Pastebot vs Yoink
We give Pastebot and Yoink the same GPA: 2.8 out of 4.0. They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Pastebot
Mac clipboard manager with pastebins, filters and stacks
Yoink
Drag-and-drop shelf for files and snippets on the Mac
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAPastebotGood | 2.8GPAYoinkGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$39 once from Tapbots, with a year of updates, and you always own the last version you paid for. Another year of updates is $19. Or subscribe on the App Store for $24.99 a year or $2.99 a month. Either way it's under what a typical paid utility here costs for a year. | A$8.99 once, from the developer's site or the Mac App Store, and the site says both versions do the same. That's far less than a year of what paid utilities here typically cost. It's on Setapp too. |
| Free plan and trial | CThere's no free version, only a 14-day free trial with either way of buying. The listing doesn't say whether a card is needed to start it. | CThere's no free version. The trial download from the developer's website runs for 28 days, and after that it has to be bought. |
| Features | ASearchable history, permanent pastebins, a quick menu that pastes any of your last 10 copies with a number key, stacks that paste in sequence, and filters you can chain and preview live. iCloud keeps it all the same across Macs. That's the clipboard job and then some. | AThe shelf holds files, text and images, and stacks several files dropped at once. It keeps a clipboard history, passes files between Apple devices with Handoff and takes photos from an iPhone with Continuity Camera. It works with Shortcuts, Automator and the Terminal. One job, done fully. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. Shift-Command-V opens the menu in any app, and that's most of what you need to know. Filters and Smart Pastebins with rules are there when you want to get clever. | BNo store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. Start dragging and the shelf fades in by itself. You can have it appear at the screen edge or at the mouse cursor, and tell it to ignore chosen apps. |
| Platforms and integrations | DMac only, and Pastebot 3 requires macOS 26 Tahoe or later. It works with Apple Shortcuts and iCloud, and things you copy on an iPhone arrive through Universal Clipboard. There's no Windows version. | DThis one is the Mac app, for macOS 10.13 High Sierra or newer. Yoink for iPad and iPhone is a separate app, and Handoff with those devices needs it. No Windows version. |
| Best for | a Mac clipboard that tidies text before you paste it | a shelf to park files on while you drag them around a Mac |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Pastebot and Yoink. How we grade
Where they differ
- Pastebot starts at $2.99 / month or $24.99 / year (App Store), or $39 one-time direct. Yoink starts at $8.99 one-time purchase.
- Yoink also covers file management.
At a glance
| Pastebot | Yoink | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $2.99 / month or $24.99 / year (App Store), or $39 one-time direct | $8.99 one-time purchase |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial with either purchase option | Free for 28 days with the trial download from the developer's website |
| macOS | ||
| Made by | Tapbots, LLC | Eternal Storms Software |
| Price read from | tapbots.com | eternalstorms.at |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Yoink
- Mac users who drag files between windows, spaces and full-screen apps
- People who prefer a one-time purchase under $10
- Owners of several Apple devices who pass files between them with Handoff
Worth knowing
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.
Yoink
- This is the Mac app, for macOS 10.13 High Sierra or newer. Yoink for iPad and iPhone is a separate app, and Handoff with iOS devices requires it.
- There is no free version: after the 28-day trial it has to be bought.
- Continuity Camera needs macOS Mojave 10.14 or newer and an iPhone or iPad on iOS 12 or newer.
Key features
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.
Yoink
- Shelf at the screen edge
- The shelf fades in at the edge of the screen when a drag starts. Drop files on it, move to the destination window, space or full-screen app, then drag them out again.
- Files and app content
- Holds files from Finder as well as content such as text from a word processor or images from a website. Several files dropped at once are condensed into a stack.
- Placement and shortcut
- The shelf can appear at once, only near the screen edge or at the mouse cursor, and can ignore chosen apps. Its shortcut also recalls removed files or saves the clipboard.
- Clipboard history
- Stores recently copied items, which can be sent to the shelf or copied again from the app or its Notification Center widget. Popular password managers are excluded by default.
- Handoff and Continuity Camera
- Transfers files between Macs, iPads and iPhones running Yoink, and accepts photos or documents sent from an iPhone or iPad with Continuity Camera.
- macOS integration
- System services, a Quick Action and a Share extension add files without dragging, and it works with the Terminal, Automator and Shortcuts. Previews use QuickLook.
Plans
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.
Yoink
Yoink for Mac (website)$8.99
one-time purchase (also listed as 9,99 € and £8.99)
Bought directly from the developer. The site says the website, Mac App Store and Setapp versions have the same functionality.
Yoink for Mac (Mac App Store)$8.99
one-time purchase (US Mac App Store)
The same app through the Mac App Store, with optional tips as in-app purchases. Also sold in the developer's Productivity Bundle.
Ways to pay less
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.
Yoink
- Other savings
Productivity Bundle at about 20% off
The developer's Mac App Store bundle sells Yoink together with ScreenFloat, Transloader and DeskMat at roughly 20% off.
