Best appsPublished November 10, 2026Updated November 10, 20268 min read

Best cross-platform clipboard manager, and how to sync the clipboard across devices

Some clipboard apps run on every operating system; fewer connect them. This page separates the two, then compares the apps that sync between Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, and how each one moves your clips.

Short answer

To share a clipboard between different operating systems you need an app on every device, because the built-ins stop at their own platform: Universal Clipboard only links Apple devices, and Windows clipboard sync only links Windows PCs, plus your latest text copy through SwiftKey on Android. Clypy syncs a searchable history across Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android with end-to-end encryption, as a one-time Pro purchase. Free and open source, KDE Connect shares clipboard text on your local network, and CrossPaste and ClipCascade sync full clips.

How this guide was checked

Each app's platforms, price, license and documented sync and encryption model were checked on its own site, store listing, documentation or repository in November 2026. The apps were not benchmarked against each other. Clypy's behavior was checked against its source code.

Reviewed by the Clypy product team

On this page

Cross-platform clipboard apps compared
The short list
Cross-platform manager or cross-platform sync: two different things
What the built-in options do, and where they stop
Why phones are the hard part
Choosing by the devices you own
How this list was put together
Common questions
Official sources

Cross-platform clipboard apps compared

App	Runs on	How sync works	What syncs	Price
Clypy	Mac (Apple silicon), Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android	Direct on one network, else a relay; end-to-end encrypted	Full history: text, links, images	Free; sync is in $29.99 Pro
KDE Connect	Linux, Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone	Same network only; TLS	Current clip, text	Free, open source
CrossPaste	Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android	Same network only; end-to-end encrypted	Text, images, files	Free desktop; paid Pro on phones
Octoclip	Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android	Same network, or your WebDAV or S3 storage	Clip history	Free tier; from $19.99 once
ClipCascade	Windows, Mac, Linux, Android	Your server or a community server	Text, images, files	Free, open source
Phone Link	Windows, selected Android phones	Wi-Fi, or mobile data if allowed	Current item, text and images	Free, built in
SwiftKey	Android, Windows	Personal Microsoft account	Last text copy, for an hour	Free
Universal Clipboard	Mac, iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro	Same Apple Account, nearby	Current item, briefly	Free, built in
CopyQ	Windows, Mac, Linux	None built in; a tab can sit in a synced folder	That tab's items	Free, open source

The short list

Best for one history on every platformOur app
Clypy
Runs on:
macOS (Apple silicon), Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android
Price:
Free; Lifetime Pro $29.99 once
Unlimited, searchable history on each device for free. Pro syncs text, links and images between all of them, encrypted on the device that copied them: directly over Wi-Fi on the same network, and through a relay that cannot read the clips elsewhere. There is no account; devices pair by scanning a code.
Where it stops: Sync, the phone keyboards and the Paste Strip are Pro, and sync does not carry the contents of copied files. Phones cannot watch the clipboard in the background, so on iPhone and Android Clypy saves copies through its keyboard, the share sheet or when you open it. It is not open source, and the Mac app needs Apple silicon.
Download Clypy
Best free and open source option
KDE Connect
Runs on:
Linux, Windows, macOS (Apple silicon), Android, iPhone
Price:
Free, open source
KDE Connect links phones and computers for files, notifications and remote control, and shares clipboard text as part of that. KDE says its traffic goes directly over the local network, never the internet, encrypted with TLS 1.2. On GNOME, the GSConnect extension speaks the same protocol.
Where it stops: It shares only the current clip, text only, on the same network. From Android 10 on you tap Send clipboard to send a copy from the phone, and on iPhone you tap to push the clipboard to the computer.
KDE Connect Clypy vs KDE Connect
Best open source option with phone apps
CrossPaste
Runs on:
Windows, macOS, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android
Price:
Free, open source desktop; paid Pro on phones
An open source clipboard manager that syncs text, links, HTML, rich text, images and files between devices on your local network with no server, using what its makers describe as asymmetric end-to-end encryption. The iPhone app adds a keyboard for pasting from your history.
Where it stops: Sync stops when devices are on different networks. The phone apps are free to start, but their App Store listing puts unlimited device connections and unrestricted sync in a paid Pro tier.
CrossPaste
Best if you want to sync through your own cloud storage
Octoclip
Runs on:
Windows, macOS, iPhone, iPad, Android
Price:
Free tier; one-time purchase from $19.99
Nearby Sync goes directly between paired devices on the same network, and Cloud Sync goes through WebDAV or S3 storage you provide, with no Octoclip account. Set a master password and clips are encrypted on your device before upload. Licenses are one-time: $19.99 for two devices or $39.99 for five.
Where it stops: There is no Linux app. The free tier shortens history and allows one Nearby Sync device, and on iPhone it saves copies from other apps only while its Monitoring Window is open.
Octoclip
Best if you want to host the sync server yourself
ClipCascade
Runs on:
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
Price:
Free, open source
Syncs text, images and files through a server you run with Docker or Java, or through the developer's community server, with an optional peer-to-peer mode. Its README describes end-to-end encryption, which must be on for every device. Version 3.5.1 came out in November 2026.
Where it stops: There is no iPhone app. Automatic capture on Android needs permissions granted through ADB or Shizuku, and Android text is capped at about 1 MiB.
ClipCascade
Best built-in option for Windows and Android
Phone Link
Runs on:
Windows, with selected Android phones
Price:
Free, built in
On Samsung Galaxy phones with One UI 2.1 or later and selected HONOR, OPPO, OnePlus, Realme, ASUS, vivo and Xiaomi models, cross-device copy and paste shares text and images with your PC. On other Android phones, Microsoft SwiftKey syncs your latest text copy with Windows clipboard history for an hour.
Where it stops: One item at a time with no history, Windows only, and images over 1 MB are resized. Pixel phones are not on Microsoft's list, and SwiftKey's sync needs a personal Microsoft account and does not work on iPhone.
Phone Link Clypy vs Phone Link
Best if every device you own is Apple
Universal Clipboard
Runs on:
Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Price:
Free, built in
Copy on one Apple device and paste on another nearby, with nothing to install, once both use the same Apple Account with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Handoff on. It works between two Macs too.
Where it stops: It carries one item, holds it briefly, keeps no history, and never reaches Windows, Android or Linux.
Universal Clipboard
Best desktop-only manager for Windows, Mac and Linux
CopyQ
Runs on:
Windows, macOS 13 or later, Linux
Price:
Free, open source
If you want the same clipboard manager on every computer rather than a shared clipboard, CopyQ runs on all three with tabs, an item editor and scripting. You can link a tab to a folder, such as a Dropbox folder, so its items are stored as files a sync service carries to your other computers.
Where it stops: It has no phone apps and no built-in sync, and its documentation describes no encryption for the folder method.
CopyQ Clypy vs CopyQ

Cross-platform manager or cross-platform sync: two different things

A cross-platform clipboard manager runs on several operating systems, but that does not mean it connects them. CopyQ runs on Windows, macOS and Linux and PasteBar on Windows and macOS, yet each keeps its history on the computer it runs on. Clipboard sync is the other job: what you copy on one device turns up on another. Some tools move only the current item, like Universal Clipboard, Phone Link and KDE Connect. Others, like Clypy, CrossPaste and Octoclip, are clipboard managers whose clips reach every paired device.

What the built-in options do, and where they stop

Universal Clipboard passes one item between Apple devices signed into the same Apple Account. Windows syncs text between PCs on the same Microsoft or work account once you turn on Clipboard history across your devices in Settings, System, Clipboard. On Android, SwiftKey syncs your latest text copy with Windows, and Phone Link shares text and images on supported phones. None of them reach Linux, and none connects an iPhone to Windows or an Android phone to a Mac.

Windows clipboard history holds 25 items, and Microsoft describes its cross-device sync for text only.

Why phones are the hard part

Since Android 10, only the keyboard in use or the app on screen can read the clipboard, and iOS does not let apps watch it in the background. Every phone tool works around this, and the workaround decides how much effort each copy takes. KDE Connect puts a Send clipboard button in its Android notification, plus a Quick Settings tile on Android 14 and later. Octoclip on iPhone saves copies while its Monitoring Window is open. Clypy saves every copy while its keyboard is selected on Android; on iPhone it saves the clipboard when you open the app and each copy made while its keyboard is on screen.

Choosing by the devices you own

Windows and Android: Phone Link if your phone is on Microsoft's list and the last item is enough, SwiftKey for your last text copy on any phone, or Clypy, CrossPaste or Octoclip for a history. Mac and Android: nothing is built in, so KDE Connect for text, or CrossPaste, Octoclip, ClipCascade or Clypy. Linux and Android: KDE Connect (GSConnect on GNOME), CrossPaste, ClipCascade or Clypy; Octoclip has no Linux app. iPhone and Windows: CrossPaste, Octoclip or Clypy. Only Apple devices: Universal Clipboard, unless you want a history.

How this list was put together

Clypy makes this guide and one of the apps on it. It is listed first because syncing between different operating systems is what it is built for, with its limits stated as plainly as the others'. In November 2026 each app's platforms, price, license and sync model were checked on its own site, store listing, documentation or repository; sync and encryption details appear only where the maker documents them. The apps were not benchmarked against each other. Pushbullet is left out because its own site did not let us confirm the current state of its universal copy and paste.

Common questions

How do I sync my clipboard across devices?

Between devices from one maker, use the built-in feature: Universal Clipboard on Apple devices, or Clipboard history across your devices in Windows Settings, System, Clipboard. Across different operating systems, install the same app on every device, such as KDE Connect for text, or Clypy, CrossPaste, Octoclip or ClipCascade for full clips.

Can I sync the clipboard between Android and Windows?

Yes. Phone Link shares text and images on Samsung Galaxy and selected other phones, and SwiftKey syncs your last text copy from any Android phone for an hour. For a history on both, use an app such as Clypy, CrossPaste or Octoclip.

How do I sync the clipboard between a Mac and an Android phone?

Nothing is built in, because Universal Clipboard only links Apple devices. KDE Connect shares text for free on the same network (its stable Mac app is for Apple silicon), and CrossPaste, Octoclip, ClipCascade and Clypy sync full clips.

How do I sync the clipboard between Linux and Android?

KDE Connect, or GSConnect on GNOME, shares clipboard text over your local network; on Android you tap Send clipboard in its notification. CrossPaste and ClipCascade also carry images and files, and Clypy syncs a full history.

Does CopyQ sync between computers?

Not on its own. CopyQ can keep a tab as files in a folder, such as a Dropbox folder, and your sync service carries that folder to other computers. It has no phone apps.

Is there a free, open source clipboard sync app?

Yes. KDE Connect, CrossPaste's desktop app and ClipCascade are free and open source. KDE Connect and CrossPaste stay on your local network; ClipCascade syncs through a server you can host yourself.