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Best Free Clipboard Managers in 2026

Data compiled by Toolradar Updated How we rate

The 15 best free clipboard managers we track: 8 completely free and 7 with a free plan alongside paid tiers. Ordered by Toolradar's ranking score (review volume and rating on G2, Capterra, Trustpilot and other sites, plus media mentions), not by vendor pitches; every rating shows its date.

Key Takeaways
  • Pulse Island is our free pick for clipboard managers in 2026, and our overall pick.
  • We screened 18 clipboard managers tools with a free plan to build this list.
  • 15 tools offer free plans.
Publications that cover the tools tracked here
  • TechCrunch
  • Bloomberg
  • The Information
  • Fortune
  • The Verge
  • 18 free tools screened
  • 8 100% free
  • 7 free plan + paid

Top 5 free clipboard managers at a glance

Top 5 free clipboard managers: free plan type, user rating and best use, as of October 2026
Tool Type Rating Best for
Pulse Island 100% free 4.6 (18) as of Jul 2026
Interactive widgets that bring your Mac's notch to life
Raycast Free plan 4.7 (16) as of Aug 2026
Your Mac's command center for lightning-fast search and actions
Pegkits Free plan n/a
Never lose your copied content again with this simple, powerful clipboard manager for Mac.
PromptPaste Free plan n/a
Save, organize, and instantly paste your AI prompts across all your Apple devices.
Clipline 100% free n/a
Share clipboard content across any device with a simple link

Ratings from G2, Capterra, and other public review sites. Each cell shows the snapshot date so a cited number is never an undated one.

Toolradar data

The clipboard managers market in numbers

Toolradar data: Toolradar tracks 28 clipboard managers as of October 28, 2026. 64% of the clipboard managers on Toolradar are free, freemium or open source. Toolradar re-checked the pricing of 71% of clipboard managers in the last 90 days. Toolradar aggregates 55 public user reviews (G2, Capterra, Trustpilot and other review sites) across 4 rated clipboard managers. The most cross-shopped clipboard manager is Raycast, listed as an alternative to 121 other tools on Toolradar. The most compared clipboard manager on Toolradar over the last 90 days is Raycast, with 502 side-by-side comparisons. Computed from the Toolradar catalog and on-site activity.

  • 28 clipboard managers tracked
  • 64% are free, freemium or open source
  • 71% of prices re-checked in the last 90 days
  • 55 public user reviews aggregated across 4 rated tools
Most cross-shopped clipboard managers on Toolradar, as of October 2026 Listed as an alternative to the most other tools on Toolradar
Rank Tool Listed as an alternative to
1 Raycast 121 tools
2 Keyboard Maestro 14 tools
3 Maccy 6 tools
Most compared clipboard managers on Toolradar, last 90 days to October 2026 Side-by-side comparisons by visitors, last 90 days
Rank Tool Comparisons
1 Raycast 502
2 Keyboard Maestro 89
3 Paste 79

Source and method: live clipboard managers statistics

The 15 best free clipboard managers

Order: Toolradar ranking score, which is the public review volume times the average rating on G2, Capterra, Trustpilot and other review sites, plus media mentions (recent ones count more). Paid placements are labelled and never change the score. How we rank.

Pulse Island logo
1.

Pulse Island

100% free

Interactive widgets that bring your Mac's notch to life

4.6/5 on G2 · 18 ratings, Jul 2026

Pulse transforms the dead space around your Mac's notch into a living, interactive island. It provides a suite of glanceable widgets that surface the information you need most, music playback, meeting countdowns, clipboard history, weather, system stats, and more, all without opening a single window. The island responds to natural gestures: scroll to expand, swipe to flip between widgets, hover to peek, and click to pin. Built with a focus on privacy and performance, Pulse runs entirely locally on your Mac, consuming under 1% idle CPU. It integrates deeply with macOS, pulling data from system APIs for now-playing, calendar events, clipboard, and device batteries. The design follows Apple's own principles: spring animations, artwork-tinted accents, and notch-band headers that respect the hardware cutout. Pulse is available for free during its beta period, with a paid plan planned for the future release. It requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later and works on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, with or without a physical notch (appearing in the menu bar on notchless Macs).

Raycast logo
2.

Raycast

Free plan

Your Mac's command center for lightning-fast search and actions

4.7/5 on G2 · 16 ratings, Aug 2026

Raycast is a productivity launcher that replaces Spotlight on Mac. Search files, apps, and actions with lightning speed. Built-in extensions for calendar, clipboard history, and window management. Store provides community extensions for every tool. AI assistant helps with writing and coding. The command center that speeds up everything you do on Mac.

Pegkits logo
3.

Pegkits

Free plan

Never lose your copied content again with this simple, powerful clipboard manager for Mac.

Pegkits is a robust clipboard manager designed specifically for Mac users, addressing the limitations of the standard system clipboard which only remembers one item. It aims to streamline workflows by providing a persistent history of everything copied, from text and code snippets to links and images, preventing the common frustration of lost or overwritten clipboard content. The tool is built for knowledge workers and anyone who frequently uses copy-paste, offering a significant productivity boost by making all past copied items easily accessible. Beyond simple storage, Pegkits enhances clipboard functionality with advanced features like custom actions and folders. Users can automate tasks by setting up actions that trigger immediately after copying, such as URL shortening, text formatting, or color conversion. The ability to organize clips into custom folders for projects, clients, or specific content types, along with pinning important items, ensures that users can quickly find and reuse their most relevant copied data. Pegkits operates entirely locally on the user's machine, emphasizing privacy and speed by avoiding cloud sync or data collection.

PromptPaste logo
4.

PromptPaste

Free plan

Save, organize, and instantly paste your AI prompts across all your Apple devices.

PromptPaste is a private AI prompt library designed for Mac, iPhone, and iPad users. It allows individuals to save, organize, and quickly access their AI prompts, enhancing their interaction with various AI models like ChatGPT, Claude, Midjourney, and more. The tool is ideal for anyone who regularly uses AI for work or personal projects and wants to streamline their prompt management. Key functionalities include dynamic prompt templates with fillable variables, fast search and folder organization for instant access, and an on-device AI draft generator to help overcome blank-page syndrome. With iCloud sync, prompts are available across all Apple devices, ensuring continuity. The product emphasizes privacy, stating that prompts never leave the user's device or private iCloud, with no accounts required and no tracking of user input.

Clipline logo
5.

Clipline

100% free

Share clipboard content across any device with a simple link

Clipline is a cross-device clipboard sharing tool that allows users to seamlessly transfer text, links, and other clipboard content between their devices. Instead of relying on complex integrations or specific operating systems, Clipline generates a unique, shareable link for your clipboard content. This link can then be opened on any other device to access the content, making it incredibly versatile for users working across multiple platforms like desktops, laptops, and mobile phones. This tool is ideal for individuals who frequently switch between devices and need a quick, universal way to move information. It eliminates the friction of emailing notes to yourself, using cloud storage for simple text, or dealing with platform-specific sharing limitations. By providing a simple link, Clipline ensures that your clipboard content is accessible anywhere with an internet connection, enhancing productivity and workflow efficiency.

Edge Drop logo
6.

Edge Drop

100% free

Your interactive clipboard shelf for seamless drag-and-drop

Edge Drop transforms your Windows clipboard into an interactive shelf that lives on the edge of your screen. Simply hover your mouse to the left or right edge to access your clipboard history, then drag text, images, links, or files directly into any application using native OS-level drag-and-drop. It automatically captures everything you copy, snippets, screenshots, links, and files, and organizes them as cards on the shelf. Beyond basic clipboard history, Edge Drop introduces intelligent grouping: copying multiple items automatically creates stacks of up to ten, which you can expand, split, or merge. You can extract individual files from a stack by dragging them back to the screen edge, or combine cards by dropping one onto another. The entire application is private by design, no account, no cloud sync, no telemetry, and clipboard history is encrypted at rest on your own machine. It's free, open-source (Apache-2.0), and available for Windows 10 and 11.

Maccy logo
7.

Maccy

100% free

A lightweight and fast macOS clipboard manager that keeps your copy history accessible.

Maccy is a minimalist and efficient clipboard manager designed specifically for macOS. Its primary function is to store your copy history, allowing you to quickly access and reuse previously copied items. Unlike other clipboard managers, Maccy focuses on core functionality without unnecessary features, ensuring a lightweight and fast user experience. This tool is ideal for anyone who frequently copies and pastes text, code, or other data on their Mac and needs a reliable way to manage their clipboard history. It's particularly beneficial for writers, developers, and power users who value speed, privacy, and a keyboard-first workflow. Maccy prioritizes user privacy by respecting password manager policies and storing all data locally on your computer. Built with native macOS UI, it offers a familiar and unobtrusive experience.

PasteBar logo
8.

PasteBar

Free plan

Streamline your workflow with an intuitive and powerful macOS clipboard manager.

PasteBar is a native macOS clipboard manager designed to enhance productivity by providing quick access to your clipboard history. It captures everything you copy, text, images, and files, and makes it easily retrievable through a clean, minimalist interface accessible from your menu bar. This tool is ideal for developers, writers, designers, and anyone who frequently copies and pastes information, helping to eliminate repetitive tasks and improve efficiency. With PasteBar, users can browse through their clipboard history, search for specific items, and paste them directly into any application. Its focus on a native macOS experience ensures seamless integration and a familiar user interface. The application aims to simplify the often-cluttered process of managing multiple copied items, making it a valuable utility for daily computer use.

CleanClip logo
9.

CleanClip

100% free

Simple yet powerful clipboard manager for macOS, designed for efficiency and minimal context switching.

CleanClip is a macOS clipboard manager that automatically saves all copied content, providing an easily accessible history. It's built with a focus on minimizing context switching, displaying its UI near the input cursor and offering keyboard-first navigation. The tool supports various formats and allows users to organize their clipboard history into unlimited bookmark lists and smart lists for quick retrieval. This product is ideal for macOS users who frequently copy and paste and want to streamline their workflow, reduce interruptions, and efficiently manage snippets of text, images, and other data. Its unique features like Paste Stack and Follow Frontend App Mode aim to significantly boost productivity for developers, writers, designers, and anyone dealing with repetitive copy-paste tasks. CleanClip's minimalist design ensures it only shows what's needed, when it's needed, preventing visual clutter.

ScreenFloat logo
10.

ScreenFloat

Free plan

Capture and keep screenshots, text, and images floating above other windows for quick reference.

ScreenFloat is a utility for macOS that allows users to take screenshots, capture text, or grab images from their screen and have them float above all other open windows. This functionality is ideal for quickly referencing information without needing to switch between applications or resize windows. Users can capture specific areas, entire windows, or the full screen, and the captured content remains visible and accessible while working in other applications. It enhances productivity by providing an always-on visual aid for tasks like data entry, coding, design, or writing. The tool offers various customization options for the floating content, including resizing, rotating, adjusting transparency, and grouping multiple floats. It also provides features for organizing and managing captured items, such as a dedicated Shots Browser for reviewing and exporting. ScreenFloat is designed for anyone who frequently needs to refer to visual or textual information while working, streamlining workflows and reducing cognitive load.

choclift logo
11.

choclift

Free plan

Control your Mac from your iPhone

choclift is an innovative application that allows users to control and interact with their Mac directly from their iPhone. It acts as a "third interface" alongside the traditional keyboard and trackpad, aiming to enhance productivity and streamline workflows. The app enables instant launching and switching of Mac applications, triggering Apple Shortcuts, and opening websites with a single tap from the iPhone. Designed for Mac users seeking a more intuitive and efficient way to manage their desktop environment, choclift offers features like a timeline of recently opened apps, customizable workflow pages, and gesture-based controls for app management and clipboard operations. The seamless connection between iPhone and Mac is established by simply downloading the respective apps and entering a PIN, making it easy to integrate into an existing setup.

Cubby Clipboard logo
12.

Cubby Clipboard

100% free

Faster, searchable clipboard history for Windows 11

Cubby is a clipboard history manager for Windows 11 that replaces the built-in Win+V experience with a faster, searchable, and more reliable tool. It stores all text and image clips locally, allowing you to search through history instantly by typing as soon as the app opens. You can pin important clips to keep them accessible while clearing others, and paste as plain text when formatting is unwanted. Cubby also includes a remote-session mode designed to handle clipboard sync in remote desktop and remote support tools, preserving a local record and avoiding slow character-by-character typing for large content. Built with a keyboard-first flow and native Windows shortcuts, Cubby is free, open source (GPL-3.0), and requires no account, telemetry, or cloud connection. Your clipboard history stays on your PC encrypted, with no data sent to third parties. It focuses solely on clipboard history, while Windows continues to manage emoji, GIF, and symbol picking via Win + .

HotkeyClash logo
13.

HotkeyClash

100% free

Find and fix macOS keyboard shortcut conflicts

HotkeyClash is a free and open-source macOS application designed to identify keyboard shortcut conflicts. It scans running applications, configuration files from tools like Karabiner-Elements and skhd, and macOS system shortcuts to pinpoint exactly where multiple key combinations overlap. This helps users understand why a shortcut might not be working as expected, eliminating the guesswork involved when various third-party apps and system settings claim the same key combination. The tool is built natively for macOS, ensuring a lightweight and efficient experience without relying on Electron or cloud services. It provides a clear, categorized view of conflicts, distinguishing between "definite conflicts" (two global hotkeys) and "potential conflicts" (a global hotkey overlapping an app's menu shortcut). HotkeyClash is ideal for power users, developers, and anyone running multiple automation or productivity tools on their Mac who frequently encounters unresponsive or unexpected keyboard shortcut behavior.

Naarchy logo
14.

Naarchy

100% free

Consolidate Linux desktop tools into one accessible, customizable island

Naarchy is a compact desktop widget for Linux systems running Omarchy or Hyprland, designed to consolidate everyday digital tools into a single, accessible island on your screen. It brings together file access, clipboard history, music controls, and a timer into one unified interface, reducing the need to switch between multiple applications and windows throughout the day. Built natively with Rust and GTK4, Naarchy is free and MIT licensed, emphasizing user privacy with no telemetry and no account requirements. The application is highly customizable, allowing users to follow their Omarchy color schemes, choose which widgets to display, and adjust the island's size and position to fit their workflow. Clipboard and shelf content remain local, with network access only for optional features like calendar feeds and media artwork.

TypeFire logo
15.

TypeFire

Free plan

Expand snippets, manage clipboard history, and edit markdown notes

TypeFire is a macOS app with three parts. Snippets: type an abbreviation and it expands into the full text in any app, with date tokens, fill-in fields and optional AI. Clips: a searchable clipboard history with OCR on copied images; password manager copies are excluded. Notes: a markdown editor that opens any folder of .md files in place, an Obsidian vault included, with wikilinks, backlinks and daily notes. Selected text in any app can be rewritten on-device.

Related

Why choose free clipboard managers?

Free clipboard managers are an excellent way to get started without financial commitment. Whether you're a startup, freelancer, or small business, these tools offer essential features at no cost.

What to look for in free clipboard managers

  • Feature limitations: Understand what's included in the free tier vs paid plans
  • Usage limits: Check for restrictions on users, storage, or API calls
  • Data ownership: Ensure you own your data and can export it
  • Support: Free tiers often have community-only support
  • Upgrade path: Consider future needs if you outgrow the free tier

Free vs Freemium: what's the difference?

100% free 100% free, no payment ever

Completely free with no paid upgrades available. Best for simple, focused workflows that don't require advanced features.

Free plan Free tier + paid upgrades

Generous free tier with optional paid plans that unlock advanced features, higher limits, or team collaboration.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free clipboard manager in 2026?

Pulse Island is our free clipboard managers pick in 2026. Pulse Island offers completely free access: Interactive widgets that bring your Mac's notch to life.

Is Pulse Island really free forever?

Yes. Pulse Island is 100% free with no paid upgrades and no credit card required. You will not be billed at any point.

What does the free tier of clipboard managers typically include?

Free clipboard managers typically include the core workflow features needed to evaluate the product. Paid plans usually unlock higher usage limits, team collaboration, advanced analytics, integrations, and priority support. The specific cap differs per tool.

When should I upgrade from a free clipboard manager?

Upgrade when you hit one of the free tier ceilings: usage quota (output count, storage, contacts, projects), team size, or a paid-only feature your workflow depends on.

Are there clipboard managers that are 100% free, not just freemium?

Yes. We found 8 completely free clipboard managers (no paid upgrade path) and 7 tools with a permanent free tier alongside paid plans. Pulse Island, Clipline, Edge Drop are 100% free.

Are free clipboard managers good enough for business use?

Yes, for most startups, freelancers, and small teams. Pulse Island and Raycast both offer free tiers robust enough for production workflows. Larger teams typically upgrade when they need SSO, audit logs, advanced permissions, or usage past the free quota.

Last updated: October 26, 2026

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