Maccy vs PopClip
Maccy and PopClip both touch text on your Mac, but they do different jobs. Maccy is a clipboard history; PopClip is a selection action popup. Comparing them is really about deciding which problem you have — or running both.
What PopClip is
PopClip brings the iOS-style popup to the Mac: select text and a little bar appears with actions — copy, search, translate, open links, and hundreds of optional extensions. It is a paid utility focused on acting on a current selection, not on remembering your history.
What Maccy is
Maccy is a clipboard manager: it records each thing you copy into a searchable history so you can bring back something you copied minutes or hours ago. It is free and open source, and it does not pop up on selection — you summon it with a shortcut.
Do they overlap?
Only a little. PopClip has clipboard-related extensions, and it can paste, but it does not maintain a deep, searchable history the way Maccy does. Likewise Maccy does not show contextual actions when you select text. The honest framing: they are adjacent, not rival.
| PopClip | |
|---|---|
| Clipboard history | Yes |
| Searchable history | Yes |
| Selection action popup | No |
| Extensions / actions | No |
| Price | Free |
| Open source | Yes |
Which do you actually need?
- Want to reuse things you copied earlier? That is a clipboard manager → Maccy.
- Want quick actions on selected text? That is PopClip.
- Want both? They coexist with no conflict.
If you are choosing a clipboard manager specifically, compare Maccy with the real history apps in the top 10 clipboard managers, or the best free options.
What PopClip does
PopClip (~$19.99 one-time) is a different kind of tool than Maccy. Where Maccy manages clipboard history, PopClip adds a contextual pop-up toolbar when you select text. Select any text on screen and PopClip appears with action buttons: Copy, Paste, Search, Open URL, and hundreds more from its extension ecosystem.
These are complementary tools, not direct competitors. Many users run both.
Maccy vs PopClip: what they actually do
| Feature | Maccy | PopClip |
|---|---|---|
| Clipboard history (multiple items) | Yes — core feature | No |
| Search clipboard history | Yes | No |
| Pinned items | Yes | No |
| Actions on selected text | No | Yes — core feature |
| Extension ecosystem (Search, Translate, etc.) | No | Yes — 200+ extensions |
| Price | Free | ~$19.99 one-time |
| Open source | Yes — MIT | No |
Using Maccy and PopClip together
This is a very popular combination among power users:
- PopClip handles: actions on selected text (search, translate, open URL, copy clean, expand abbreviation)
- Maccy handles: clipboard history, pinned snippets, regex search, privacy controls
They do not conflict. PopClip’s Copy action writes to the clipboard, which Maccy captures. PopClip’s Paste action pastes the current clipboard, which Maccy has already stored.
Who should use each
Use Maccy if: you want clipboard history — access to anything you copied previously, searchable and pinnable. Free.
Use PopClip if: you want quick actions on text you just selected — search, translate, open links, format text. Paid ($19.99 one-time).
Use both if: you want both capabilities. They are complementary and most power users benefit from having both installed.