MacPaste vs Paste:
the indie alternative
Paste was the go-to clipboard manager for eight years, until its acquisition by Bending Spoons / WeTransfer in 2024. MacPaste brings back what Paste did best — without the corporate noise.
You want the indie spirit and lifetime pricing
- You prefer a one-time payment ($49) over a subscription
- You want to support an indie developer instead of a conglomerate
- You want the same key features (history, sync, tags)
- You appreciate a modern UI without unnecessary clutter
You are already set up and happy
- You have used Paste for years and its shortcuts are muscle memory
- You have an active Bending Spoons subscription that includes Paste
- You use advanced features specific to Paste (like complex Pinboards)
| MacPaste | Paste | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free · Pro $49 lifetime | $1.99/mo or $14.99/yr |
| Model | One-time payment | Subscription |
| Unlimited history | Yes | Yes (with sub) |
| Color tags | Yes · 7 colors | Pinboards only |
| iCloud Sync Mac ↔ iPhone | Yes (Pro) | Yes (with sub) |
| iPhone App | Yes (Pro) | Yes |
| Hover preview | Yes | Limited |
| Exclusion of sensitive apps | Auto (1Password, Keychain...) | Manual |
| Global shortcut | Customizable ⌘⇧V | Customizable ⌘⇧V |
| Disk footprint | 5.9 MB | ~50 MB |
| Publisher status | Indie | Bending Spoons (conglomerate) |
| Open source | No | No |
Context: Paste has changed.
Paste was launched in 2014 by Dmitry Obukhov and quickly became the most recommended clipboard manager on Mac: sleek design, useful Pinboards, smooth iCloud sync. It accumulated hundreds of thousands of paying users.
In June 2024, Paste was acquired by Bending Spoons (the Italian company behind Evernote, WeTransfer and Meetup). For users, this meant three things: transitioning to a subscription-only model, gradual integration with other company products, and the end of the indie charm that defined it.
MacPaste was designed to fill this void: providing the core 80% of Paste features that people actually use, with a $49 one-time lifetime purchase that never expires, and a single developer at the helm.
Price: subscription vs. lifetime
Over 5 years of use, here is the concrete difference:
- Paste: $14.99/yr × 5 years = $74.95 — and you continue to pay after
- MacPaste Pro: $49 one-time payment. Lifetime updates included.
Over 10 years: Paste costs ~$150, while MacPaste is still just $49. That's the difference between renting your clipboard and owning it.
Features: shared essentials
Both apps do largely the same thing day-to-day: unlimited history, Mac/iPhone sync, global shortcut, preview, and search. If you are used to Paste, MacPaste will feel familiar in 5 minutes.
What MacPaste does differently:
- Color tags (7 colors) directly on each clip with ⌃1-7 shortcuts. Paste uses "Pinboards" instead — more structured, but heavier.
- Auto-detection of sensitive apps (1Password, Keychain, Bitwarden). In Paste, you must configure these manually.
- 10× smaller disk footprint (5.9 MB vs. ~50 MB).
What Paste does better:
- Organized Pinboards by project, shared within teams (great for agencies)
- Native iPad app (MacPaste targets Mac + iPhone, no iPad app for now)
- Maturity: 8 years of bug fixes and polish matters
Performance and system impact
MacPaste is designed to be invisible: RAM < 50 MB at idle, 0% CPU usage when inactive, and instant launch. Paste tends to load more resources on startup (Pinboards integration, multi-device sync). The difference might not be noticeable on a high-end Mac, but it is felt on a MacBook Air M1.
Try MacPaste for free.
The Paste experience · no subscription · $49 lifetime for iPhone sync.
Download MacPaste