is a free app from GitHub. It has a simple interface and offers convenient features, but its search function is hidden within the Edit button on its toolbar, which is a bit inconvenient if you’re not fond of using hotkeys for navigation. Read on to learn more about CopyQ’s features.
Pros
- Allows multiple pasting
- Lets you assign up to 38 hotkeys
- Allows you to create and edit text-only clipboard items within the app
- Lets you create and add tags to clipboard items
Cons
- No clipboard item categorization
- Doesn’t sync clipboard items with other devices
2. Paste
Price: $1.99 monthly subscription
Out of all the clipboard management apps on this list, Paste is the only one that supports iCloud sync and pasting to compatible apps. If you need to copy, cut, or paste items using multiple Apple devices (Mac, iPad, and iPhone), Paste is the best option, as you can access your clipboard items on different devices.
With its paste to app feature, you can paste one or more clipboard items to active, compatible apps directly from the Paste interface. When it comes to the user interface, you can see the source of each clipboard item. The app also lets you search via clipboard item sources. You can try Paste for free for up to 14 days.
Pros
- Lets you categorize clipboard items
- Supports iCloud sync
- Available for iPadOS and iOS
- Allows multiple pasting
- Allows you to paste to an open supported app
Cons
- Doesn’t have hotkeys
Tip: learn how to cut, copy, and paste within PDF files.
3. CopyClip 2
Price: $7.99 onetime fee
CopyClip 2 is a simple Mac clipboard manager that lets you access your 10 most recent clipboard items by pressing Cmd + 0-9. This is especially useful if you only need to paste a small number of items multiple times, even if the app doesn’t offer a feature that lets you paste specific clipboard items to an active compatible app directly from the CopyClip 2 interface. If you want to try it, the app offers a seven-day free trial.
Pros
- Has clipboard item hotkeys for the ten most recent items
Cons
- Doesn’t support multiple pasting
- No clipboard item categorization
4. Clipy
Price: Free
Clipy is a lightweight clipboard manager you can get for free on GitHub. While it lacks basic features such as search, that lack of major features makes it good for those with minimal clipboard management needs. In addition, it has a small user interface that blends well with macOS Ventura.
Pros
- Simple user interface
- Good for occasional clipboard management needs
- Interface matches macOS
Cons
- Doesn’t offer a search feature
- Doesn’t support multiple pasting
Good to know: sometimes websites won’t let you copy and paste text. Learn how to get around this..
5. Flycut
Price: Free
Flycut is available in the App Store and on GitHub. You can go through its clipboard using its search feature, which isn’t usually offered in free clipboard managers. It’s good for high-volume clipboard management on Mac, but its lack of per item hotkeys makes it inefficient. Its compatibility with macOS, iPadOS, and iOS is a good selling point, but it doesn’t have iCloud sync support.
Pros
- Allows multiple pasting
- Interface matches macOS
- Available for iPadOS and iOS
Cons
- No iCloud sync support
6. Dittostack
Price: $4.99 onetime fee
Dittostack supports clipboard item search but has a low history capacity of only 1,000 items when compared to other Mac clipboard managers. One feature sets it apart: the “Reveal in Finder” feature. This feature lets you go to the file location of clipboard files copied from your Mac’s storage. You can use Dittostack for free for up to 15 days.
Pros
- “Reveal in Finder” feature
Cons
- No multiple pasting
- History capacity is limited to 1,000 clipboard items
FYI: make sure you check out how to improve your Mac experience with macOS Ventura.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I access my Mac's clipboard?
Launch Finder, and with the Finder window open, go to the menu bar and click on “Edit -> Show Clipboard.” Note that this will only show you the last item you cut or copied.
Can clipboard managers store sensitive information, like passwords and credit card information?
Yes. However, we strongly advise against storing sensitive information in clipboard managers. If you need to cut or copy sensitive data, make sure your clipboard manager isn’t running in the background or from your Mac menu bar.
Can I restrict a clipboard manager's access to certain apps and folders on my Mac?
Yes. Not all Mac clipboard managers allow you to restrict them from saving clipboard items from certain apps. Paste, CopyClip 2, Clipy, and Dittostack allow you to add app rules and exceptions.
Image credit: Unsplash. All screenshots by Natalie dela Vega.
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