CopyQ vs Pastebot

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

Pastebot

• Mac users who paste the same snippets often and want them organized
• People who clean up or reformat text before pasting it
• Keyboard-driven work, such as pasting recent copies by number key
• Buyers who want to choose between a one-time license and a subscription

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.

Pastebot

• macOS only. Pastebot 3 requires macOS 26 Tahoe or later, and the App Store listing says macOS 26.2.
• There is no free version, only a 14-day trial.
• The $39 direct license includes one year of updates. Each further year costs $19, though the last version paid for keeps working.
• A Pastebot 2 license does not unlock Pastebot 3; it only gives a $12.99 discount on the direct purchase.

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.

Pastebot

Clipboard history

Keeps a running history of everything copied, searchable by typing, with metadata, your own notes and a resizable preview. Blacklisted apps are never recorded.

Custom and Smart Pastebins

Custom Pastebins store often-used clippings permanently, each with a color and an icon or emoji. Smart Pastebins gather clippings that match rules.

Quick Paste Menu

Shift-Command-V opens the menu in any app. A number key pastes one of the last 10 copies, and shortcuts jump to a chosen pastebin.

Filters

Custom filters change a clipping before it is pasted. Base filters can be stacked into more complex ones, previewed live and given keyboard shortcuts.

Stacks

Several clippings can be collected into a stack and then pasted one after another in sequence with Control-Command-V or another hotkey.

iCloud Sync and Universal Clipboard

iCloud Sync keeps clippings, pastebins and filters the same across Macs, and items copied on an iPhone arrive through Universal Clipboard.

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.

Pastebot

• Monthly Subscription (App Store)$2.99

  per month, billed through the Mac App Store

  Subscribed to inside the App Store version, with no license key, updates handled by the App Store and Family Sharing support.

• Yearly Subscription (App Store)$24.99

  per year, billed through the Mac App Store

  The same App Store subscription paid once a year instead of monthly.

• Direct license$39

  one-time purchase with one year of updates

  Bought from Tapbots with a license key and kept for life. Another year of updates costs $19 at any time; 30-day refund policy.

CopyQ

No public discounts listed.

Pastebot

• Annual discount

  Yearly App Store subscription for $24.99

  The yearly subscription is $24.99, about 30% less than twelve months at the $2.99 monthly rate ($35.88).

• Other savings

  $12.99 upgrade discount for Pastebot 2 owners

  Customers who bought Pastebot 2 directly from Tapbots can enter its license key as a promo code for $12.99 off the $39 Pastebot 3 license.