Keyboard Maestro

What it is for

Keyboard Maestro is a macOS macro automation desk: you bind ⌃⌥⌘C to Paste Selection Into Last Application, chain Type ⌘C / Activate / Type ⌘V, and version 11 is US$36 once. Use it when the job is a macro you start at a public $, not when you need Alfred’s Free launcher only.

Soft-note: US$36 one-time for v11 (upgrade US$25; free if purchased after 1 March 2023). Distinct from Alfred, Raycast, and Karabiner-Elements.

What makes it unique: the cover is Keyboard Maestro’s official macro editor (Paste Selection Into Last Application, Clipboards group, hotkey ⌃⌥⌘C, Type the ⌘C keystroke / Activate Last Application / Type the ⌘V keystroke) from keyboardmaestro.com/img/v11/overview.png — not a wordmark. The ⌃⌥⌘C row itself is ops of the macro.

Key features

• Macro editor — name + action list on one desk (cover still; product). One desk. Cover Paste Selection Into Last Application sits here.
• Hotkey trigger — ⌃⌥⌘C on the cover (cover). A trigger, not a v11 tile.
• Action chain — Type ⌘C / Activate Last Application / Type ⌘V (cover). Actions, not a $36 meter.
• Macro groups — Clipboards / Global Macro Group / Finder (cover). A group, not Purchase.
• Hundreds of built-in actions — flow control, conditions, looping (product). A library, not Enterprise.
• Clipboard history / text / images — named clipboards and history (product; cover lives in Clipboards). A clipboard, not SSO.

Download / Purchase are CTAs (not desks). US$36 / US$25 stay in Pricing. There is no AI extra to drop.

Who it's for

Best fit: Mac users on macOS 10.13+ who will run the fully-functional trial while they bind a first Paste Selection macro — then v11 at US$36 once (up to 5 Macs per user), not Alfred Powerpack £34 first unless they want a launcher, and not if they need Windows / iOS.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) from keyboardmaestro.com (“One-Time Purchase for Version 11” / “purchase it now for US$36* plus applicable tax”), purchase.keyboardmaestro.com (“Buy now for $36” / “Upgrade for US$25”), and wiki Purchase (per-user; up to five Macs; fully-functional trial at download.stairways.com). Soft-note: FastSpring; taxes may apply.

• Keyboard Maestro 11 — US$36 one-time. Version 11.x indefinitely. Not a subscription.
• Upgrade to 11 — US$25 from any previous version. Purchases since 1 March 2023 received a free v11 upgrade.
• Volume — ten or more users: contact support@stairways.com (wiki). Do not invent a volume $.
• Trial — fully-functional trial from download.stairways.com. The purchase page does not print a trial-day count. Do not invent a 30-day $0.
• Per-user license; individual users may use it on up to five Macs.

Limitations / costs

• macOS-only. Requires macOS 10.13+ (High Sierra), Intel and Apple Silicon. No Windows / iOS.
• Paid major-version upgrades. Informal policy: paid major every 12–36 months (Purchase). v11 is what US$36 buys.
• Needs Accessibility (and related) permissions. Security Settings pane; first launch is a permissions desk.
• The product is not OSS. We omit a GitHub CTA rather than invent a product repo.

Alternatives

• Alfred — a launcher + workflows when you want Free £0 / Powerpack £34, not Keyboard Maestro’s action chain.
• Raycast — a launcher + File Search when you want Free $0 / Pro $10, not a dedicated macro editor.
• Karabiner-Elements — a keyboard remapper when you want Free (Unlicense), not Type ⌘C / Activate / Type ⌘V.

Official tutorial

Official Keyboard Maestro channel (desc: “The Keyboard Maestro official video channel”) video: Keyboard Maestro 9 Introduction (oEmbed author: Keyboard Maestro; author_url @Keyboard_Maestro). First-party intro; the Paste Selection editor still is the cover. We searched @Keyboard_Maestro (200), @KeyboardMaestro (404), @keyboardmaestro (404), @peternlewis (200, title Peter Lewis), and @Stairways (200, title Carl Hellborg — not Stairways Software). We do not embed How to Get Started with Keyboard Maestro (cu1cXDO4KLY) — oEmbed author is Mo Townshend (@MacsProductivity), listed on the wiki Videos page as third-party Macs Productivity.

Written path: keyboardmaestro.com plus Purchase and Quick Start.

Website

https://www.keyboardmaestro.com/

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is Keyboard Maestro’s official v11 overview still (Paste Selection Into Last Application / Clipboards / ⌃⌥⌘C / Type ⌘C → Activate → Type ⌘V) from keyboardmaestro.com/img/v11/overview.png. Dollars checked on keyboardmaestro.com + purchase.keyboardmaestro.com + wiki Purchase (US$36 v11; upgrade US$25; free if purchased after 1 March 2023; per-user / five Macs; fully-functional trial, no printed day count). Tutorial oEmbed author: Keyboard Maestro (@Keyboard_Maestro). No invented GitHub.

Last verified

2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.