CopyClip vs CopyQ
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
CopyClip
Text-only clipboard manager for the Mac menu bar
Free plan · from $7.99 one-time
Where they differ
- CopyClip starts at $7.99 one-time purchase (CopyClip 2, US Mac App Store). CopyQ is free.
- Only CopyQ lists Windows and Linux apps.
- CopyClip can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- CopyQ is open source, according to its own site.
- CopyClip also covers menu bar app.
In commonFree planmacOSLocal-firstClipboard manager
At a glance
| CopyClip | CopyQ | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $7.99 one-time purchase (CopyClip 2, US Mac App Store) | Free |
| Free plan | The original CopyClip is free on the Mac App Store: a text-only clipboard history in the menu bar. Search, pinned clips, direct pasting and themes are only in the paid CopyClip 2, a separate app. | The whole app is free and open source under the GPL-3.0 license, with installers and packages linked from the GitHub repository. The site links a Liberapay page for optional donations. |
| Free trial | Free trial download of CopyClip 2 from the vendor's site; the length of the trial is not stated | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | FIPLAB Limited | Lukas Holecek |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | github.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
CopyClip
- Mac users who mostly copy and reuse text
- People who want a free, basic clipboard history in the menu bar
- Pasting frequently used snippets from the keyboard
CopyQ
- People who want the same clipboard manager on Windows, macOS and Linux
- Users who script or automate what happens to copied content
- Keeping clipboard history on the device, with nothing sent over the network
Worth knowing
CopyClip
- Mac only. CopyClip 2 requires macOS 11.5 or later; the free original requires macOS 10.13 or later.
- Both apps are text-only: images and files copied to the clipboard are not recorded.
- The help center says CopyClip has no syncing and stores history on the Mac; the CopyClip 2 pages read describe no syncing either.
- Mac App Store buyers of CopyClip 2 must install a separate helper app before direct pasting works.
CopyQ
- Under Wayland on Linux, pasting from CopyQ, global shortcuts and clipboard monitoring depend on the desktop environment and can need workarounds.
- The macOS build is unsigned: the docs say Accessibility access must be granted again after each install or update. macOS 13 or later is required.
- Tab data is stored unencrypted in the configuration directory unless encryption is turned on.
- Clips do not travel between devices on their own; a tab can only be mirrored to files in a folder on disk, such as a Dropbox folder.
Key features
CopyClip
- Clipboard history
- CopyClip 2 records plain text, rich text, URLs and code that you copy or cut and keeps up to 9,999 clips, removing the oldest once the limit is reached.
- Search
- A search bar at the top of the CopyClip 2 panel filters the whole clip history as you type.
- Pinned clips
- Frequently used clips can be pinned to the top of the list with Shift-Command-P, and pinned clips keep their order as new ones are added.
- Hotkeys and direct pasting
- A global hotkey, Control-Space by default, opens the panel and Command plus a number pastes one of the first ten clips. Direct pasting needs the macOS Accessibility permission.
- Plain-text paste and clip editing
- Clips can be pasted with their original formatting or as plain text, and a clip's content can be edited or given a custom name.
- Privacy controls
- Specific apps can be excluded from recording, concealed fields such as passwords are skipped automatically, and a private mode pauses recording.
CopyQ
- Clipboard history in tabs
- Saves copied text, HTML, images and custom formats as items in tabs. Items can be sorted, edited, removed and moved by drag and drop, and they are restored the next time the app starts.
- Filter and paste
- The history can be browsed and filtered, and Enter pastes the selected item into the previously active window once that option is on. Items can also be pasted from the tray menu.
- Custom commands and global shortcuts
- The Command dialog (F6) adds predefined or custom actions that run from the menu, on a system-wide shortcut or automatically whenever the clipboard changes.
- Command line and scripting
- A copyq command-line tool and a scripting API can add, read and write items and clipboard content. The main application has to be running for commands to work.
- Tags, notes and pinned items
- Items can carry notes and tags. Pinned items keep their row and are not removed when a tab reaches its item limit. On Windows, tags and pinning come from plugins.
- Encryption and secret handling
- Built-in encryption, available since version 14.0.0, protects all stored tabs with a password. Clipboard content that password managers mark as secret is ignored by default.
Plans
CopyClip
CopyClip (original)$0
Free Mac App Store app that lists recently copied text in the menu bar. Requires macOS 10.13 or later; the vendor's help center calls it CopyClip 1.
CopyClip 2 (Mac App Store)$7.99
one-time purchase (US Mac App Store)
Up to 9,999 text clips with search, pins, direct pasting and themes. Installs on any Mac signed in to the buyer's Apple Account.
CopyClip 2 (direct license)$8.99
one-time purchase from fiplab.com via Paddle (US price)
The same features with a license code for up to 3 Macs the buyer owns; updates are delivered through the app.
CopyQ
CopyQ$0
The complete clipboard manager as a Windows installer or portable zip, a Homebrew cask for macOS, and Linux packages, AppImage or Flatpak.
