The short answer
Already own Powerpack? Alfred’s clipboard history is included, and its snippets and workflows go well beyond anything here, so keep it. If you don’t use Alfred, Clipboard History gives you searchable history, favorites and groups without buying a launcher.
Choose Alfred if you want
- Alfred’s snippets, with keywords that expand as you type, filled straight from your history
- To merge copies by holding ⌘ and pressing C twice
- Clipboard contents in Alfred workflows and automations
- A launcher, file search and custom web searches in the same app
Choose Clipboard History if you want
- Clipboard history without buying anything
- A history kept by count (1,000 clips, up to 10,000) rather than for 24 hours to 3 months
- Favorites and named groups that are never removed
- Finder files with thumbnails, ⌘R to reveal them and a ⚠ flag when one can’t be found
- Source code you can read, under the MIT license
About this comparison: Clipboard History is our app, so read this as a first-party page. Every statement about Alfred links to Alfred’s own help, Powerpack or blog pages, checked on September 24, 2026. Prices are in pounds, as Alfred lists them.
Alfred and Clipboard History side by side
| Topic | Alfred PowerpackAlfred 5 | Clipboard HistoryVersion 0.0.27 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £34 PowerpackClipboard history needs the Powerpack: £34 for a single-user v5 licence, or £59 for Mega Supporter with free lifetime upgrades. Buying now includes a free upgrade to Alfred 6. Buy page | FreeNo licence, tiers or account. |
| What it is | A Mac launcher and automation app: search, workflows, snippets, file navigation and more. Powerpack | A menu-bar app that only does clipboard history. |
| Getting started | Off by default for privacy; you turn it on in Alfred’s preferences. Help | Records once you finish the short first-run setup. |
| Open it | The Clipboard History viewer opens with a hotkey you set in Alfred’s preferences. Help | ⇧⌘V from any app (you can change it), or Open Clipboard History in the menu bar. |
| What it keeps | Text, images and file links. Help | Plain text, links, formatted text (RTF or HTML), PNG and TIFF images, and Finder files and folders. |
| How long it keeps clips | By time: 24 hours, 7 days, 1 month or 3 months. Help | By count: 1,000 clips by default, adjustable from 100 to 10,000. Favorites and grouped clips don’t count. The list shows the 100 most recent; search reaches the rest. |
| Reusable text | Save a text clip as a snippet with ⌘S in the viewer; snippets can expand from keywords as you type. Help Snippets | Favorites and named groups. No snippets or text expansion. |
| Automation | Merge copies (hold ⌘ and press C twice) and use clipboard contents in workflows. Help Workflows | None. |
| Files | Records file links alongside text and images. Help | Saved by reference with a thumbnail. ⌘R reveals the original. Files that can’t be found (deleted, on a disconnected drive or moved to another disk) are flagged ⚠; moves and renames on the same disk are followed. |
| Privacy | Ignores popular password apps such as Keychain Access and 1Password, and data marked as concealed; you can add apps. Alfred says history stays on your Mac and isn’t sent to it. Help Blog | A local database with no account, sync or telemetry. Skips 7 password managers by default (editable) and items marked concealed, transient or auto-generated. |
| Source code | Proprietary. | Open source, MIT license. GitHub |
Where Alfred is ahead
- Snippets and expansion. Alfred turns clips into snippets that expand from a keyword anywhere you type. Clipboard History has favorites and groups, but no expansion.
- Automation. Alfred can merge copies and hand clipboard contents to workflows and scripts.
- One app for many jobs. App launching, file navigation, custom searches and workflows share one keyboard habit.
- You may already own it. With Powerpack, Alfred’s clipboard history costs nothing extra, and buyers get Alfred 6 free.
Where Clipboard History is ahead
- It’s free. Searchable history, favorites, groups and file handling have no licence gate.
- History kept by count. Keep up to 10,000 clips, however old, and keep favorites and grouped clips indefinitely instead of losing ordinary history after a set time.
- Groups for projects. Named tabs keep related clips together, switch with ⌥1–9, and a clip can sit in several.
- Finder files. Copied files and folders keep thumbnails, reveal in Finder with ⌘R, and are flagged ⚠ when the original can’t be found (deleted, on a disconnected drive or moved to another disk). See the files and images guide.
- Open source. You can read what the app stores and when it goes online.
See everything it does on the features page.
Clipboard History’s limits
- No snippets, text expansion, clip merging or workflows.
- No launcher, file search or custom web searches.
- No sync between Macs.
- No OCR and no search inside images.
- Copied files are references, not backups. If the original is deleted, the clip pastes its name instead.
If Alfred’s automation would replace other tools for you, Powerpack can be the better value even though it isn’t free.
What changed in Alfred recently
- Alfred 6 was announced for this autumn. Powerpack bought in 2026, and Mega or Legendary Supporter licences, include a free upgrade (Alfred blog). We’ll review this page when Alfred 6 ships.
Trying Clipboard History alongside Alfred
Alfred’s clipboard viewer opens with a hotkey you set in its preferences. If that hotkey is ⇧⌘V, change one of the two before running both; Clipboard History’s shortcut is in Settings → General. Each app keeps its own history; Clipboard History can’t import Alfred’s, and it starts recording once you finish its short setup.
Sources
Alfred facts were checked on September 24, 2026. Clipboard History facts come from its source code.
- Alfred help: Clipboard History: default state, content, retention, ignored apps, merging and snippets
- Alfred help: accessing clipboard history in workflows
- Alfred help: Snippets
- Alfred Powerpack buy page: licences, prices and the Alfred 6 upgrade
- “Alfred 6: Unlimited Possibilities”, September 10, 2026
- Alfred blog on local history storage