At a glance
Alfred is a veteran Mac launcher whose clipboard history lives behind the paid Powerpack. Maccy is a free, dedicated clipboard manager. If you want only clipboard history, the Powerpack's price is steep for that one feature.
The Powerpack question
If you already own Alfred's Powerpack, you already have a competent clipboard manager with history, search and snippet expansion — no reason to add anything. The friction is for people who don't use Alfred: buying the Powerpack purely for clipboard history is a lot to spend on one feature.
Maccy gives you that feature for free, as a focused app, with no launcher to adopt.
Alfred — strengths
- Mature launcher with deep workflows
- Clipboard, snippets & expansion in Powerpack
- One-time licence, no subscription
- Great file search
✕ Alfred — trade-offs
- Clipboard locked behind paid Powerpack
- Overkill for clipboard-only needs
- Clipboard UI is functional, not flashy
Our take
Powerpack owners: stay. Everyone else: Maccy
If you use Alfred and own the Powerpack, its clipboard is all you need.
If you just want clipboard history without buying a launcher, Maccy delivers it free.
Get Maccy freeFrequently asked questions
Is Alfred's clipboard free?
No — clipboard history requires the paid Powerpack (about $34/£34, one-time for a single licence). Maccy's clipboard is free.
Is the Powerpack a subscription?
No, it's a one-time purchase (with optional upgrades for major versions). That's different from subscription apps like Paste.
Should I buy Alfred just for clipboard?
If clipboard history is all you want, a free dedicated tool like Maccy is the cheaper, lighter answer. The Powerpack makes sense when you'll use Alfred's launcher and workflows too.