Comparison
RAAD vs Raycast
Raycast is a launcher with clipboard history as one of many built-in tools. It's genuinely strong on stores original formats (rtf, html, images, files, links, colors) and lets you switch paste format, built-in ocr text recognition on copied images, deep ai integration, including free local models via ollama.
RAAD takes a different approach: everything runs on-device, with mcp access includes writes with an audited trail — raycast’s ai features aren’t built around your clipboard specifically, secret redaction strips things like api keys before they’re ever written to disk, sealed pinboards behind touch id, encrypted local backups that don’t depend on a raycast account. The table below is checked against both apps directly — see sources at the bottom.
| Feature | RAAD | Raycast |
|---|---|---|
| Capture | ||
| Unlimited clipboard history | Yes | Partial |
| 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 | Partial |
| Fuzzy / typo-tolerant search | Yes | Unconfirmed |
| Filter by app, date & type | Yes | Partial |
| Pinboards / collections | Yes | No |
| Favorites | Yes | Yes |
| Paste | ||
| Snippets with variables | Yes | Yes |
| Abbreviation expansion | Yes | Yes |
| Paste stack(Queue multiple items, paste in sequence) | Yes | Yes |
| Quick paste (⌘1-9) | Yes | No |
| Paste as plain text | Yes | Yes |
| Text transforms(Case, trim, encode, and similar one-click edits) | Yes | No |
| AI | ||
| MCP server(Exposes clipboard history to AI clients like Claude) | Yes | Yes |
| MCP write access + audit trail | Yes | No |
| Platform | ||
| Popup anchored at cursor | Yes | Unconfirmed |
| Grid view | Yes | No |
| CLI | Yes | Partial |
| Apple Shortcuts | Yes | Yes |
| Privacy | ||
| Works fully offline | Yes | Partial |
| No account required | Yes | Unconfirmed |
| 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 | No |
| Subscription required | Yes | Yes |
| Free tier(14-day full trial, not a permanent free tier) | Partial | Yes |
Why people switch to RAAD
- MCP access includes writes with an audited trail — Raycast’s AI features aren’t built around your clipboard specifically
- Secret redaction strips things like API keys before they’re ever written to disk
- Sealed pinboards behind Touch ID
- Encrypted local backups that don’t depend on a Raycast account
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
Raycast’s clipboard history is free — why pay for RAAD?
Raycast’s free tier caps clipboard retention at about 3 months; longer retention needs Raycast Pro ($8-10/mo). RAAD is a dedicated clipboard manager, not a feature bolted onto a launcher — full history, semantic search, OCR, and pinboards without a Pro subscription.
Can RAAD replace Raycast entirely?
No, and it isn’t trying to — Raycast is a general-purpose launcher (app switching, window management, extensions) with clipboard history as one feature among many. RAAD is a dedicated clipboard manager. Plenty of people run both.
Does RAAD have an equivalent to Raycast’s "Ask Clipboard"?
Not yet — natural-language Q&A over your history is on the roadmap. Today, RAAD’s on-device semantic search already lets you find a clip by what it means rather than an exact match, across your full history rather than just the most recent item.
Is Raycast available on Windows?
Yes, Raycast supports both macOS and Windows. RAAD is Mac-only.
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: Raycast (2026-08-17). Found something out of date? Email hello@raad.app.
See how RAAD compares to Paste, Maccy, Alfred, Pastebot, PastePal, CleanClip, Copy 'Em, Unclutter, Flycut, or see the full comparison.