CLIPBOARD · 5 min read
Tegaro vs Maccy: Mac Clipboard History Compared
Maccy is a beloved open-source clipboard manager. Here is how its minimalist design compares to Tegaro’s private clipboard with on-device OCR.
Tegaro and Maccy are both lightweight, private Mac clipboard tools that avoid third-party cloud sync, but they offer different feature sets. Maccy is a dedicated, keyboard-centric clipboard history popup focused strictly on copying and pasting text snippets. Tegaro provides private clipboard history with on-device Apple Vision OCR (allowing you to search text inside screenshots), pinned items, quick 1–9 pasting, and integrates with display, battery, and typing tools in one menu bar icon.
At a Glance: Feature Comparison Matrix
| Capability |  Maccy | Tegaro |
|---|---|---|
| Clipboard History Storage Both keep history strictly on-device | Local history (text, images, files) | Local history (text, images, payloads) |
| Search Text Inside Images (OCR) Tegaro lets you find screenshots by image text | No | Yes (on-device Apple Vision OCR) |
| Quick 1–9 Pasting Menu Paste top clips without opening full panel | Via popup search index | Dedicated Quick Clipboard 1–9 menu |
| App Exclusions & Sensitive Data Both protect passwords and sensitive data | Yes (blacklist apps) | Yes (app exclusions & auto-skip password managers) |
| Cloud Sync / Network Activity Clipboard history never leaves your Mac | None (100% offline) | No cloud sync; network only for updates, crash diagnostics, model downloads and the AI limits you connect |
| Additional System Modules Tegaro consolidates multiple menu bar apps | None (clipboard only) | Displays, Battery Health, Typing Switcher |
| Open Source Maccy is free on GitHub, $9.99 in App Store | Yes (MIT license on GitHub) | No (commercial local-first software) |
| Pricing One license covers all 8 Tegaro tools | Free or $9.99 optional tip | 14-day free trial, then $29.99/yr or $100 lifetime |
When to Choose Maccy
Users who want a completely free, open-source, single-purpose clipboard popup with minimalist keyboard navigation and zero additional utilities.
When to Choose Tegaro
Users who need to search text inside screenshots (on-device OCR), want quick 1–9 number paste menus, and prefer having their clipboard manager integrated into a comprehensive local-first Mac utility suite.
Explore full details on the Tegaro Clipboard module, which runs completely locally on your Mac.
Architecture and Privacy Comparison
Both apps respect user privacy by refusing cloud synchronization. Maccy operates via macOS Accessibility and pasteboard notifications. Tegaro reads system pasteboard events only after you enable the Clipboard module (it is off by default), runs Apple Vision OCR locally in background threads, and stores images with automatic retention limits (1, 7, or 30 days).
Tegaro requires no accounts, no cloud sync, and transmits zero telemetry. All operations execute strictly on your Mac.
How to Switch from Maccy to Tegaro
- Note your preferred clipboard hotkey in Maccy (typically Shift+Command+C).
- Disable or quit Maccy to release the global hotkey.
- In Tegaro settings, enable the Clipboard module and set your retention preference (7 days recommended).
- Assign your preferred hotkey in Tegaro to bring up the Quick Clipboard or full search window.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Tegaro upload my copied clipboard items to a cloud server?
No. Tegaro is 100% local-first. Clipboard history, thumbnails, and recognized image text remain on your Mac’s local disk and are never uploaded to any server or AI service.
Can Tegaro find text inside screenshots like an invoice or code snippet?
Yes. Tegaro uses Apple Vision framework on-device to perform OCR on copied images. You can search words that appear inside an image without manual tagging.
Can I exclude password managers like 1Password or Bitwarden?
Yes. Tegaro automatically respects concealed pasteboard types and lets you add specific apps to an exclusion list so sensitive credentials are never stored.
Replace Multiple Single-Purpose Mac Utilities Today
Tegaro unites Clipboard, Clipboard, Displays, Power telemetry, and Typing correction into one local-first app. One license, zero bloat.