Two different categories, one common confusion
Most people search for "clipboard manager" when what they actually need is a "cross-device clipboard sync" tool. These are different things.
Clipboard managers like Paste and Alfred are clipboard history tools. They remember what you copied on a single Mac, let you search it, and let you paste old items. CrossClip is a cross-device sync tool. It moves what you copy from one device to another in real time. Different job entirely.
Paste
Platform: Mac and iOS only · Price: ~$2.49/month
One of the best clipboard history managers available. Beautiful grid view of everything you've copied, searchable, organizable into pinboards. The iOS app syncs Mac clipboard history to iPhone via iCloud — but only for reading, not for sending clips from iPhone to Mac.
Best for: Mac users who want a searchable history of what they've copied on their Mac.
Not good for: Anyone on Windows or Android. Cross-platform sync is not what Paste is built for.
Alfred (with Powerpack)
Platform: Mac only · Price: £34 one-time
A productivity launcher with clipboard history as one of many tools. Excellent at what it does — fast search, snippet expansion, workflow automation. Mac-only. No mobile component, no cross-device sync, no Windows version.
Best for: Mac power users who want a keyboard-driven launcher.
Not good for: Cross-device sync. Alfred doesn't attempt it.
Raycast
Platform: Mac only · Price: Free + Pro
A newer Mac launcher that's grown popular among developers. Like Alfred, it includes clipboard history and snippets. Like Alfred, it's Mac-only with no cross-device capability.
Best for: Mac developers who want a fast, extensible launcher.
Not good for: Anyone who needs content to move between a Mac and any other device type.
CrossClip
Platform: iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, iPad, Linux · Price: Free / $4.99/month Pro
Built for cross-device sync first. Copy something on any device and it appears on every other device in under a second. Clip history, search, and organisation are built on top of that core behaviour.
Unique features not found in clipboard managers: ShareClips (shareable links for any clip), Vault (PIN-protected private space), file uploads up to 500MB, and source device tracking.
Best for: Anyone who works across devices that aren't all Apple.
Note: Many people use CrossClip alongside Paste or Raycast — CrossClip for cross-device sync, Paste/Raycast for local Mac history. They complement each other.
Which one should you use?
Mac-only, want clipboard history and search: Paste or Raycast.
Mac developer who wants a launcher with many tools: Alfred or Raycast.
Work across multiple device types and need content to actually move between them: CrossClip.