The best clipboard managers for Windows, Mac and Chrome

On Windows, start with the history that's already built in: press Win+V. It's free and there's nothing to install. If it falls short, try Ditto, which is free and open source.

On Mac, if you have macOS Tahoe 26 or later, open Spotlight and press Cmd+4 to see your history. For something more complete, Maccy is the simplest free option. If you also want your history on your iPhone and iPad, Paste is paid but very handy. If you already use Raycast or Alfred, both include clipboard history.

If you use Windows, Mac and Linux, CopyQ runs on all three. And if what you really want is to paste the same texts over and over (a signature, a reply, an address), you don't need a clipboard manager but a text expander like NexoPad. We explain why below.

Windows 10 and Windows 11 come with their own history. Press Win+V and you see what you copied recently: text, HTML and images. You can pin the items you use most so they aren't deleted and, if you sign in with your Microsoft account, sync text between your PCs.

Pros: free, nothing to install and very easy to use. Cons: it keeps 25 items at most, each up to 4 MB, and restarting your PC clears everything you haven't pinned. All the details are on Microsoft's support page. Further down we show you how to turn it on step by step.

Since macOS Tahoe 26, the Mac also has clipboard history, built into Spotlight. Press Cmd+Space and then Cmd+4, or click the Clipboard button to the right of the search field. The first time, click Allow so Spotlight can show these results.

You can search by typing, copy an item again with Cmd+C, and wipe everything with the More button and Clear History. Apple warns that sensitive information may appear on the clipboard.

Pros: free and already installed. Cons: you need a recent version of macOS, and it's more basic than a dedicated app. The instructions are in Apple's Mac User Guide.

Ditto extends the Windows clipboard. It saves everything you copy (text, images and HTML) and lets you search for it and paste it later. You open it from the system tray or with a keyboard shortcut you can change. Pick an item, press Enter and it's pasted into the window you were using.

It's open source (GPL-3.0 license) and free, with optional donations. According to its page, it needs no login, uses no cloud and sends no telemetry. It's also in the Microsoft Store.

Pros: free, lightweight and with a much longer history than Windows. Cons: Windows only, and it looks a bit dated. Get it from its GitHub page.

ClipClip is another Windows option. It stores up to 1,000 clips, lets you pin the ones you use most, edit them before pasting and check them in a preview. It also has a paste menu with custom shortcuts and small tools for converting text.

Pros: very complete and free for personal use. Cons: Windows only, and if you use it for work (clients, a company or freelancing) you need the paid commercial license. See the details on its pricing page.

CopyQ watches your clipboard and saves what you copy in tabs you organize. It handles text, HTML and images, and you can create rules to ignore what you copy from certain windows. It's open source (GPL-3.0) and free.

Pros: runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and can be automated with scripts. Cons: it has lots of options and takes a bit longer to learn than Ditto or Maccy. Download it from its official site.

Maccy is a keyboard-first clipboard manager for Mac. Press Shift+Cmd+C, type a few letters to search and paste. It keeps the history on your Mac and, by default, ignores copy types marked as confidential, like the ones many password managers use.

It's free and open source if you download it from its site or with Homebrew. In the Mac App Store it costs $9.99, as a way to support the developer. It needs macOS 14 or later.

Pros: simple, fast and free. Cons: Mac only and no sync with other devices. More at maccy.app.

Paste keeps an unlimited history and syncs it between your Mac, iPhone and iPad with the same Apple Account. It has search and pinboards to set aside what you want to keep, with a very visual design.

Pros: the most convenient choice if you live in the Apple ecosystem, with a free 7-day trial. Cons: it's a subscription and it doesn't run on Windows. Check prices on Paste's site.

Raycast is an app launcher for Mac (it also has a Windows version) that includes clipboard history. It saves text, images, colors and links, and you can pin what you use most. According to Raycast, it ignores passwords you copy from password managers by default.

On the free plan, history is kept for up to 3 months. With Pro it's unlimited.

Pros: if you already use Raycast, you don't need another app. Cons: if you only want a clipboard, it's a lot of tool. More details on Raycast's pricing page.

Alfred is another classic Mac launcher. Its clipboard history is part of the Powerpack, which is paid. It's off by default for privacy: you decide whether to turn it on and how long it keeps clips (24 hours, 7 days, 1 month or 3 months).

By default it ignores password apps like Keychain Access or 1Password, and you can add more. You can also turn a clip into an Alfred snippet with Cmd+S.

Pros: very complete, with good privacy controls. Cons: Mac only, and you have to buy the Powerpack. Prices on Alfred's site.

If you want the history inside your browser, Clipboard History Pro is a Chrome extension with more than 100,000 users, updated in October 2026. The free plan saves what you copy and includes basic text expansion. Pro adds unlimited history, sync and a password lock.

Pros: nothing to install outside Chrome. Cons: it only sees what happens in the browser, its average store rating is 3 out of 5, and its listing doesn't show the Pro price. There are extensions with very similar names, so install it from its official listing.

They look alike, but they solve different problems. A clipboard manager remembers what you copied recently, without you doing anything. It's perfect for getting back that link or number you copied ten minutes ago.

A text expander keeps the texts you choose on purpose, each with a name and a shortcut. Type /hello and your full greeting appears. It doesn't depend on what you copied today: the text is always there, organized and ready. If this is new to you, read what a text expander is.

The difference shows over time. In a history, your favorite support reply ends up buried under hundreds of copies, or vanishes when you restart. In an expander it stays put, with its shortcut, and it can include variables like {{first_name}}, {{date}} or an {{input:Order}} field you fill in when you paste it.

Many people use both: a clipboard manager for the copies of the moment and an expander for the texts they always use. They don't compete with each other.

NexoPad is an extension for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera and Brave. Besides snippets with shortcuts, it includes notes with reminders, saved links and tabs, Ctrl+K search, a side panel and AI to rewrite or translate with your own API key (11 providers, several with a free plan, like Groq, Gemini or Cloudflare).

If you'd rather not install anything, the Mac has its own text replacements; Windows has no equivalent feature. We cover it in text replacement on Mac and Windows. And to compare expanders, see the best text expanders.