Ditto vs CopyQ (2026): Which Clipboard Manager to Use

Choose Ditto if you want a fast, searchable clipboard history on Windows that works well with its defaults. Choose CopyQ if you want tabs, item editing, ignore rules and a real scripting interface, or if you also use Linux or macOS. Both are free, open source under GPL-3.0, and store your history locally.

If you're still deciding whether you need either, start with Ditto vs CopyQ vs Win+V, which includes the built-in Windows option. If you mostly move screenshots and files, CopyQ vs a drag-out shelf covers that case.

Ditto vs CopyQ at a glance

Everything above comes from the projects' own pages and release lists. Neither tool was benchmarked for this comparison, so no memory or speed figures are given.

Everyday search and paste

Both tools do the basic job well: copy as usual, open the history, type part of what you want, and paste it.

In Ditto, press Ctrl+` (the backtick key), start typing to search, and press Enter or double-click to paste into the window you were in. Shift+Enter pastes plain text only. The list shows thumbnails of copied images.

In CopyQ, open the main window from the tray or with a shortcut you set, type to filter the current tab, and paste the selected item. Because history lives in tabs, you can keep, for example, a tab of links separate from general copies.

If retrieving recent copies is all you need, Ditto gets you there with less setup.

Organising and editing

Ditto organises with groups: press F7 to create a group and move the selected clips into it. It also offers up to three copy buffers, extra clipboard slots with their own copy and paste shortcuts. You can edit a clip before pasting it: the latest release restored Ditto's built-in clip editor, and the release before it added support for editing images in external editors.

CopyQ is built around organising. You can create, sort and rename tabs, drag items between them, edit items in place, and add notes or tags. If you treat your clipboard as a set of small collections, CopyQ fits better.

Automation and scripting

This is the biggest difference.

Ditto can run a short ChaiScript when an item is copied or pasted, set in its advanced options. Returning true cancels the copy or paste. Its wiki has examples such as moving clips that contain email addresses into a group or removing a leading space before pasting. Scripts handle plain ASCII text only.

CopyQ has a documented scripting API, custom commands that can run automatically on new clipboard content or from a shortcut, and a command-line interface. For example, these add an item to a tab named "notes" and read it back:

copyq tab notes add "This is the first note."
copyq tab notes read 0

On Windows, CopyQ's documentation notes that command output may not appear in PowerShell or Command Prompt without a workaround.

If you want the clipboard to run code, such as stripping tracking parameters from every copied link or routing items into tabs, CopyQ is the better base. When CopyQ commands beat any shelf has worked examples.

Passwords and privacy

Both store history on your PC. Ditto's site lists no login, no cloud and no telemetry. CopyQ's documentation says it doesn't send anything over the network.

They differ in how they handle sensitive copies:

• CopyQ recognises clipboard content that password managers mark as secret, including the Windows "Clipboard Viewer Ignore" format, and by default doesn't store, show or process it. You can also ignore copies from chosen windows or containing chosen text. Tab data is unencrypted on disk unless you turn on CopyQ's encryption option.
• Ditto lets you exclude clips that match a regular expression, optionally only from a specific process. If copies from your password manager still appear, add a rule for that program.

Turn off Windows clipboard history once your chosen manager is set up, so the same copies aren't stored twice. How to stop clipboard managers from saving secrets covers each tool.

Sync between computers

Ditto can keep clipboards in sync between computers, and its project page says the data is encrypted when sent over the network. This is a direct connection you configure, not a cloud service.

CopyQ has no built-in sync. Neither tool offers a phone app. For text sync between Windows PCs without extra software, see what Microsoft's clipboard sync covers.

Platforms and maintenance

Ditto is Windows only. Its latest release, 3.25.113.0, added an installer that supports 64-bit and Arm64 systems.

CopyQ runs on Windows, Linux and macOS, so one set of habits and commands carries across systems. If you dual-boot, that alone may decide it; see clipboard managers that work on Linux.

Both are maintained on GitHub, where you can read the code, file issues and check release history.

Who should pick which

Pick Ditto if

• you mainly want to find and paste something you copied earlier,
• you prefer good defaults to configuration,
• you want to sync history between two Windows PCs on your network.

Pick CopyQ if

• you want copies filtered, transformed or sorted automatically,
• you want password-manager copies ignored without writing your own rules,
• you use Linux or macOS as well as Windows.

Stay where you are if your current tool already does the job. Neither project documents importing the other's history, so switching means starting a fresh history.

Try both in 30 minutes

1. Install the one you don't use yet, and give it a different shortcut so the two don't clash.
2. Copy a paragraph, a link with tracking parameters, a small screenshot, and a test entry from your password manager (use a dummy entry).
3. Restart the PC and check which tool still has everything.
4. Check which one stored the dummy password, and whether you could stop it.
5. Uninstall the one you liked less, and turn off Windows clipboard history if you haven't already. To compare more than two tools, score them in 10 minutes with weighted criteria.

FAQ

Is CopyQ better than Ditto?

For scripting, tabs and cross-platform use, yes. For quick search-and-paste on Windows with little setup, Ditto is simpler.

Is Ditto still maintained?

Yes. Its most recent GitHub release at the time of writing is 3.25.113.0 from September 2025.

Can I use Ditto or CopyQ at work?

Both are free under GPL-3.0 with no separate commercial licence. Your organisation's software policy still applies.

Related reading

• Ditto vs CopyQ vs Win+V: Which Should You Use?
• Ditto Clipboard Manager Review: When It's the Right Pick
• CopyQ Review: When to Choose This Scriptable Clipboard Manager
• Best Open-Source Clipboard Managers in 2026

Sources

• Ditto (GitHub) and Ditto releases — formats, default shortcut, local-first policy, install options, release notes and dates.
• Ditto wiki — groups, plain-text paste, copy buffers, ChaiScript scripting, regex exclusions.
• Ditto project page (SourceForge) — search, thumbnails, SQLite storage, sync encrypted over the network.
• CopyQ and CopyQ on GitHub — features, platforms, licence, Windows install options.
• CopyQ releases — 17.0.0 release.
• CopyQ command line (Read the Docs) — the tab notes add and read examples and the Windows output note.
• CopyQ security (Read the Docs) — secret-content handling, encryption option, no network use.

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