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Mac clipboard managers compared
We compared Hamsty with popular apps using facts from their official websites. Where a vendor doesn’t mention a feature, we say exactly that: “not stated”.
Hamsty vs Spotlight (macOS 26)
macOS 26 Tahoe added clipboard history right into Spotlight: ⌘-Space, then ⌘-4. Since macOS 26.1 it can be kept for 30 minutes, 8 hours or 7 days. It’s a handy minimum if you only occasionally need a recent copy back.
In detailHamsty vs Maccy
Maccy is a lightweight open-source clipboard manager with a minimalist menu: search, pins, image previews and text-in-image search. A great pick if all you need is history.
In detailHamsty vs Paste
Paste is a beautiful paid clipboard manager with a visual strip, Pinboards and iCloud sync across Mac, iPhone and iPad. It is subscription-based with no free tier.
In detailHamsty vs Raycast
Raycast is a powerful launcher with built-in clipboard history: search, pins, OCR and sequential paste. The free plan keeps 3 months of history; longer retention requires Pro. Clipboard history is not synced between devices.
In detailHamsty vs Alfred
Alfred is a legendary Mac launcher. Clipboard history and snippets are part of the paid Powerpack (one-time purchase from £34). History is kept from 24 hours up to 3 months.
In detailHamsty vs Pastebot
Pastebot 3 by Tapbots is a paid clipboard manager with smart pastebins, chainable filters and automation. It keeps up to 1,500 clippings, syncs via iCloud and requires macOS 26.
In detailEverything in one table
| Feature | Hamsty | Spotlight (macOS 26) | Maccy | Paste | Raycast | Alfred | Pastebot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Built into macOS | Free on GitHub · $9.99 on the App Store | Subscription from $2.49/mo or $29.99/yr | Free (3 months of history) · Pro $10/mo | History requires Powerpack, from £34 | $39 + $19/yr for updates |
| Text, images, files | Yes + RTF, colors, code | Not stated | Yes | Yes + colors, code | Yes | Yes | Partly Text and images |
| History search | Yes Including OCR and app names | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| Text-in-image search (OCR) | Yes On-device (Vision) | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Yes Opt-in | Not stated | Not stated |
| Pinned items | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Yes Pinboards | Yes | Not stated | Partly Pastebins |
| Paste stack / sequential paste | Yes + collect copies into a stack | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Yes Paste Sequentially | Partly Merge clips | Yes |
| Snippets with templates | Yes {date}, {clipboard}, {cursor}… | Not stated | Not stated | Partly Templates as a content type | Yes Separate Raycast feature | Yes | Partly Pastebins |
| Text transformations | Yes 24 transforms | Not stated | Partly Paste without formatting | Partly Plain text, Writing Tools | Not stated | Not stated | Yes Chainable filters |
| Notch shelf with drag & drop | Yes Shelf + “Copied” animation | No | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Auto-capture of selected text | Yes 3 modes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Secret detection & auto-delete | Yes API keys, tokens, cards, OTPs | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Ignores password managers | Yes nspasteboard.org | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| Per-app exclusions | Yes 4 rules per app | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Encrypted history at rest | Yes AES-256-GCM | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | Not stated |
| Sync between Macs | Yes iCloud Drive | Not stated | No Local only | Yes iCloud, Mac + iPhone + iPad | No History is not synced | Not stated | Yes iCloud |
| End-to-end encrypted sync | Yes PBKDF2 + AES-256-GCM | Not stated | No | Not stated | No | Not stated | Not stated |
| Hidden from screen sharing | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Tracking-parameter removal | Yes ~70 parameters | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Open source | No Not yet | No | Yes MIT | No | No | No | No |
| macOS version | 14 Sonoma+ | 26 Tahoe+ only | 14+ | 14+ | See Raycast website | Not stated | 26 Tahoe+ only |
Data about other apps was checked on November 13, 2026. Prices and features may change — please verify on the vendors’ websites.