Best Clipboard Manager Apps for you iPhone in 2026
Feb 23, 2026

If you've ever copied a phone number, switched apps, and then realized you copied something else over it — you already know why clipboard managers exist. Apple's built-in clipboard is painfully basic: one item at a time, no history, no way to save things permanently.
A good clipboard manager for iPhone fixes all of that. It saves everything you copy, lets you search through your clipboard history, and — in the best cases — gives you permanent shortcuts for the stuff you paste all the time.
But which one should you actually use? In this guide, we'll compare the five most popular clipboard manager apps for iPhone in 2026 and explain why one of them stands clearly above the rest.
Why You Need a Clipboard Manager on iPhone
Before we get into the apps, here's why the default iOS clipboard falls short:
• Single-item clipboard. Copy something new and the old thing is gone forever.
• No history. There's no way to go back and find something you copied an hour ago.
• No saved snippets. If you paste the same email address, phone number, or canned response 10 times a day, you're retyping or hunting for it every single time.
• No cross-device sync. Universal Clipboard between iPhone and Mac exists, but it's flaky and still limited to one item.
A clipboard manager solves these problems by running quietly in the background, capturing everything you copy, and giving you fast access to your full history — plus extras like saved shortcuts, search, and AI-powered writing tools.
The 5 Best Clipboard Manager Apps for iPhone (2026)
1. OneTap — Best All-Around Clipboard Manager
Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro
Featured on the App Store 4 times (iPhone ×2, Mac ×1, Vision Pro ×1) · 50,000+ users
OneTap isn't just a clipboard manager — it's the only app in this category that combines clipboard history, permanent paste shortcuts, and a built-in AI keyboard into a single tool. No other app on this list does all three.
The core idea: you save text, images, links, or files as one-tap shortcuts, then paste any of them instantly from a custom keyboard on iPhone or the menu bar on Mac. That address you paste into every delivery app, the Zoom link you send five times a week, the canned customer support response — all accessible with a single tap without leaving whatever app you're in.
Key features:
• One-tap paste shortcuts — save anything as a permanent shortcut you can paste from any app via a custom keyboard
• Clipboard history — automatic, searchable log of everything you copy, synced across all your devices
• AI keyboard — ChatGPT built directly into your iPhone keyboard and Mac menu bar. Write, rewrite, translate, or generate text without switching apps
• True cross-platform — iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro. No other clipboard manager on this list supports Vision Pro
• Cross-device sync — your shortcuts and history follow you everywhere
What sets OneTap apart is how much ground it covers. Most clipboard managers do one thing — usually just history. OneTap replaces your need for a separate clipboard history app, a text expander, and an AI writing tool. It's three productivity tools in one.
Best for: Anyone who pastes the same things repeatedly — customer support, sales, real estate agents, freelancers — plus anyone who wants AI writing assistance built into their keyboard.
📲 Download OneTap on the App Store
2. Paste — Visual History, But Limited
Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac
Paste focuses on visual clipboard history — a scrollable timeline showing previews of everything you've copied. It looks polished, and the pinboard system for organizing clips is well-designed.
But that's about where it stops. Paste has no AI features, no paste-from-keyboard shortcuts, and no Vision Pro support. It also requires an ongoing subscription to unlock full functionality, which adds up quickly compared to alternatives that offer more for less. If all you need is a pretty history viewer, Paste works — but you'll be missing the shortcut and AI features that make a clipboard manager truly powerful.
Best for: Users who prefer visual browsing over search-based workflows.
📲 Download Paste on the App Store
3. CopyClip — Bare Minimum for Mac
Platforms: Mac only
CopyClip is a lightweight menu bar clipboard history tool for Mac. It stores your recent copies and lets you paste from a dropdown list. That's essentially it.
The problem? No iPhone app, no iPad app, no AI, no paste shortcuts, no cross-device sync. If you work across Apple devices — which most people do in 2026 — CopyClip only covers one of them. It's a fine tool if you literally just want a slightly longer clipboard on your Mac, but it can't compete with a full-featured solution like OneTap that works everywhere.
Best for: Mac-only users who want the absolute bare minimum.
📲 Download CopyClip on the App Store
4. Maccy — Open Source, But Mac-Only
Platforms: Mac only
Maccy is an open-source, keyboard-driven clipboard manager for Mac. It's fast, lightweight, and has a loyal following among developers who appreciate its simplicity.
But like CopyClip, Maccy is Mac-only — no iPhone, no iPad, no Vision Pro. There are no saved paste shortcuts, no AI features, and no cross-device sync. It's a solid tool within its narrow scope, but if you use an iPhone (which — if you're reading this article — you probably do), Maccy doesn't help you there at all. OneTap's Mac app covers everything Maccy does and syncs with your iPhone.
Best for: Developers on Mac who want a minimal, open-source option and don't need mobile support.
5. PastePal — Organized, But Outmatched
Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac
PastePal offers clipboard history with automatic categorization — it sorts your clips by type (text, links, images, colors) and lets you organize them into collections. It's a nice idea, and the interface is clean.
However, PastePal has no paste-from-keyboard shortcuts on iPhone, no AI features, and no Vision Pro support. The auto-categorization is a neat touch, but it solves a problem most people don't actually have — when you need to paste something fast, you want search and shortcuts, not folder browsing. OneTap's searchable history and one-tap shortcuts get you to what you need faster.
Best for: Users who copy a wide variety of content types and like visual organization.
📲 Download PastePal on the App Store
Feature Comparison: OneTap vs Paste vs CopyClip vs Maccy vs PastePal
| Feature | OneTap | Paste | CopyClip | Maccy | PastePal |
| ------------------------- | ------ | ----- | -------- | ----- | -------- |
| iPhone app | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| iPad app | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Mac app | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Vision Pro app | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Clipboard history | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Permanent paste shortcuts | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Paste from keyboard (iOS) | ✅ | ❌ | N/A | N/A | ❌ |
| Built-in AI assistant | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Cross-device sync | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| App Store Featured | 4× | — | — | — | — |
The pattern is clear: OneTap is the only app that checks every box.
How to Set Up OneTap on iPhone
Getting started takes under two minutes:
1. Download OneTap from the App Store.
2. Enable the keyboard: go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → OneTap.
3. Allow Full Access — this lets the keyboard function properly. Your data stays on-device or syncs privately via iCloud (not sent to third parties).
4. Start copying things — OneTap begins saving your clipboard history automatically.
5. Create your first shortcuts — add your most-pasted items (email address, phone number, common replies) as permanent one-tap shortcuts.
6. Try the AI keyboard — tap the AI button on the keyboard to access ChatGPT directly. Write, rewrite, or translate text without leaving your current app.
If you also use a Mac, download the Mac app to get menu bar access to all your shortcuts and clipboard history — everything syncs automatically.
The Bottom Line
There are plenty of clipboard managers out there, but most of them only do one thing — and half of them don't even work on iPhone. OneTap is the only app that gives you clipboard history, permanent paste shortcuts, and a built-in AI keyboard across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro. It's been featured on the App Store four times and has over 50,000 users for a reason.
If you're comparing options, the other apps on this list have their niches — Paste looks nice, Maccy is open source, CopyClip is simple. But none of them match what OneTap offers as a complete package. When you can get clipboard history, one-tap shortcuts, and AI writing assistance in a single app that works on all your devices, there's not much reason to settle for less.
Ready to Upgrade Your Clipboard?
Stop losing what you copy. Stop retyping the same things. Stop switching apps just to talk to ChatGPT.
📲 Download OneTap — Free on the App Store
Available for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro.
