Is Magnet or Paste better?

Neither clearly leads. Magnet starts at $4.99/one-time and Paste at $29.99/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Magnet or Paste?

Magnet starts at $4.99/one-time and Paste at $29.99/year.

Does Magnet or Paste run on more platforms?

Magnet runs on Mac. Paste runs on Mac, iOS.

What is Magnet best used for?

Magnet is most often used for a user who wants the app store handling licensing, family sharing and updates automatically, someone who prefers paying a small one-time fee up front over evaluating a free tool first, a less technical user who does not want to install from github or homebrew, a family sharing one apple id that wants one purchase to cover multiple macs in the household. Of those, a user who wants the app store handling licensing, family sharing and updates automatically and someone who prefers paying a small one-time fee up front over evaluating a free tool first are not what Paste is typically brought in for.

What can Magnet do that Paste cannot?

Magnet covers Keyboard shortcuts, Drag to snap, Multi-display support, Mac App Store distribution. Paste covers Clipboard history, iCloud sync, Pinboards, Rich content support.

Utilities · head to head

Magnet vs Paste

Magnet

Utilities

Mac App Store window manager sold as a one-time paid app, with no free tier

From: $4.99/one-time
Rated: -

Full review Website

Paste

Utilities

Subscription clipboard manager for Mac, iPhone and iPad with iCloud sync between devices

From: $29.99/year
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Magnet there is no free tier at all, so a user cannot try before buying beyond the Mac App Store return window.; Paste it is an ongoing subscription, unlike the free, one-time-cost alternatives Maccy and the built in macOS clipboard, so the cost compounds every year it is used.
They diverge on capability: Magnet covers Keyboard shortcuts, Paste covers Clipboard history.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Magnet and Paste actually diverge.

Attributes where Magnet and Paste differ
Attribute	Magnet	Paste
Starting price	$4.99/one-time	$29.99/year
Pricing model	One-time purchase	Per user per month
Platforms	Mac	Mac, iOS

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Utilities).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Magnet

Keyboard shortcuts
Drag to snap
Multi-display support
Mac App Store distribution
Menu bar access
Third display layouts

Only in Paste

Clipboard history
iCloud sync
Pinboards
Rich content support
Search and filter
Setapp availability

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Magnet

A user who wants the App Store handling licensing, family sharing and updates automaticallynot Paste
Someone who prefers paying a small one-time fee up front over evaluating a free tool firstnot Paste
A less technical user who does not want to install from GitHub or Homebrewnot Paste
A family sharing one Apple ID that wants one purchase to cover multiple Macs in the householdnot Paste

Paste

Someone who regularly copies something on their iPhone, such as an address or code, and needs it moments later on their Macnot Magnet
A user organising reusable snippets like email signatures or boilerplate text into named pinboardsnot Magnet
A team member already paying for Setapp who wants Paste included rather than purchased separatelynot Magnet
Anyone who has outgrown a local-only clipboard manager because they now work across multiple Apple devicesnot Magnet

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Magnet

There is no free tier at all, so a user cannot try before buying beyond the Mac App Store return window.
It offers fewer customisation options than Rectangle, such as fewer configurable snap zones and less granular per-app behaviour.
Update cadence has historically been slower than the actively developed open source Rectangle project.
It is Mac only and App Store only, so it cannot be scripted, redistributed internally by a company, or installed outside Apple normal channels.
Being a small independent app, support depends on the developer responding to App Store reviews or email rather than a dedicated support team.

Paste

It is an ongoing subscription, unlike the free, one-time-cost alternatives Maccy and the built in macOS clipboard, so the cost compounds every year it is used.
Sync depends on iCloud, so a user without a reliable iCloud connection or who disables iCloud for privacy reasons loses the entire reason to pay for it over Maccy.
It has no Windows or Android app, so sync only works within the Apple ecosystem.
Because it preserves rich content and images, the synced history can grow large enough to be noticeable in iCloud storage use over time.
A user who only ever uses one Mac gets no benefit from the subscription cost over a free local-only tool like Maccy.

Pricing, plan by plan

Magnet

$4.99/one-time

Magnet$4.99/one-time
- Full app unlocked immediately, no trial gating
- Mac App Store purchase and family sharing
- Free updates through the App Store

Paste

$29.99/year

Paste$2.49/month
- Billed annually at roughly 29.99 USD per year
- Covers Mac, iPhone and iPad apps under one subscription
- iCloud sync between all devices

Which should you pick?

Choose Magnet if

You need keyboard shortcuts.
You work on Mac.
You also want drag to snap.

Magnet review

Choose Paste if

You need clipboard history.
You work on Mac, iOS.
You also want icloud sync.

Paste review

Questions people ask

Is Magnet or Paste better?: Neither clearly leads. Magnet starts at $4.99/one-time and Paste at $29.99/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Magnet or Paste?: Magnet starts at $4.99/one-time and Paste at $29.99/year.
Does Magnet or Paste run on more platforms?: Magnet runs on Mac. Paste runs on Mac, iOS.
What is Magnet best used for?: Magnet is most often used for a user who wants the app store handling licensing, family sharing and updates automatically, someone who prefers paying a small one-time fee up front over evaluating a free tool first, a less technical user who does not want to install from github or homebrew, a family sharing one apple id that wants one purchase to cover multiple macs in the household. Of those, a user who wants the app store handling licensing, family sharing and updates automatically and someone who prefers paying a small one-time fee up front over evaluating a free tool first are not what Paste is typically brought in for.
What can Magnet do that Paste cannot?: Magnet covers Keyboard shortcuts, Drag to snap, Multi-display support, Mac App Store distribution. Paste covers Clipboard history, iCloud sync, Pinboards, Rich content support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Magnet: Does Magnet have a free version?

No. It has always been a paid Mac App Store purchase with no free tier.

Paste: Is Paste free?

No. It is a subscription, priced around 2.49 to 3.99 US dollars a month or roughly 30 dollars a year, though it is also available through the Setapp bundle.

Magnet: Can I share one purchase across my family Macs?

Yes, through Apple Family Sharing on the Mac App Store, the same as any other App Store app.

Paste: Does Paste sync between my Mac and iPhone?

Yes, that is its main differentiator, using iCloud to sync clipboard history across Mac, iPhone and iPad.

Magnet: How is it different from Rectangle?

Magnet is a paid App Store app from the start; Rectangle is free and open source, with paid Pro features sold as a separate app.

Paste: Is there a free alternative that does not sync?

Yes, Maccy is free, open source and Mac-only with no sync, for users who do not need cross-device history.

Magnet vs Paste

Magnet

Paste

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Magnet

Only in Paste

What people use each for

Magnet

Paste

Where each one falls short

Magnet

Paste

Pricing, plan by plan

Magnet

Paste

Which should you pick?

Choose Magnet if

Choose Paste if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Magnet

More on Paste

Keep looking

Other head to heads