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Just Copy, Maccy, Paste or Raycast?
Four good ways to keep a clipboard history on a Mac. Which one fits depends on what you copy and how you like to get it back. Checked September 2026.
| Just Copy | Maccy | Paste | Raycast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $29.99 USD launch price ($49 after), one time. Mac and iPhone. | Free, open source. | Subscription, monthly or yearly, or a one-time lifetime price. | Free plan. Pro subscription for unlimited history. |
| Where it lives | A tray that drops from the notch, plus a window for the whole history. | A list in the menu bar. | A panel of previews across the bottom of the screen. | Inside the Raycast launcher. |
| What it keeps | Sixteen kinds, each drawn as what it is. Nothing expires unless you ask. | Text and images, as a list. | Text, links, images and files, with previews. | Text, links, images, colors and files. The free plan keeps recent months. |
| Words inside screenshots | Searchable. | Yes. | Yes. | Yes, when enabled. |
| Sync | Through your own iCloud, if you turn it on. iPhone app on the App Store. | None by default. | iCloud, with an iPhone app. | No. |
| AI tools can read it | Yes, if you switch it on: Claude, Cursor and Codex can search it, see screenshots, and, if you allow it, add cards. Copy for AI works with any chat. | — | Optional MCP. | Raycast’s own AI features, with Pro. |
| Try it | Free for 14 days. | Free. | 7-day trial. | Free plan. |
| Needs | macOS 14 or later. Apple silicon. | macOS 14 or later. | See their site. | See their site. |
Who each one is for
Maccy is free and open source. It keeps your history as a list in the menu bar and you drive it from the keyboard. If you copy mostly text and want nothing in the way, it is hard to argue with.
Paste is the polished one, with previews, pinboards, an iPhone app and iCloud sync between your devices. It is a subscription, with a one-time lifetime option, and a 7-day trial.
Raycast is a launcher first. Clipboard history is one of its features: the free plan keeps a few months of it, and Pro keeps it all. If Raycast is already open all day, look there before adding anything.
Just Copy lives in the notch. Every copy is drawn as what it is, nothing expires unless you ask, it searches the words inside your screenshots, and if you switch it on, Claude, Cursor and Codex can read it. One payment for Mac, with the iPhone app included. No account and no servers of ours. It is free to try for 14 days.
For more choices, including PastePal, ClipBook, Alfred and the free ones, see the best clipboard managers for Mac.
Details for the other three are from their own sites in September 2026 and may change; check maccy.app, pasteapp.io and raycast.com for the current versions. A dash means we could not find the feature described on their site.
Questions
Is there a free trial?
Yes. Download Just Copy and every feature is free for 14 days. After that it locks until you buy a license, $29.99 once, and everything you copied is still there.
Is $29.99 a lifetime license?
You pay once and keep the version you buy. The launch price is $29.99, then $49, with every 1.x update included and no subscription. A future major version may be a separate purchase.
Does Just Copy sync with my iPhone?
Yes. The iPhone app is a free download on the App Store, and your Mac purchase unlocks it. Optional sync goes through your own iCloud account, never a server of ours.