# Alternatives to PasteBar PasteBar is a free, open-source clipboard manager built with Tauri and Rust for Mac and Windows, offering unlimited history, saved clips organized into collections/tabs/boards, and PIN-protected collections for sensitive content. It is aimed at users who want a fast, native, no-subscription alternative to commercial pickers. PasteBar ranks #11 of 12 in Clipboard managers, with an Alt Score of 60. It is licensed under CC BY-NC with Limited Commercial Use Exception, freemium and available on macOS and Windows. 8 of 9 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/pastebar/ Category: Clipboard managers ## Overview - **Who it's for**: PasteBar targets Mac and Windows users who copy and paste frequently in their work — developers, writers, designers, social media managers, and analysts — and want to keep reusing snippets, images, code, and other content without retyping or re-searching for it. - **What you get**: The app provides unlimited, searchable clipboard history plus custom clips organized into collections, tabs, and boards, with quick-access paste menus from the system menu bar or taskbar. It supports text, images, files, links, and code snippets (with automatic language detection and syntax highlighting), form/template clips, PIN-protected collections, and lock-screen/passcode protection. - **How it works**: PasteBar runs in the background monitoring the system clipboard and saves copied items to a local, on-device history and clip database — data is never sent to the cloud or an external server. Saved clips are organized into collections, tabs, and boards, and can be instantly re-pasted through native quick-access menus without leaving the current application. ## Profile - **License**: CC BY-NC with Limited Commercial Use Exception (verified 2026-07-30) - **Pricing model**: Freemium (verified 2026-07-30) - **Platforms**: macOS, Windows - **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-30) ## Ranked alternatives | # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms | |---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------| | 1 | [ClipboardFusion](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/clipboardfusion.md) | 90 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | | 2 | [CopyQ](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/copyq.md) | 85 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 3 | [Pastebot](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/pastebot.md) | 85 | Proprietary | macOS | | 4 | [ClipClip](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/clipclip.md) | 80 | Proprietary | Windows | | 5 | [CrossPaste](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/crosspaste.md) | 80 | AGPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS | | 6 | [Ditto](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/ditto.md) | 80 | GPL-3.0 | Windows | | 7 | [Paste](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/paste.md) | 80 | Proprietary | macOS, iOS | | 8 | [Clipy](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/clipy.md) | 70 | MIT | ? | | 9 | [Maccy](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/maccy.md) | 70 | MIT | macOS | | 10 | [Rememory](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/rememory.md) | 70 | MIT | Windows | | 11 | [Planck](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/planck.md) | 60 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux | Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/ ## Feature comparison Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified). | Clipboard managers checklist | PasteBar | ClipboardFusion | CopyQ | Pastebot | ClipClip | CrossPaste | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Free | One-time | Freemium | Freemium | | Starts at | ? | $19 (one-time) | Free | $2.99/mo | $49 one-time | ? | | License | CC BY-NC with Limited Commercial Use Exception | Proprietary | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | AGPL-3.0 | | Platforms | macOS, Windows | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Browser extension | Windows, macOS, Linux | macOS | Windows | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Browser extension | | History depth | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Search | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Pinned snippets | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Sync across devices | No | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Images & files support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | | Ignore sensitive apps | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | No | | Open source | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | | Keyboard-first UX | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | One-time purchase option | ? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | ## Sources Sources for PasteBar. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **License**: CC BY-NC with Limited Commercial Use Exception — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Not an OSI-approved open-source license; noncommercial use only, with a limited exception for reusing parts of the code. Full text truncated for the value field. - Quote: “Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) License with Limited Commercial Use Exception” - **Pricing model**: Freemium — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Core app is free with unlimited clips/boards/menus; a 'PasteBar Pro' tier unlocks unlimited collections and tabs. No pricing page exists on the site to confirm price or billing model. - Quote: “With PasteBar Pro, you also get unlimited collections and tabs.” - **Platforms**: macOS, Windows — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “PasteBar is currently available for macOS and Windows operating systems, including support for Apple Silicon M1 Macs, Intel Macs, and Windows 10 and 11 on both Intel / AMD and ARM processors.” - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: pushed_at": "2026-07-22T18:58:53Z", "archived": false" — 2,127 GitHub stars as of research date; repo pushed to within the last two weeks and not archived. - **History depth**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “Unlimited clipboard history: PasteBar saves your entire copy history without limits, allowing you to quickly find and reuse previously copied content.” - **Search**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “You can access your saved clips in PasteBar through boards, quick-access menus, search functionality.” - **Pinned snippets**: No — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Organization is via collections, tabs, and boards only; no pin/favorite mechanism is described anywhere on the site or in the GitHub README. - Quote: “PasteBar offers several ways to organize your saved clips, including collections and tabs. You can group similar clips together for quick access and easy management using boards.” - **Sync across devices**: No — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: The GitHub README (v0.7.0 release notes) describes a 'Custom Data Location' setting that lets users point storage at a shared/cloud folder as a manual workaround, but there is no built-in device-sync - Quote: “All your clipboard history data and custom clips are stored exclusively on your local device. PasteBar never transfers your information to the cloud or any external servers, ensuring your data remains” - **Images & files support**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “You can save and store various types of content in PasteBar, including text, images, files, links, and code snippets.” - **Ignore sensitive apps**: No — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: The site's full list of security features (local-only storage, lock screen, passcode, PIN-protected collections per the README) never mentions excluding specific apps (e.g. password managers) from cli - Quote: “PasteBar ensures the confidentiality of your data through local storage and offers additional protection with a lock screen and pass code.” - **Open source**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Source is public on GitHub, but distributed under the noncommercial CC BY-NC license rather than an OSI-approved license — see the license fact. - Quote: “Free and open-source clipboard manager that revolutionizes your copy-paste workflow with unlimited history, advanced organization, and powerful features.” - **Keyboard-first UX**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “Navigate faster with enhanced keyboard shortcuts and support for up to 3-key combinations. Streamline your workflow without touching the mouse.” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/