Differences Between
CopyPaste Pro/Classic & CopyPaste
History of the Clipboard
The Lisa and then Mac computers were the first consumer computers to have a clipboard. The Mac in 1984 had a single clipboard which allowed moving data between apps which, at that time, was an essential innovation since the Mac could not run more than one app simultaneously. Today the Mac as it comes from Apple still has only one clipboard. That clipboard is what allows a person to copy from one document and then to paste in another app or document. People use the clipboard all the time as it runs invisibly, unacknowledged and unappreciated in the background as part of the Mac OS.
The clipboard is a buffer that some operating systems provide for short-term storage and transfer within and between application programs. The clipboard is usually temporary and unnamed, and its contents reside in the computer's RAM. Apple provides an application programming interface (API) by which apps can specify cut, copy and paste operations.
Larry Tesler in 1973 named it cut, copy, and paste and coined the term "clipboard" for this buffer, since these techniques need a clipboard for temporary saving the copied or cut data. At Xerox Parc they invented the digital functions copy and paste mediated by the use of a clipboard. Apple later used this paradigm, first in Lisa and then Mac computers.
CopyPaste App History
The CopyPaste app was first created by Peter Hoerster in 1993 to add 10 clipboards (clips) to Mac OS. Since that time more clips were added and now the app is only limited by the amount of memory in the computer. CopyPaste added a way to make the contents of the system clipboard and all the additional clips visible. The app allowed saving all copies or cuts, displaying them in a menu and the ability to use them again at any time.
Later 'Actions' were added to transform clips in different ways (uppercase, lowercase text, etc.). CopyPaste the menubar app allowed these multiple clipboards to be displayed, edited, archived and saved through restarts.
Many more features were added over time. Plum Amazing (named Script Software prior to 2008) created many updated or new versions over the last 30+ years. There have been many major and minor versions of CopyPaste in the years since it was first created. 'CopyPaste' has been available in different forms, CopyPaste Lite, CopyPaste-X, CopyPaste+yType.
Currently there are 2 versions. 'CopyPaste Pro' is actively used and popular with MANY users. The newest member of the family is a different branch and called simply 'CopyPaste' once again. They are described and compared in the page below.
CopyPaste Pro Classic
1993-2025+
This app has had many incarnations and been around for many years. It was written in Objective-C. CopyPaste Pro has grown a large following, is solid and loved by many users. It's very popular and continues to have regularly updates. It's now CopyPaste Classic!
Required OS: Mac OS 10.15 to 26+
CopyPaste (new)
2025+
This app is the newest in the CopyPaste family. It is not an upgrade, it's totally new as it's completely rewritten from scratch in Swift, Apple's latest language to code apps. It has a new user interface (UI), new abilities and many new features.
Required OS: Mac OS 12 to 26+
It's important to realize that these 2 apps are both very similar and very different. Showing features in a list doesn't do either of them justice. You can describe a strawberry as tart, sweet, red, heart shaped, juicy, etc but you don't know a strawberry till you taste it. The same is true for these 2 apps. In addition to browsing this list, we recommend trying (tasting) them to really 'grok' (use information/experience and really get to know) them both.
Visual Differences Between
CopyPaste Pro/Classic & CopyPaste
Icons
Older CopyPaste Pro/Classic
App Icon
Menubar icon
New CopyPaste
App Icon
Menubar icon
Comparing Specs For
CopyPaste Pro/Classic and CopyPaste
| Features | CopyPaste Classic (1993-2025+) | CopyPaste (2025+) |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Called 'Pro' because at the time it was the most powerful version. Now renamed 'CopyPaste Classic' because it still works great after decades. It has become 'Classic'! | While making the newest version of the family, we decided to name it CopyPaste after it's Grandpa for simplicity and to once again break new ground for clipboard features and usage. |
| App Icon | | |
| Menu Bar Icon | | |
| Multiple Clip Manager (saves history clips, custom clip sets) | only limited by RAM memory | only limited by RAM memory |
| Saves All Clips (saved in history and custom named clips sets) | Yes, after purchase | Yes in 1 month trial and after purchase |
| Clip Sets (custom names, more permanent clips) | Yes | Yes, unlimited, easy access, editable, available in menu and Clip Browser. Move clips from History to any Clip Set. |
| Clip History (remembers every copy or cut) | Yes | Yes |
| Clip Editor | No | Yes, built in |
| Clip Actions (transforms clip) | 23 actions | 42 actions |
| TriggerClip (type a few chars to paste any clip) | No | Yes - add a trigger (a pneumonic, an easy few letters to remember and type) to get the contents of that clip instantly pasted anywhere on your mac. |
| Clip Browser - beautiful, visual display of clips | Horizontal Browser | Horizontal and Vertical Browser, Colorful, Informative, Add Title, Add Trigger, Tap-to-Paste, Drag&Drop, Actions, TriggerClip, Instant Access, Built in SwiftUI |
| Clip Manager (edit and move clips to different Clip Sets) | No | Yes |
| Clip Visibility | Preview in the menu | preview text and images in Clip Browser and menu by holding shift key |
| Clip Append - hotkey to select and add multiple selections to one clip. | Yes | Yes |
| Backup Clip Sets & Clips | No | Yes, backup data daily, weekly and monthly |
| Export via Drag and Drop Clip Set with clips | No | Yes |
| Import via Drag and Drop Clip Set with clips | No | Yes |
| Emoji Panel | No | Yes - copy emojis to clips |
| Control activity of pasteboard types via prefs | No | Yes |
| Move Clips Between Clip Sets | No | Yes by dragging between different Clip Sets in Clip Manager |
| Regular copy | Yes | Yes |
| Augmented copy | No | Yes |
| Regular paste | Yes | Yes |
| Augmented paste | No | Yes |
| Paste From Any clip in any Clip Set | Yes | Yes - via tap to paste and drag & drop. |
| Paste clip by tap | Yes | Yes |
| Paste clip by number | No | Yes - paste via the clip number. |
| Paste multiple clips by sequence | No | Yes - paste a sequence or non-consecutive selectable group of clips |
| Paste as plain text by hotkey or all the time (pref) | by hotkey and all the time | by hotkey, by action and all the time (option) |
| Open URLs with hotkey | No | Yes - command key and click to open url in clip. |
| Preview URL In Clip | No | Yes - just slide down the main menu to see each clip whether text, image, spreadsheet, etc. |
| Search/Filter | Yes for search in a separate window. | Yes - search and filter in the main menu. Allows typing any letter or keyword to search and filter all clips. |
| Clip-it Notes | No | Yes - option click on the main menu icon to get an instant note for when you need someplace to put a phone number, event, meeting, idea, etc. Very handy. |
| iCloud | No | Yes, some features more coming |
| Companion iOS app | No | Coming |
| Network with iPhone/iPad | No | Coming |
| CopyPaste AI via ChatGPT | No | Yes, in Clip Manager. |
| Security Clips are encrypted and only available on the Mac you are logged into using your AppleID. | Yes | Yes |
| Permissions | Yes | Yes |
| Respects Password Manager Data | Yes | Yes |
| Programming Language | Object C | Swift, SwiftUI |
| Store | Plum Amazing Store | Plum Amazing Store |
| Web Page | CopyPaste Pro | CopyPaste |
| Price | Many options in the Lemon Squeezy Store | Many options in the Lemon Squeezy Store |
General Observations
CopyPaste Pro is not finished it will continue on and be updated because it is well made and well loved.
CopyPaste uses a newer language, swift and the latest Apple technologies, experiment with new ideas and to add new features.
There is no upgrade to the new CopyPaste. That's because it's a totally new, rethought, rewritten, designed and implemented. We changed a lot of things like, the user interface (ui), behavior, actions and features.
- The older CopyPaste Pro is solid and dependable. It's been tested and used by a LOT of people. It's a very useful and popular app. In the future we might make small changes to it but it's hard to make major changes like we have with the new CopyPaste. Keep CopyPaste Pro around till you are fully comfortable with the new one.
- The new CopyPaste is now available, still being developed and evolving. It's quite different. The new CopyPaste will be able to network with iCloud, other services and the first CopyPaste for iOS to share clips and other info. It's written in Apple's new language Swift. It supports a lot of new foundational technologies (like networking, concurrency, Swift, iCloud, iOS, etc) which only could be done to a totally rewritten and new app. We hope to have a version for iOS soon which will synch with the Mac version. That's why there will continue to be CopyPaste Pro (to maintain and slowly increment the classic version) and CopyPaste (to break new ground with new design, new features and a Mac and iOS version).
Buying the new CopyPaste supports it's continued development. We've been working on both now for years and will be working on them for many more. There's lots of good things to come…
If you have both, only run one at at time. Make sure only one is running.
Learn more about the new CopyPaste by browsing the manual at this link. The manual is very comprehensive. It is full featured and yet simple to start using. You can put it in the app folder and just use the CopyPaste menu till you get up to speed on all the other features. Take it a step at a time. It's worth it!
https://plumamazing.com/copypaste-for-mac-manual-page/
CopyPaste revealed the untapped potential of the Mac clipboard.
® CopyPaste is a trademark registered by Plum Amazing, LLC. and the name of app.
Please if you have any question on the above let us know.