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CopyQ VS Putback

Compare CopyQ VS Putback and see what are their differences

CopyQ

CopyQ : Clipboard Manager with Advanced Features.

Rating
0 reviews
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Putback

Putback is a Mac window manager that puts every window back where it was when your displays change, and switches named layouts with one hotkey.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Paid Free trial $19 / One-off (1 Mac. Family 5 Macs $29, Team 20 Macs $79)
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Alternatives Is it good?
Notivo
Notivo is a private, per-person notebook for managers. Capture feedback, commitments, and 1:1 context as it happens — from web, iOS, WhatsApp, email, ChatGPT, or Claude — then get it back later, organized by person. sponsored

Which is more popular?

Clipboard Manager popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
180 vs 17

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

CopyQ
Putback
Website hluk.github.io putback.app
Pricing —
Paid Free trial $19 / One-off (1 Mac. Family 5 Macs $29, Team 20 Macs $79) Official pricing
Platforms —
Mac
Company — Startup from Australia · 1 - 9 employees · 2026
Listed in
Clipboard Manager Productivity Mac Note Taking +1
Window Manager OSX Window Manager Mac Tools OSX Tools Productivity Menu Bar Apps +3

About CopyQ and Putback

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

CopyQ
Putback

No description of CopyQ yet.

Every time your display setup changes, macOS moves your windows and does not move them back. Undock from a monitor and everything piles onto the laptop screen. Dock again and it stays piled. Putback is a menu bar window manager for macOS that fixes this. It learns where your windows sit while you...

Read more about Putback

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

CopyQ 7 features
Putback 8 features
  • Multi-Platform Support
    CopyQ is available on Windows, Linux, and macOS, offering wide compatibility across different operating systems.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source application, CopyQ is free to use and allows users to modify the source code to fit their needs.
  • Feature-Rich
    CopyQ includes a variety of features such as tabbed items, scripting capabilities, and advanced command-line options, making it versatile for different use cases.
  • Customizable
    The application allows extensive customization of shortcuts, themes, and commands to cater to individual user preferences.
  • Integrated Search
    CopyQ has a powerful search functionality that makes it easy to find specific clipboard items quickly.
  • Item Management
    The software allows users to organize clipboard items into tabs for better management and categorization.
  • Plugins
    CopyQ supports plugins, which extend its functionality and allow integration with other tools and services.

Possible disadvantages

  • Complexity
    The abundance of features and customization options can be overwhelming for new users, leading to a steep learning curve.
  • Resource Intensive
    CopyQ can consume a significant amount of system resources, particularly when handling a large number of clipboard items.
  • User Interface
    Some users find the user interface to be less intuitive or dated compared to other clipboard managers.
  • Inconsistent Updates
    While CopyQ is actively maintained, updates and new features may not be as frequent or consistent as some users would prefer.
  • Configuration Complexity
    Advanced configuration options might require technical knowledge, making it less accessible for non-technical users.
  • Lack of Cloud Sync
    CopyQ does not inherently support cloud synchronization, which could be a drawback for users who wish to sync their clipboard data across multiple devices.
  • Restores windows on display change
    Puts every window back on the screen and in the position it came from when you dock, undock or plug in a monitor.
  • A memory for every desk
    Keeps a separate layout for each display setup: laptop only, desk with a monitor, office dock.
  • Scenes with one hotkey
    Name any arrangement as a Scene and switch to it with a single hotkey.
  • Scene Studio
    Draw a desk with a box for each app, even apps that are not open yet, plus a wallpaper per Scene.
  • Triggers
    Apply a Scene by time or calendar, like Coding at 9am or Meeting for a video call. Off by default.
  • Stash
    Tucks every window aside with one shortcut, then brings them all back exactly where they were.
  • Undo and history
    Undo the whole desk, and see every restore with the reason it happened.
  • Private, no account
    Window data never leaves your Mac. One-time purchase, no subscription, signed and notarized.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

CopyQ
Putback

Overall verdict

  • CopyQ is considered a good choice for those looking for an advanced clipboard manager with extensive customization options. Its open-source nature and active community support contribute to its reliability and continuous improvement.

Why this product is good

  • CopyQ is a highly versatile clipboard manager that offers a range of features such as tabbed organization, search functionality, and custom scripts to enhance productivity. It supports multiple formats like images, text, and HTML, and offers cross-platform compatibility, making it a valuable tool for users who frequently handle a wide variety of clipboard data.

Recommended for

    CopyQ is recommended for developers, writers, and power users who require strong clipboard management capabilities and are comfortable with configuring custom scripts or settings to optimize their workflow.

Overall verdict

  • Putback is a niche app designed to help resellers and organizers track items that need to be returned to their proper place, which can be genuinely useful for people managing inventory, decluttering, or reselling goods, though its value depends heavily on your specific workflow needs and how well it integrates with tools you already use.

Why this product is good

  • Helps maintain organization by tracking items that need to be put back or returned
  • Can save time by reducing the need to remember or manually log misplaced items
  • Useful for resellers who need to track inventory location and status
  • Simple, focused functionality without unnecessary feature bloat

Recommended for

  • Resellers managing physical inventory across multiple locations
  • People decluttering or organizing home spaces who need a tracking system
  • Small business owners who need lightweight inventory location tracking
  • Users who prefer simple single-purpose apps over complex all-in-one solutions

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

CopyQ 3 videos + Add
Putback 0 videos + Add

CopyQ text snippet manager

More videos

  • - CopyQ Clipboard Manager
  • - CopyQ search your clipboard history and paste from the past

No Putback videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
CopyQ
Putback
100% 100%
Clipboard Manager
0% 0%
0% 0%
OSX Tools
100% 100%
100% 100%
Productivity
0% 0%
0% 0%
Mac Tools
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing CopyQ and Putback.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Putback's answer:

Mac users who move between display setups: a MacBook that docks to a monitor at the desk, a second screen at the office, a laptop on the couch. Developers, designers and anyone who runs a lot of windows and is tired of putting them back by hand every morning.

What makes your product unique?

Putback's answer:

Most Mac window managers snap windows into place when you ask. Putback remembers. It learns where your windows sit while you work, keeps a separate memory for every display setup, and puts everything back when that setup returns. Named Scenes, drawn in Scene Studio and switched with one hotkey, turn any arrangement into something you can recall in a second.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

Putback's answer:

Rectangle and Magnet are great at snapping a window to half the screen, and Putback runs happily alongside them. Choose Putback if your problem is that your windows get scrambled every time you dock, undock or plug in a monitor, or if you want whole desks you can switch between with a hotkey. It is a one-time purchase with a 7 day free trial, no account, and your window data never leaves your Mac. On first launch it even checks your Mission Control settings and tells you if the free macOS fix is enough before you pay.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

Putback's answer:

A native macOS app in Swift and SwiftUI, using the macOS Accessibility API to move windows and Sparkle for updates. Licensing and the website run on Cloudflare (Workers, D1 and Pages).

What's the story behind your product?

Putback's answer:

Putback launched in July 2026 with a simple pitch: unplug your MacBook and macOS piles every window onto one screen. The launch post passed 60,000 views and the replies split down the middle, half saying "I've needed this for years" and half saying "my Mac already does this." So we went and found out. The real answer is two Mission Control settings most people never touch, and we published that free fix ourselves. Even with those settings, restores still fail when a dock reconnects slowly or an app resists being moved, and nothing in macOS remembers more than one desk or lets you name a layout. That gap is Putback. About half of its first features came straight from those launch replies.

User comments

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Alternatives to CopyQ and Putback

When comparing CopyQ and Putback, you can also consider the following products.

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