Device guides · 2026
Share Clipboard Between Mac and Windows
Each side has a good clipboard of its own. Universal Clipboard links your Apple devices and Windows clipboard history syncs between PCs, but they ignore each other, and iCloud for Windows does not carry the clipboard either. If you work on a Mac and a PC, these are the honest options, from a free keyboard-and-mouse share to a synced history.
Your options
Three ways across the Apple–Microsoft line
What each one needs, and where each falls short. Our own card has a catch too.
Input Leap (or Barrier)
Computers side by side on one desk
- Price
- Free (open source)
- Runs on
- Windows · macOS · Linux
Shares one keyboard and mouse across computers on your network, and the clipboard comes along: copy on one screen, move the pointer over, paste on the other.
The catch: Only while the machines are on the same network and connected. One computer acts as the server. Clipboard sharing does not work yet on Linux under Wayland, and there is no history.
Pasteable
We make this oneMac and PC in different rooms, or a history
- Price
- Free · Pro $6/mo or $60/yr · $80 founder lifetime
- Runs on
- Mac · Windows · Linux · Android · Web (iPhone app in App Store review)
Install it on each computer and sign in with the same account. Copy as usual: the clip lands in your history on the other machines, end-to-end encrypted, and Ctrl+Shift+V (⌘+Shift+V on a Mac) pastes it.
The catch: Sync needs an account and an internet connection. Free syncs your 25 most recent clips; Pro syncs up to 10,000. It shares your clipboard history, not your keyboard and mouse.
CopyQ
Desktop power users who script their tools
- Price
- Free (open source)
- Runs on
- Linux · Windows · macOS
A scriptable clipboard history on the desktop. It can sync a tab with a folder you keep in Dropbox or on a network share.
The catch: No phone app, so it does not move text from your phone at all. Pair it with something else for that.
Pasteable vs CopyQ
With Pasteable
Mac to Windows with Pasteable
- 1
Install on Mac
Download Pasteable for Mac (macOS 11 or later, Apple Silicon and Intel), sign in, and turn on sync.
- 2
Install on Windows
Download Pasteable for Windows (Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit), sign in, and turn on sync. Use the same account on both.
- 3
Copy as usual
Text, rich text, links, images, files, and code go into your history and sync, end-to-end encrypted.
- 4
Paste on the other one
Press Ctrl+Shift+V to open your history there, pick the clip, and paste.
Windows to Mac
- 1
Copy on the PC
Copy as usual with Ctrl+C. Pasteable keeps it, including images and files.
- 2
Paste on the Mac
Press ⌘+Shift+V to open your history, then paste. Formatting from rich text comes across where the target app accepts it.
v3.2.25
Pasteable for Android is on Google Play. The iPhone app is in App Store review right now. Join the waitlist and we’ll email you the moment it’s live, or use the web app on your iPhone today.
Good to know
Details for Mac and Windows PC
Keyboard shortcuts differ
Pasteable opens with ⌘+Shift+V on the Mac and Ctrl+Shift+V on Windows. With Input Leap, ⌘ and Ctrl sit in different places, so check its modifier-key settings for each screen.
Files, not only text
Copy a file in Finder or File Explorer and it syncs as a file. Free handles files up to 1 GB; Pro goes to 5 GB.
Already using CopyQ?
CopyQ runs on both systems and can sync a tab with a folder. Put that folder in a shared cloud drive and both machines see the same tab, as private as that drive is.
FAQ
Common questions
Does Universal Clipboard work with Windows?+
No. Universal Clipboard is for Apple devices signed in to the same Apple Account. iCloud for Windows syncs things like photos and files, not the clipboard.
Does Windows clipboard history (Win+V) sync with a Mac?+
No. “Clipboard history across your devices” syncs between Windows PCs signed in to the same Microsoft or work account only.
Is there a free way to share a clipboard between a Mac and a PC?+
Yes, if they sit together on the same network: Input Leap (an open-source fork of Barrier) shares one keyboard and mouse across both and passes the clipboard along. CopyQ with a shared folder is another free route.
Does Pasteable need the Mac and PC on the same network?+
No. It syncs over the internet, end-to-end encrypted, so a work Mac and a home PC share one history.
Is it free?+
Input Leap and CopyQ are free and open source. Pasteable is free to start with 25 end-to-end encrypted synced clips and files up to 1 GB; Pro syncs up to 10,000 clips and files up to 5 GB for $6/month, $60/year, or a one-time Lifetime licence ($80 founder price for the first 100 buyers, then $100).
Keep reading
Related guides and comparisons
Your clipboard, on every device
Free on Mac, Windows, and Linux, with 25 end-to-end encrypted synced clips. Your phone can join later.
v3.2.25
Pasteable for Android is on Google Play. The iPhone app is in App Store review right now. Join the waitlist and we’ll email you the moment it’s live, or use the web app on your iPhone today.
On your phone? Open the web app