Shelfy compared with the best-known Mac file shelf apps

Shelfy is one of six well-known Mac apps built to hold files while you work, and the best one for you depends mostly on where you want your shelf. (A seventh, the free and open-source Tokri, is in the Yoink alternatives list.) This page puts them side by side. Each has its own detailed, honest comparison below, including where the other app is the better pick.

Six Mac file shelf apps in one table

Six Mac file shelf apps, checked November 4, 2026

Feature	Shelfy	Yoink	Dropover	Dropzone	Unclutter	Dockside
Price	$9.99 once	$8.99 once	Free; Pro $7.99	Free; Pro $35	$19.99 once	$5.99 once
Try first	Live demo	28-day trial	Free version	Free + 14-day trial	10-day trial	14-day trial
Needs macOS	14+	10.13+	13+	13+	10.13+	13+
Where the shelf appears	Beside the Dock	Screen edge as you drag	Where you shake	Grid at the top	Pulled down from the top	Beside the Dock or any edge
Newest screenshots and downloads, automatically	Yes	—No	Screenshots, if set up	Screenshots, if set up	—No	Yes
Built-in image actions	Yes	—No	Yes	Yes	—No	Yes
Upload and share a link	—No	—No	Yes	Yes	—No	Yes
On the Mac App Store	—No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	—No
On Setapp	—No	Yes	—No	Yes	Yes	—No

Prices are in US dollars before tax. “Built-in image actions” means converting, resizing or compressing images without another app. Sources for each app are listed at the bottom of this page and on its comparison page.

Head-to-head comparisons

Shelfy vs YoinkA shelf that slides out at the screen edge while you drag, or one that’s always beside the Dock.Read the comparison → Shelfy vs DropoverShake-to-open shelves with a free version, or one fixed shelf with your newest files on it.Read the comparison → Shelfy vs Dropzone 5A toolbox of drop actions and uploads, or a simple place for the files you’re using.Read the comparison → Shelfy vs UnclutterFiles, notes and clipboard hidden at the top, or your files in plain sight beside the Dock.Read the comparison → Shelfy vs DocksideThe two shelves that live beside the Dock: one built to customize, one built to need nothing.Read the comparison → Yoink alternatives: 7 honest picksEvery shelf worth a look in 2026, from free and open source to $35.See the list →

Three kinds of shelf

Shelves that are always there. Shelfy and Dockside sit in the empty space beside the Dock, so your files are always in view and your newest screenshots and downloads are waiting. Shelfy needs no setup; Dockside can be customized much further.

Shelves that come to you. Yoink fades in at the screen edge as you start dragging, and Dropover opens a shelf when you shake the pointer. Great if you mostly move files between windows.

Shelves tucked away. Dropzone drops a grid of targets and actions from the top of the screen as you drag, and Unclutter hides files, notes and clipboard history at the top until you pull it down.