Paste Alternative for Mac: Paste vs SaneClip
Paste is one of the best-known clipboard managers on the Mac, and an Apple Editors' Choice. If you're looking for an alternative, it's usually for one of three reasons: you'd rather pay once, you want your history locked and encrypted, or you only need it on a Mac. Here's an honest side-by-side. Every Paste fact comes from Paste's own App Store listing or pasteapp.io, checked on 17 Oct 2026.
- Stay with Paste if you share pinboards with a team, want an iOS keyboard, or connect your clipboard to AI tools over MCP.
- Try SaneClip if you want a one-time $14.99 price, Touch ID lock and on-disk encryption, and password-manager copies kept out automatically.
- Want free? Maccy (open source) or, on macOS 26 Tahoe and later, Spotlight's built-in clipboard history. See all clipboard managers compared.
Paste vs SaneClip, side by side
| Paste | SaneClip | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29.99/yr, $3.99/mo, $59.99 Family, or $99.99 Lifetime | $14.99 once |
| Trial | 1 week | 14 days, no card |
| Mac requirement | macOS 14 or later | macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon |
| iPhone and iPad | Yes, included, plus Paste Keyboard | Free companion app |
| Sync | Your private iCloud | Your own iCloud account |
| Skips passwords | Rules skip passwords and sensitive content | Skips 1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass, Dashlane and more; auto-purges card numbers, SSNs and keys |
| History lock (Touch ID) | — | Yes (Pro) |
| Encrypted on disk | — | Yes, AES-256-GCM (Pro) |
| Search text inside screenshots | Yes | Yes (OCR on your Mac) |
| Paste a queue in order | Yes (Paste Stack) | Yes (paste stack, FIFO/LIFO) |
| Saved clips | Pinboards, shareable with others | Pins and snippets with {{date}}/{{time}} placeholders |
| AI tools | Built-in MCP support (Mac) | — |
| Source code | — | Public on GitHub (PolyForm Shield) |
“—” means the company doesn't state it on its own page. Paste prices are the in-app purchases in Paste's US App Store listing. Sources, checked 17 Oct 2026: Paste on the App Store, pasteapp.io, Paste pricing. Spotted something out of date? Email [email protected] and I'll fix it.
Where Paste is the better pick
Paste is built for people who work across Mac, iPhone and iPad and with other people. Pinboards can be shared with view or edit rights, the iOS keyboard brings your history into any app, and on the Mac it can hand your clipboard history to AI tools like Claude and Cursor over MCP. It can also hide itself from screen sharing. If those matter to you, Paste is worth its price.
Where SaneClip is the better pick
SaneClip
- ✓ Pay once: $14.99 after a 14-day full Pro trial, no card. Also on Setapp.
- ✓ Locked and encrypted: Touch ID or password lock on history, AES-256-GCM encryption at rest (Pro).
- ✓ Secrets stay out: skips password managers and auto-purges card numbers, SSNs and keys on your schedule.
- ✓ iPhone too: a free iPhone and iPad companion that syncs through your own iCloud account.
- ✓ Text tools: OCR capture, paste stack, snippets with placeholders, text transforms and URL tracking cleanup.
Not for you if you're on an Intel Mac, or if you need shared pinboards.
Moving from Paste
Keep Paste running while you try SaneClip, so nothing is lost. Pin the clips you reuse and turn repeat text into snippets. If you rely on shared pinboards, keep Paste for those.
Questions people ask
Is there a Paste alternative without a subscription?
Yes. SaneClip is $14.99 once after a 14-day trial with no card. Paste itself also sells a one-time Lifetime plan ($99.99 in its US App Store listing) alongside its $29.99 annual and $3.99 monthly plans. Maccy is free and open source but doesn't sync to iPhone.
Does SaneClip sync with iPhone like Paste?
Yes. SaneClip has a free iPhone and iPad companion app that syncs through your own iCloud account. Paste also syncs Mac, iPhone and iPad through your private iCloud and adds a Paste Keyboard on iOS.
Can SaneClip lock clipboard history with Touch ID?
Yes. SaneClip Pro locks history behind Touch ID or your Mac password and encrypts it at rest with AES-256-GCM. Paste's listing doesn't mention a history lock or on-disk encryption.
What does Paste do that SaneClip doesn't?
Paste lets you share pinboards with your team, family or clients, has built-in MCP support for AI tools on Mac, can hide itself from screen sharing, and has an iOS keyboard. SaneClip doesn't list those features.
Does SaneClip run on Intel Macs?
No. SaneClip for Mac needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later on an Apple silicon Mac. Paste's Mac app requires macOS 14 or later.