Overview

Relic puts copied items into a vault that syncs across devices. Search goes beyond matching copied text: queries can use meaning or date phrases, and OCR makes text inside screenshots searchable. Users can title, tag, annotate, save, and set reminders for items, while snippets and rich text support broaden its use beyond a plain clipboard history.

Desktop apps capture copies automatically. On phones, users must share material to Relic or use a shortcut or tile, so mobile capture is less automatic. A command-line tool can read and search a vault, and the help guide describes connecting AI agents such as Claude Code to search, save, and retrieve items. Relic is made by Ember Technologies, LLC, in Kalispell, Montana, and built by founder Jordan Gibbs.

Key features

Search and local processing

Text search, semantic search, date-phrase queries, and OCR provide several routes back to an item, particularly useful when the original wording is forgotten or the material was captured as an image. Tagging, OCR, image captioning, and semantic search run on the user's device, with no cloud AI. That favors users who want these capabilities without sending content to a cloud AI service.

Privacy and self-hosting

Relic encrypts content on-device with XChaCha20-Poly1305 and uses Argon2id to derive the wrapping key; the server stores encrypted content. The maker says it cannot read content, titles, notes, or tags, though it collects service metadata such as account email and item counts. The apps, sync server, encryption code, and self-host stack are open source, and the sync server can be run on your own hardware for free under AGPL-3.0. Self-hosting avoids an account with Relic, but means the user's hardware sets the limits and support is community-based on GitHub rather than the priority support included with Pro.

Capture and developer access

Automatic desktop capture suits people who want a running history without changing their habits. Phone users need to share each item or invoke a shortcut or tile, a meaningful extra step for anyone expecting silent background capture. Terminal access and the documented AI-agent integrations make the vault more useful to developers who want to retrieve or add material from their existing tools.

Pricing

The hosted Free plan costs 0.00 USD per free, with no card and no time limit. Its 3 synced devices, 250 MB, last 500 copies, and 100 pinned keepsakes are enough to assess the workflow, but the device and storage caps make it a constrained long-term choice for larger histories. Older copies return if you upgrade.

Self-host costs 0.00 USD per free, billed $0 forever on your own hardware. There is no Relic account, and your hardware sets the limits. It is the strongest fit for technically comfortable users who want control over hosting and can accept community support on GitHub.

Pro costs 5.00 USD per month, billed $5 /mo billed yearly, or $60 today; month to month costs $7. It raises the allowance to 25 GB, supports files up to 100 MB and 10 synced devices, removes item limits, and includes priority support. Pro suits an individual whose vault exceeds Free's caps but who does not need unlimited devices or Max's larger storage allowance.

Max costs 8.00 USD per month, billed $8 /mo billed yearly, or $96 today; month to month costs $12. It includes 250 GB, files up to 500 MB, unlimited devices, and unlimited active share links. Choose it when Pro's storage, file-size, or device limits are too restrictive; otherwise Pro costs less. There is no free trial.

Platforms

Relic supports Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iPhone, and web, with an API and self-hosted deployment also listed. This range suits people who move between desktop and mobile systems, though the phone capture step is less seamless than desktop's automatic collection.

Who it's for

Relic is a good fit for people who routinely need to find old copied text, screenshot content, or saved snippets across several devices, and for users who value on-device processing or want to host the sync server themselves. Developers may also value its terminal tool and AI-agent integrations. It is less suitable for someone who expects phones to capture copied content automatically, or whose needs exceed Free's limits but do not justify a paid plan.

Pros and cons

Broad retrieval options: semantic search, date phrases, and OCR make the vault useful when a simple text match is not enough.
Privacy-conscious design: on-device AI and encrypted server storage limit what the service can read, while open-source components and self-hosting offer additional control.
Useful free self-hosting: the server runs on your hardware without a Relic account or subscription, though you take on the hosting and rely on community support.
Uneven capture across devices: desktop capture is automatic, but phone users must share content or use a shortcut or tile.
Restrictive hosted Free caps: three devices, 250 MB, and a 500-copy history can make upgrading necessary for an established multi-device archive.

Alternatives

Clipboard Manager Software is the broader category to browse if Relic's capture model or plan limits are not a fit.

Choose Pasteable if its free tier's unlimited local history and 25 synced clips better match a split between a large local archive and a smaller synced set. ClipboardFusion is another freemium option, with a personal-only free plan and a Pro Standard lifetime license for $19.00 USD once. Clipman is a free, open-source alternative under the MIT License with an optional self-hosted server. Octoclip offers free cross-device copy and paste, Nearby Sync, history, quick search, and cloud sync experience. Clipdiary is Windows-only and has a free personal license alongside a paid personal license. Clipbara is a macOS option with a free DMG or Homebrew route for macOS 14 Sonoma or later. OmniClip is free across Android, browser extension, iOS, and web, though storage limits may apply. Buddi is a free budgeting application, not a clipboard manager.

Verdict

Choose Relic if searchable cross-device history, on-device AI, and the option to self-host matter more than seamless mobile capture or an expansive free hosted tier. Its retrieval tools and privacy-oriented architecture are compelling; look elsewhere if phones must capture automatically, or if Free's three-device and 250 MB limits are too small and the paid tiers do not fit your budget.

	Nice Clipboard	Relic
Free plan		Yes
Free trial		No
Paid from		$5/mo
Platforms	macOS, iOS	Android, api, iOS, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, Web, Windows
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Cross-device sync	Yes	Yes
Supported platforms	macOS, iOS	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iPhone, web
History search		Yes
Snippets		Yes
Rich text support		Yes

Nice Clipboard vs Relic

Nice Clipboard

Relic