Paste app was acquired by WeTransfer.
Here's what that means.

If you've been using Paste app on your Mac for the last several years, you might have noticed the quiet rebrand: the company's communications now reference "Bending Spoons" or "WeTransfer" alongside Paste. This isn't a typo. In June 2024, Paste was acquired by Bending Spoons, the Italian holding company that also owns Evernote, WeTransfer, Meetup, and a growing pile of formerly indie apps.

If you're reading this, you're probably trying to figure out what changed, whether you should keep using Paste, and what your alternatives are. Short version: the app still works, the pricing model shifted, and the soul moved out. Let's go through it.

What actually happened

Paste was launched in 2014 by Dmitry Obukhov — a beautifully designed clipboard manager that quickly became the gold standard on Mac. It featured pinboards, iCloud sync between Mac, iPhone, and iPad, and a clean panel that made navigating clipboard history feel native.

Over a decade, Paste accumulated several hundred thousand paying customers and a reputation as "the indie Mac clipboard manager you actually pay for happily."

Then, in mid-2024, Bending Spoons announced the acquisition. The team and product joined a portfolio that includes Evernote (which itself was acquired by Bending Spoons in 2022 and has since seen its own pricing and ownership controversies), WeTransfer, Splice, and Meetup.

What changed for users

1. Subscription-only pricing

Before the acquisition, Paste sold a one-time purchase option on the Mac App Store. After, it shifted to subscription-only: $1.99/month or $14.99/year. Existing lifetime users were grandfathered for a period, but new sign-ups now mean a recurring bill.

Over a five-year span, that's roughly $75 in subscription fees — and the meter keeps running.

2. Slower indie cadence

Many users have noticed a slowdown in user-facing improvements. New features tend to be ecosystem integrations (connecting Paste to other Bending Spoons products) rather than the small, opinionated refinements that made Paste feel like an indie love letter.

3. Brand integration

Paste's marketing, support, and account systems progressively merged with the broader Bending Spoons portfolio. That's normal for any acquisition — but it changes the feel of the product. The independent voice is gone.

"Paste used to feel like a tool a developer would build for themselves. Now it feels like a SKU inside a portfolio." — Long-time Paste user, after the 2025 redesign.

Is Paste still good?

Honestly, yes — the app still works. It hasn't been broken or downgraded. The sync still functions, the panel still opens, the pinboards still hold your snippets. If you're a current happy subscriber and your workflow is locked in, there's no urgent reason to switch.

But if you're paying attention to who owns your tools and where the indie spirit went, it's a fair moment to ask: do I want my clipboard manager to be a line item in a corporate portfolio? For many people, the answer is no — and there are several strong alternatives now.

Where to go next: the alternatives

We've covered the full landscape in our Best Paste Alternatives for Mac in 2026 guide. Quick summary:

MacPaste — the direct successor (yes, we're biased)

We built MacPaste explicitly to fill the gap Paste left. Unlimited free local history, 7 color tags, hover preview, Mac ↔ iPhone iCloud sync, pinned boards. $49 lifetime, no subscription, indie developer. Try it free.

Maccy — open-source, text-only

If you only copy text and want something free, open-source, and minimal — Maccy is excellent. MIT license, GitHub, active maintenance. No images, no sync, no labels. MacPaste vs Maccy.

Raycast — if you want a launcher with clipboard inside

Raycast Pro ($10/month) includes a solid clipboard with Mac ↔ Mac sync. Best if you already use Raycast as your launcher. MacPaste vs Raycast.

Pastebot — the established premium option

Tapbots' $19.99 one-time clipboard with powerful filters and regex transformations. No iCloud sync, no iPhone app, but rock-solid for power users. MacPaste vs Pastebot.

A note on indie software ownership

The Paste acquisition fits a broader pattern in Mac indie software. Beloved tools get acquired, pricing models flip to subscription, and the product slowly becomes a portfolio asset rather than a labor of love. It's not unique to Paste — it's a market dynamic.

The counter-move is to support indie tools where the ownership and pricing are still aligned with user interest. That's part of why MacPaste exists, and part of why we publish honest comparisons with every alternative — even when the alternative is the better choice for your specific use case.

Whatever you choose, choose carefully. Your clipboard is one of the most-used surfaces of your workflow. It deserves a tool that's going to keep being itself.