Kept vs Alfred clipboard history
Alfred is a launcher; its clipboard history and snippets come with the Powerpack, a one-time purchase. If you own the Powerpack, it is a fine clipboard manager. Kept is the free, single-purpose alternative with the card at the cursor.
One of the Kept, compared pages.
| Kept | Alfred | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Needs the paid Powerpack |
| Open with | ⇧⌘V for the card, ⌥⇧⌘V for the panel, or click the menu bar icon | A hotkey you assign, commonly ⌥⌘C |
| Where it opens | At your text cursor; the panel under the menu bar icon | The Alfred window |
| Return | Return pastes into the app you were in | Return pastes |
| Search | Full text, as you type, in the card and the panel | Type to search |
| Snippets | Pinned items, shown first | Snippets with keywords and placeholders |
| Sync | None, on purpose | Preferences sync through a folder you choose |
| Network | No networking code; checked on every build | The app checks for updates and the Powerpack licence |
| Terminal | The kept command lists, searches and copies history | None |
Keep Alfred if
- You rely on Alfred snippets with keywords and placeholders. Kept has pins, not expansion.
- You own the Powerpack and like one window for everything.
Switch to Kept if
- You do not want to buy a launcher to get a clipboard.
- You want the card at the cursor and Return to paste, with nothing else running.
- You want plain text into web apps and terminals by default.
Switching
In Kept's welcome window, or in Settings › General, choose "Alfred" under "Use the shortcut from". Kept then opens with the shortcut your hands already know. Your Alfred history stays in Alfred; Kept starts collecting from the moment it runs. Download Kept, free, for macOS 14 or later.
Facts as of October 2026, from Alfred's own documentation. Something wrong or out of date? Say so and it gets fixed.