ClipClip
ClipClip is the ultimate clipboard manager for Mac, boasting superior versatility, robust features, and a variety of tools that Mac power users can benefit from that wouldn’t normally be associated with clipboard managers.
Speaking of which, ClipClip enables its users to perform a variety of actions on supported clips; from soft edits to drastic changes, clips taken with ClipClip can be transformed into a different file format, translated, pictures can be extracted via inbuilt OCR technology and more.
ClipClip is a free clipboard manager app that boasts simple installation and a tiny footprint; it’s among the lightest clip manager apps in the market, as well as a program capable of catering to the needs of beginners, and seasoned veteran programmers, writers, pen-testers, and journalists alike.
This app boasts unparalleled customizability, allowing its users to set custom hotkeys and shortcuts, create new folders & manage existing ones, protect sensitive data with top-tier encryption, and more.
It does not have any drawbacks worth mentioning - it’s top-of-the-line Mac clip manager software that is simple to set up and even easier to use.
PasteBox
PasteBox is the first premium clipboard manager for Mac on the list. It’s highly affordable and significantly better-rounded than the majority of its free-to-use counterparts.
This app offers several customization options, allowing you to set or disable login launch, maximum clipboard history & folder size, specify the maximum file size threshold, clipboard history autosaves, and more.
What separates PasteBox from most alternatives is its clip preview utility. Height and width, as well as clip type, can be fully customized in the corresponding box.
Another interesting feature of PasteBox is the “exclude list”. With this feature, you can permanently ignore selected files, even if you accidentally attempt to copy them to the clipboard. Furthermore, PasteBox is supplied with an automated feature that, when toggled on, will always ignore apps containing confidential data (such as password manager apps, for instance).
This program also features customizable shortcuts, which include show clipboard, paste previous, show snippets, show action menu, and paste as plain text. Regarding supported file types, PasteBox is quite versatile and works with plain text, RTF, RTFD, TIFF, URL, and HTML files.
Overall, it’s a lightweight, cheap clipboard manager that is very easy to use and even more so to customize.
Flycut
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flycut-clipboard-manager/id442160987?mt=12
Flycut is one of the best free clipboard managers for Mac users who value simplicity. It boasts a streamlined user interface and simple yet decently powerful features.
This software is among the lightest Mac clipboard managers; it will take only 572kb on your drive, plus it’s free so you can install it on any device wherever you are. As an open-source clip manager, it’s great for teams and companies with more specific needs or teams that want to enrich the app’s performance with custom codes.
The main draw of the Flycut program is its speed. You can instantly open this clipboard manager, regardless if any other apps are running in the background.
The main screen of Flycut can be set to “transparent” and it is always in the “floating” mode. This allows you to drag it whenever you want and see through the menu.
As a free clipboard manager for Mac, it offers great value, but versatility and utility-wise, it can’t compare to ClipClip or PasteBox.
Maccy
Maccy is a simple clipboard manager for Mac. It’s an open-source free-to-use app whose features are almost entirely based on the much-needed clipboard history functionality.
Even its creators emphasize that Maccy was built to deliver Mac users quick and easy access to a simple, clean history. Its main draw is lightning-fast speed, allowing you to take, upload, and reuse clips on your Mac within seconds.
Maccy runs natively on macOS and boasts a high level of customizability (per freeware Mac manager standards). You can fine-tune its performance in the “Preferences” tab, which allows you to customize storage, pinning, and history-based settings that will remain enabled even after you exit the app.
Formatting can be removed from taken clips, enabling you to use them as plain text. Furthermore, you can use and customize multiple shortcuts to minimize or toggle windowed mode, snap to the latest taken clip, clear copy history, and more.
Maccy clipboard manager app is ideal for beginner writers, researchers, programmers, and photographers, as its basic features are simple to use. Its speed is formidable but pales in comparison to ClipClip.
PasteApp.io
https://pasteapp.io/
PasteApp (or Paste) is a highly advanced clipboard manager for macOS devices, including iPhones, tablets, and laptops. Cross-platform compatibility is one of the largest benefits this app offers, as you can share files and resume your projects between different devices in a heartbeat.
Its Unlimited Clipboard sets it apart from most premium Mac clipboard manager apps; as the name of this feature implies, you can store, save, and use a virtually unlimited number of clips provided they meet the file size-related requirements.
Quick searching is another important benefit of using PasteApp; its sophisticated inbuilt search function enables you to type in snippets, pieces of keywords, or full keywords, and the results will show you a list of the most relevant items.
Similar to ClipClip, Paste can be used to “pin” (save) selected files. This way, you can easily access any pinned clip from a separate tab.
Unlike nearly all Mac clipboard freeware, PasteApp supports batch clipping (copying and pasting). This feature can also be used across all supported devices and allows you to easily send dozens of clips to collaborators or colleagues.
Customizability-wise, Paste enables its users to use and personalize shortcuts, preferences, and other specifications, similar to some of the previous clipboard managers reviewed above; the main difference with Paste is that the limits are set significantly higher.
All things considered, Paste is surprisingly easy to use considering how many features it is supplied with. Furthermore, its functions are well-rounded and specifically engineered to promote superior productivity and work efficiency. Its main flaw is that it isn’t free to use.
CopyLess 2
Both CopyLess 1 and 2 are free-to-use clipboard managers for Mac devices. The newly released CopyLess 2 is drastically improved, offering expanded keyboard shortcut customization options, a more comprehensive inbuilt search function, better data synchronization, and more.
This app supports batch clipping and virtually all popular file formats. Furthermore, all clips taken while CopyLess 2 is active will remain in the clipboard, even after exiting the app. You can change this rule in the preferences tab if it bothers you.
You can remove formatting from any taken clip, as well as add files to a “blacklist”; this way, you can prevent accidental leaks of sensitive data or information. Unlike PasteBox, CopyLess 2 cannot automatically detect security-related apps, which means that you manually need to add each program you don’t want to pull clips from to the blacklist.
The inbuilt clip-searching mechanism is one of the finest features of CopyLess 2; it comes outfitted with a variety of togglable filters, empowering you to find desired files with surgical accuracy.
The only thing that CopyLess 2 is yet to perfect is clip-searching speed. Namely, the app can hoard heaps of data, and many users forget to remove unwanted clips from the storage (since it’s not done automatically). After a while, it is possible to encounter slight delays while searching for clips.
Even though CopyLess 2 can be downloaded for free on the company’s official website or Apple’s App Store but the fact that there are several (optional) in-app purchases means that it’s not a completely free clipboard manager for Mac.
Yippy
https://yippy.mattdavo.com/
Yippy is a basic open-source clipboard manager for Mac, featuring a range of simple tools to create, manage, and use supported clips.
Its user interface is clean and simplistic, favoring practicality over flair. The floating window can be moved and resized but it cannot be made “transparent”.
It is remarkably easy to use but this program’s versatility leaves room for improvement. From the Clipboard History window, you can make, move, or delete clips, as well as assign hotkeys or ten latest entries.
The main draw of the Yippy clipboard manager is in simple, highly intuitive functions. Instead of bringing new revolutionary features, this clipboard manager was designed to expand upon Mac’s inbuilt clipboard manager functionality and enrich its usability. It’s free to download and use, although the installation process is unnecessarily complex.
Conclusion
The best clipboard manager for Mac is an app that you can integrate into your workflow immediately; a clean UI and streamlined installation process can help greatly, but they aren’t the main selling points of the leading Mac clipboard managers.
Normally, there would be a distinction between free and premium apps, but in the case of Mac-supporting clipboard managers, ClipClip is the best one in both categories.
Superior versatility, the strongest features, and virtually limitless use cases are some of the main reasons why this program is dominating the market.
