Comparison
RAAD vs PastePal
PastePal is a universal Mac/iPhone/iPad clipboard manager with deep text transforms. It's genuinely strong on one purchase unlocks mac, iphone, and ipad with optional icloud sync, 75+ text transforms, including custom javascript transforms, privacy-forward: local by default, offline activation available.
RAAD takes a different approach: everything runs on-device, with snippets with variable placeholders ship today — pastepal lists this as "coming soon", an mcp server with write access and an audit trail, which pastepal doesn’t have, secret redaction strips things like api keys before they’re ever written to disk, sealed pinboards behind touch id. The table below is checked against both apps directly — see sources at the bottom.
| Feature | RAAD | PastePal |
|---|---|---|
| Capture | ||
| Unlimited clipboard history | Yes | Yes |
| Rich content types(Not just plain text — rich text, links, colors) | Yes | Yes |
| Image & file capture | Yes | Yes |
| OCR (text from images) | Yes | Yes |
| Find | ||
| Keyword search | Yes | Yes |
| Semantic search(Search by meaning, not exact text) | Yes | No |
| Fuzzy / typo-tolerant search | Yes | Unconfirmed |
| Filter by app, date & type | Yes | Yes |
| Pinboards / collections | Yes | Yes |
| Favorites | Yes | Yes |
| Paste | ||
| Snippets with variables | Yes | No |
| Abbreviation expansion | Yes | No |
| Paste stack(Queue multiple items, paste in sequence) | Yes | Yes |
| Quick paste (⌘1-9) | Yes | Yes |
| Paste as plain text | Yes | Yes |
| Text transforms(Case, trim, encode, and similar one-click edits) | Yes | Yes |
| AI | ||
| MCP server(Exposes clipboard history to AI clients like Claude) | Yes | No |
| MCP write access + audit trail | Yes | No |
| Platform | ||
| Popup anchored at cursor | Yes | Partial |
| Grid view | Yes | Unconfirmed |
| CLI | Yes | No |
| Apple Shortcuts | Yes | Partial |
| Privacy | ||
| Works fully offline | Yes | Yes |
| No account required | Yes | Yes |
| Secret redaction before disk(Detects and strips things like API keys before they touch storage) | Yes | No |
| Password manager exclusion | Yes | Unconfirmed |
| Concealed / transient pasteboard support | Yes | Unconfirmed |
| Screen-share exclusion | Yes | Unconfirmed |
| Biometric-sealed collections | Yes | Unconfirmed |
| Encrypted local backup | Yes | Unconfirmed |
| Pricing & licensing | ||
| Open source | No | No |
| One-time purchase option | Yes | Yes |
| Subscription required | Yes | No |
| Free tier(14-day full trial, not a permanent free tier) | Partial | Yes |
Why people switch to RAAD
- Snippets with variable placeholders ship today — PastePal lists this as "coming soon"
- An MCP server with write access and an audit trail, which PastePal doesn’t have
- Secret redaction strips things like API keys before they’re ever written to disk
- Sealed pinboards behind Touch ID
Not yet available — on the roadmap
The table above only lists what you can use today. These are built and tested but not shipped in the current release, so they’re never counted as a “yes” above.
- On-device AI actions
- Model-backed actions (summarize, rewrite, extract) exist in code but are gated off in the shipping build. Instant text transforms (case, encoding, etc.) already ship and are listed separately.
- End-to-end encrypted cloud sync
- Sync engine and schema exist and are tested, but not wired into the shipping app — no Settings tab, no way to turn it on yet.
- Team / shared memory
- The encryption layer for shared team boards exists in code but has no shipping UI yet.
- iOS / multi-device app
- RAAD is Mac-only today. Universal Clipboard lets you paste into iOS manually, but there is no RAAD iOS app.
Common questions
Is PastePal cheaper than RAAD?
PastePal’s Pro unlock is a $14.99 one-time purchase covering Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Check the pricing table above for RAAD’s current tiers — RAAD is Mac-only today, so PastePal has an edge if you specifically need the same app on iOS.
Does PastePal have snippet variables like RAAD?
Not yet — PastePal lists "Smart variables" as coming soon, not shipped. RAAD’s snippets with variable tokens and inline abbreviation expansion are available today.
PastePal has 75+ text transforms — does RAAD compete there?
RAAD ships 38 built-in paste transforms plus custom on-device AI actions. PastePal has more raw transform count including custom JavaScript transforms; RAAD leans on AI actions for the more complex cases instead of a scripting layer.
Does RAAD sync to iPhone like PastePal does?
Not yet — RAAD is Mac-only today. Universal Clipboard lets you paste into iOS manually, but there’s no RAAD iOS app. PastePal’s cross-device sync works today if that’s what you need right now.
Pricing
Buy it once, or keep it updated.
Every plan unlocks every feature. Try all of it free for 14 days first — no card, no account.
Personal
…/ month
14-day free trial
Full clipboard history, on-device search, and an MCP server for AI tools.
- Unlimited clipboard history
- On-device semantic search
- MCP server, CLI, and Shortcuts
- Pinboards & Quick Paste
Lifetime
…one-time
Everything in Personal, once, forever. No subscription.
- Everything in Personal
- Free updates within the major version
- One Mac, transferable
Team
…/ month, 5 seats
14-day free trial
A shared, end-to-end encrypted board for the whole team.
- Everything in Personal, per seat
- Shared team snippets (E2E encrypted)
- Admin seat management
Prices shown in your local currency where Paddle supports it. VAT and sales tax are calculated at checkout.
Feature and pricing details verified against each vendor’s own site or App Store listing: PastePal (2026-08-17). Found something out of date? Email hello@raad.app.
See how RAAD compares to Paste, Maccy, Raycast, Alfred, Pastebot, CleanClip, Copy 'Em, Unclutter, Flycut, or see the full comparison.