The short answer
If you already use Raycast, its clipboard history is probably enough, and its text recognition and paste options go further than ours. Choose Clipboard History if you want a small, free app for just this job, a history that isn’t capped at three months on a free plan, and no account or AI layer.
Choose Raycast if you want
- Clipboard history inside the launcher you already use
- Raycast’s text recognition, which makes words in screenshots searchable
- Raycast’s Paste as… for plain text, RTF or HTML, plus editing and sequential paste
- Snippets, Quicklinks and window management in the same app, and AI with Pro
- The same tool on Mac and Windows
Choose Clipboard History if you want
- A small, free app that only does clipboard history
- No account, paid tier or AI features
- Favorites and named groups that are never pruned
- 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 Raycast links to Raycast’s manual, pricing, changelog or feature page, checked on September 24, 2026. “Clipboard History” on its own always means our app; Raycast’s feature is called its clipboard history here.
Raycast and Clipboard History side by side
| Topic | RaycastVersion 2.4 | Clipboard HistoryVersion 0.0.27 |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A launcher for Mac and Windows; clipboard history is one of its built-in commands. Manual | A menu-bar app that only does clipboard history. |
| Price | Free, Pro from $10 a monthPro ($10 a month or $96 a year) adds Raycast AI, longer clipboard history (up to unlimited) and Cloud Sync; higher tiers cost $20 and $50 a month. Pricing | FreeEvery feature, no tiers. |
| How long it keeps clips | By time: 1 day to 3 months on the free plan; 6 months, 1 year or unlimited with Pro. Manual | 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. |
| Open it | Run the Clipboard History command from Raycast’s search; Raycast recommends giving it your own hotkey or alias. Manual | ⇧⌘V from any app (you can change it), or Open Clipboard History in the menu bar. |
| What it keeps | Text, images, files, links, emails and colors, with every format the source app offered. Manual | Plain text, links, formatted text (RTF or HTML), PNG and TIFF images, and Finder files and folders. |
| Search and organize | Search, filter by type (⌘P), rename, pin, save as a snippet, and delete entries by time window. Manual | Search by the start of any word, including the source app and a file’s folder. Favorites and named groups; ⌘1–9 paste the first nine clips. |
| Images | Text recognitionOptional on-device text recognition makes text in copied images searchable; Copy Text from Image and Copy Text from QR Code. Manual | Preview onlyThumbnails and a full-size preview with ⌘Y. No text recognition or QR reading. |
| Pasting | Paste as… any format the source provided, plain text included; edit text, links or colors first; Paste Sequentially through recent items. Manual | Pastes the saved version: text, formatted text, an image or files. No plain-text option, editing or sequential paste. |
| AI | With ProAsk Clipboard answers questions about your history in plain language, and entries can be sent to AI Chat. Both are Raycast AI features, which the free plan doesn’t include. Manual Pricing | No AI features. |
| Privacy | Raycast says copied content never leaves your computer and is encrypted on your local drive. Password-manager copies and transient data are ignored, and you can disable recording per app. Feature page | A local database with no account or telemetry. The app doesn’t add its own encryption; it relies on your Mac login and FileVault. Skips 7 password managers by default (editable) and items marked concealed, transient or auto-generated. |
| Sync | Cloud Sync (Pro) syncs many Raycast settings, but lists clipboard history under “Not Synced.” Manual | None. History stays on one Mac. |
| Source code | Proprietary app; its extensions are open source. | Open source, MIT license. GitHub |
Where Raycast is ahead
- One launcher for everything. If Raycast already opens your apps and runs your commands, its clipboard history sits one keystroke away with no extra app.
- Text in images. Raycast can recognize text in screenshots, make it searchable and read QR codes. Clipboard History keeps images but can’t read them.
- Control over what you paste. Raycast pastes plain text or any other format the source offered, lets you edit an entry first, and can paste a run of recent items in sequence.
- A wider toolkit. Snippets, Quicklinks, window management and extensions live in the same app, and Pro adds AI.
- Windows too. Raycast runs on Mac and Windows; Clipboard History is Mac only.
Where Clipboard History is ahead
- Everything is free. There are no plans: the full history size, favorites and groups cost nothing, and history isn’t limited to three months.
- Groups for projects. Named tabs keep related clips together, switch with ⌥1–9, and are never pruned.
- 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.
- Nothing else to learn. No launcher, extension store or AI layer: ⇧⌘V, type, Return.
- Open source. You can read exactly what the app stores and when it goes online.
See everything it does on the features page.
Clipboard History’s limits
- No OCR, QR reading or search inside images.
- No plain-text option, editing, sequential paste or snippets.
- No filters by type. The list shows your 100 most recent clips; older ones are found by searching.
- No sync and no Windows version: history stays on one Mac.
- Copied files are references, not backups. If the original is deleted, the clip pastes its name instead.
If you need two or more of these, Raycast is likely the better choice.
What changed in Raycast recently
- Raycast 2.0 left beta on Mac and Windows (Mac changelog, Windows changelog), and AI Chat, free during the beta, became part of Pro. Raycast’s manual also describes newer clipboard behavior: every format you copied is kept, and files copied together form one entry.
- Raycast 2.3 added a Share action to clipboard entries, and AI tools that search entries by text, title or text found in images (changelog).
- Raycast 2.4 updated its interface for macOS Golden Gate (changelog).
Trying Clipboard History alongside Raycast
Raycast doesn’t assign a hotkey to its clipboard history by default. If you gave it ⇧⌘V, change one of the two before running both. Each app keeps its own history; Clipboard History can’t import Raycast’s, and it starts recording once you finish its short setup.
Sources
Raycast facts were checked on September 24, 2026. Clipboard History facts come from its source code.
- Raycast manual: Clipboard History: content, retention, actions, text recognition, paste options, Ask Clipboard
- Raycast pricing: Free, Pro and higher tiers, and which plans include Raycast AI
- Raycast manual: Cloud Sync: what is and isn’t synced
- Raycast clipboard history feature page: local storage and encryption
- Raycast changelogs: 2.0 for Mac and for Windows (August 25, 2026), 2.3 (September 11) and 2.4 (September 14)