Utilities · alternatives
Alternatives to Paste
20 utilities tools sit alongside Paste in this directory. Below is what separates each from Paste on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 20
- With a free tier
- 13
- Cheaper to start
- 5
- Paste starts at
- $29.99/year
Why people look past Paste
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Paste entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
It costs more than the category median
Paste starts at $29.99/year. Across the 7 utilities tools listed beside it that publish a price, the median entry point is $12/month.
There is no free tier
The record for Paste carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 13 of the 20 alternatives below can be used without paying.
There is only one tier
Paste publishes a single plan, Paste at $2.49/month. There is no smaller tier to drop to if the fit is wrong or the budget moves.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Free open source clipboard history manager for macOS with no account, sync fee or subscription
- Can be used without paying; Paste cannot.
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than Per user per month.
Mac launcher and automation tool sold as a one-time Powerpack licence rather than a subscription
- Can be used without paying; Paste cannot.
- Starts $4.010000000000002 a one-time dearer, at £34/one-time.
- Sold on a One-time purchase model rather than Per user per month.
- 3 tiers to Paste's 1.
Paid Mac screenshot and screen recording tool with annotation, scrolling capture and cloud sharing
- Starts $0.9899999999999984 a one-time cheaper, at $29/one-time.
- Sold on a One-time purchase model rather than Per user per month.
- 2 tiers to Paste's 1.
Free open source BitTorrent client with true thin-client architecture for remote daemon control
- Can be used without paying; Paste cannot.
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than Per user per month.
McDonald's mobile ordering and MyMcDonald's Rewards app used to drive app-exclusive deals and first party data
- Can be used without paying; Paste cannot.
- Sold on a Free app, revenue from purchases model rather than Per user per month.
Domino's Pizza ordering app with Piece of the Pie Rewards, built to route orders away from delivery marketplace commissions
- Can be used without paying; Paste cannot.
- Sold on a Free app, revenue from purchases model rather than Per user per month.
Every Paste alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paste (this page) | $29.99/year | Per user per month | 1 | |
| MaccyIf you only need clipboard history on one Mac and do not want an ongoing subscription | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Paste |
| AlfredIf you want clipboard history bundled with a broader launcher and automation tool | Free, then £34/one-time | One-time purchase | 3 | vs Paste |
| CleanShot XIf your recurring capture need is screenshots rather than general clipboard text and files | $29/one-time | One-time purchase | 2 | vs Paste |
| Deluge | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Paste |
| McDonalds | Free | Free app, revenue from purchases | 1 | vs Paste |
| Dominos | Free | Free app, revenue from purchases | 1 | vs Paste |
| Find My | Free | Free, built into Apple hardware and iCloud | 1 | vs Paste |
| Karabiner-Elements | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Paste |
| Google Lens | Free | Free, bundled into other Google apps | 1 | vs Paste |
| qBittorrent | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Paste |
| Rectangle | Free, then $9.99/one-time | Open source, no licence fee | 2 | vs Paste |
| Starbucks | Free | Free app, revenue from prepaid stored value and purchases | 1 | vs Paste |
| Shottr | Free, then $8/one-time | One-time purchase | 3 | vs Paste |
| Kap | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Paste |
| Calsense | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Paste |
| EcoStruxure Geo SCADA Expert | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Paste |
| Hazel | $42/one-time | One-time purchase | 2 | vs Paste |
| Sedaru | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Paste |
| BetterTouchTool | $12/one-time | One-time purchase | 2 | vs Paste |
| Magnet | $4.99/one-time | One-time purchase | 1 | vs Paste |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Paste badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (13)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Maccy , Free
- Alfred , Free, then £34/one-time
- Deluge , Free
- McDonalds , Free
- Dominos , Free
- Find My , Free
- Karabiner-Elements , Free
- Google Lens , Free
Cheaper than Paste (5)
Entry price under Paste's $29.99/year. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- CleanShot X , $29/one-time
- Rectangle , Free, then $9.99/one-time
- Shottr , Free, then $8/one-time
- BetterTouchTool , $12/one-time
- Magnet , $4.99/one-time
What you would be giving up
Paste is most often brought in for someone who regularly copies something on their iphone, such as an address or code, and needs it moments later on their mac, a user organising reusable snippets like email signatures or boilerplate text into named pinboards, a team member already paying for setapp who wants paste included rather than purchased separately, anyone who has outgrown a local-only clipboard manager because they now work across multiple apple devices. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Paste is broadly right and the question is cost, the Paste pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Utilities category lists everything the directory holds, and best utilities tools ranks them.
Paste runs on mac, ios. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Paste alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Paste?
- 20 other utilities tools are listed in this directory, led by Maccy, Alfred, CleanShot X, Deluge. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Paste?
- 13 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Maccy, Alfred, Deluge, McDonalds, Dominos.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Paste?
- Yes. 5 of the alternatives below start under Paste's $29.99/year: CleanShot X at $29/one-time, Rectangle at Free, then $9.99/one-time, Shottr at Free, then $8/one-time, BetterTouchTool at $12/one-time.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Paste?
- On the figures on record, 3 things stand out: it costs more than the category median; there is no free tier; there is only one tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Paste?
- Paste is most often brought in for someone who regularly copies something on their iphone, such as an address or code, and needs it moments later on their mac, a user organising reusable snippets like email signatures or boilerplate text into named pinboards, a team member already paying for setapp who wants paste included rather than purchased separately, anyone who has outgrown a local-only clipboard manager because they now work across multiple apple devices. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Paste?
- None of the utilities tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Paste alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Utilities, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Paste against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Paste covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every utilities tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Utilities category, 20 tools beside Paste. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.