At a glance
Both apps solve the same core problem — macOS only remembers the last thing you copied — but they sit at opposite ends of the spectrum. Maccy is a free, open-source menu-bar tool that does one job. Paste is a paid, design-led app with iCloud sync across your Apple devices.
Price and licensing
This is the clearest difference. Maccy is free and its source is published on GitHub under the MIT license, so anyone can inspect or build it. There is also a paid version on the Mac App Store that funds development — same app, optional support.
Paste uses a subscription. At the time of writing an individual plan is roughly $1.99 per month or about $14.99 per year, with a family option and a separate lifetime purchase; it's also bundled in the Setapp subscription. None of that is unreasonable for the polish you get — but it is a recurring cost for something Maccy gives away.
If your only question is “what does clipboard history cost?” — with Maccy the answer is nothing, forever.
Features and workflow
Paste leans visual: a banner of large, scrollable cards with rich previews of images, links and rich text, plus saved pinboards for clippings you reuse. It's genuinely pleasant and shines if you copy a lot of images or want your history on your iPhone.
Maccy leans fast. Press ⇧ + ⌘ + C, start typing to filter, hit Return to paste — your hands never leave the keyboard. You can pin items, cap how many entries it keeps, and paste the most recent items by number with ⌘ + 1–⌘ + 9. Recent versions preserve rich text and images too.
Maccy — strengths
- Free and open source (MIT)
- Near-instant, keyboard-first recall
- Everything stays on your Mac
- Tiny footprint, native app
- Pin items and exclude apps
✕ Maccy — trade-offs
- No cross-device sync
- Less visual than card-based apps
- No built-in pinboards/groups
Sync and privacy
Paste syncs your clipboard across Mac, iPhone and iPad through your private iCloud. That's the feature people pay for — and it does mean your clips travel to Apple's servers (encrypted, in your account).
Maccy makes the opposite choice: history never leaves the machine. For people who copy passwords, tokens and client data all day, local-only is a feature, not a limitation. Both let you exclude sensitive apps so secrets aren't recorded in the first place.
Our take
For most people, start with Maccy
If you want clipboard history that's fast, private and free, Maccy is the easy first move — you can always add a paid app later if you miss something.
Choose Paste if cross-device sync and a visual, image-friendly history are worth a subscription to you.
Get Maccy freeFrequently asked questions
Is Maccy really free?
Yes. Maccy is free and open source under the MIT license. There's also a paid Mac App Store version that's the same app, sold to support development.
Does Paste have a free version?
Paste offers a trial, then requires a subscription (or a one-time lifetime purchase). There is no permanently free tier like Maccy's.
Can Maccy sync to my iPhone?
No — Maccy is Mac-only and keeps history local by design. If cross-device sync is essential, Paste is built for that.
Which is faster?
Both are quick. Maccy's keyboard-first, type-to-filter flow tends to feel faster for pure text recall; Paste's card UI is better when you're scanning images.