Best Screenshot Apps for Mac (2026), Compared
Short answer: For a quick grab, macOS's built-in Screenshot app (⇧⌘5) is enough. For scrolling capture, cloud links and GIFs, CleanShot X. For a free app with scrolling capture and text recognition, Shottr. For step guides on Mac and Windows, Snagit. For free markup plus screen recording in one native app, Screen2Shot, which is still in App Store review.
The apps side by side
| App | Best for | Key features | Price (billing, channel) | Free tier | Records video |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screenshot app (built into macOS) | A quick grab with no install | Area, window and full screen; timer; markup from the thumbnail | Included with macOS | ✅ all of it | ✅ microphone; system audio from macOS 27 |
| Screen2Shot | Free markup and screen recording in one native app | Area and full-display screenshots; pen, marker, arrow, rectangle, text; Studio for recordings | Free; PRO 6.99 USD a month or 99 USD once on the Mac App Store; 5.99 USD a month or 79.99 USD once from the website (Direct download). Not available yet: App Store review pending | ✅ screenshots, markup, recording up to 1080p | ✅ free up to 1080p, up to 4K with PRO |
| CleanShot X | Scrolling capture, cloud links, GIFs | Scrolling and window capture, self-timer, blur, text recognition, cloud, capture history | Basic 35 USD once (one year of updates, then optional 19 USD a year); Pro 10 USD per user a month, billed annually; cleanshot.com or Setapp | ❌ (30-day money-back guarantee) | ✅ MP4 and GIF, webcam |
| Shottr | A free, small app with measuring tools | Scrolling capture, text and QR recognition, pinned screenshots, colour picker, ruler | Basic 12 USD once (1 user, up to 5 Macs); Friends Club 30 USD once; shottr.cc | ✅ most features; asks you to buy after 30 days | ❌ (none listed on its site) |
| Snagit | Step-by-step guides on Mac and Windows | Scrolling capture, Step Capture, Smart Redact, editable text, templates | 39 USD per user a year, subscription only; techsmith.com | ❌ (15-day free trial) | ✅ with webcam, GIF |
| Xnapper | Polished screenshots for social posts | Auto balance and background, auto-redaction, text recognition, window capture | Basic 29.99 USD once (1 Mac, one year of updates); Team 5 USD per device a month; xnapper.com | ✅ with a watermark | ❌ (none listed on its site) |
| Flameshot | A free, open-source tool across macOS, Windows and Linux | Arrows, blur or pixelate, text, counters, command-line use | Free (GPL-3.0); flameshot.org or Homebrew | ✅ all of it | ❌ (none listed on its site) |
Checked on 2026-09-29. Sources below.
How we compared
- Criteria: capture modes (area, window, scrolling), markup tools, text recognition, screen recording, the free tier, price with billing and where you buy, and macOS requirements where the vendor states them.
- Where the facts come from: each competitor’s own website and Apple Support, read on 2026-09-29. The built-in tool is described as of macOS 27 Golden Gate, from Apple pages published on 2026-09-14. Screen2Shot’s facts come from the app itself.
- What we did not do: no scores, no ranks and no hands-on benchmark of the other apps. The sections below follow the order of the table.
- Disclosure: We make Screen2Shot. Where another app does something better, its section says so.
The built-in Screenshot app
What it does well. Nothing to install. ⇧⌘3 takes the whole screen, ⇧⌘4 an area, and ⇧⌘4 then Space a window or menu. ⇧⌘5 opens the Screenshot app with a timer, a choice of save folder and a toggle for the pointer. Click the thumbnail in the corner to mark up the screenshot, or add ⌃ to any shortcut to copy instead of saving. The same toolbar records the entire screen or a selected portion, with a microphone; from macOS 27 Golden Gate, Include System Audio records the Mac’s sound too.
Limits. Markup opens in a separate window after the screenshot is saved. Apple’s page lists no scrolling capture and no text recognition in the Screenshot app.
Price. Included with macOS.
When it is enough. You need a picture of the screen now and do not need arrows on it before you paste. Every shortcut is in the screenshot guide.
Screen2Shot
What it does well. Press ⇧⌘9, drag an area and mark it up right on the screen with the pen, marker, arrow, rectangle or text in 5 colours, then press ⌘C or Return to copy. All of that is free. So is screen recording: ⌥⇧⌘9 records the display, with system audio and the microphone if you switch them on, and Studio exports MP4 up to 1080p with no watermark and no time limit. PRO adds Pixelate, numbered steps, Copy Text for text and QR codes (⇧⌘C), Pin to Screen, Recent Screenshots (the last 10), and Studio’s auto zoom, smooth cursor, backgrounds and export up to 4K. There is no account and no cloud: screenshots and recordings stay on your Mac.
Limits. Screen2Shot is not available yet: the Mac App Store version is in review and no Direct download is published. It has no scrolling capture, window capture, self-timer, blur (it pixelates), webcam, trimming or GIF export. It needs macOS 14 Sonoma and Apple silicon. Recording needs macOS 15 Sequoia or later.
Price. Free; PRO 6.99 USD a month or 99 USD once on the Mac App Store; 5.99 USD a month or 79.99 USD once from the website (Direct download). PRO Monthly on the Mac App Store: Renews every month until you cancel it in your App Store account settings. Direct download: Sold through Stripe (Onelink is the merchant of record). Taxes are included where they apply. Both channels are on the pricing page.
CleanShot X
What it does well. Capture modes cover area, window, full screen and scrolling capture, with a self-timer. Markup includes blur and pixelate, a highlighter and a colour picker with saved palettes. It copies text from images in 30+ languages, pins screenshots above other windows and keeps a month of capture history. Recording saves MP4 or GIF, with a webcam, keystrokes on screen, the microphone and computer audio, and a video editor with smart zooms. CleanShot Cloud shares a capture by link in one click.
Limits. There is no free version or trial, only a 30-day money-back guarantee. Basic includes one year of updates; unlimited cloud storage is in the Pro subscription. It needs macOS 13.0 or newer. How it compares with Screen2Shot row by row is on the CleanShot X alternative page.
Price. Basic 35 USD once, with one year of updates and an optional renewal at 19 USD a year; Pro 10 USD per user a month, billed annually. From cleanshot.com, or as part of a Setapp subscription. Checked on 2026-09-29.
Shottr
What it does well. A 2.4 MB download that runs on macOS 10.15 Catalina and later. It takes scrolling screenshots, reads text and QR codes, pins screenshots as floating windows, and has a colour picker and a screen ruler. Markup covers text, drawing, highlights and spotlights, pixelating or removing objects, and backdrops with gradients, shadows and rounded corners. Most features are free for as long as you use it.
Limits. After 30 days the free version starts asking you to consider buying it. Its site lists no screen recording.
Price. Basic 12 USD once for one user on up to 5 Macs; Friends Club 30 USD once, with experimental features. From shottr.cc. Checked on 2026-09-29.
Snagit
What it does well. Documentation work. Step Capture builds a guide as you click through a process, Smart Redact hides sensitive information in one click, and text inside a screenshot can be edited, copied or deleted. It grabs scrolling windows and web pages, records the screen with narration and a picture-in-picture webcam, and turns videos into GIFs. One license covers both the Windows and macOS versions.
Limits. Snagit is sold only as a yearly subscription since Snagit 2025, and it needs a TechSmith account sign-in. The free option is a 15-day trial; the store offers a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Price. 39 USD per user a year, billed yearly. From techsmith.com. Checked on 2026-09-29.
Xnapper
What it does well. Screenshots that look finished without editing: it balances the image and picks a background colour automatically, and redacts emails, credit card numbers, IP addresses and API keys on its own. It recognises text with the macOS Vision engine, captures windows, and has arrows, shapes, text, blur, screenshot history and social-media size presets.
Limits. The free version puts a watermark on what you export. Updates on the one-time plans last one year, with 40% off a renewal. Its site lists no screen recording.
Price. Basic 29.99 USD once for 1 Mac; Personal 54.99 USD once for 2 Macs; Standard 79.99 USD once for 3 Macs; Team 5 USD per device a month. From xnapper.com, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Checked on 2026-09-29.
Flameshot (free and open source)
What it does well. Free under the GPL-3.0 license, with builds for Apple silicon and Intel Macs (version 14.0) as a DMG or through Homebrew, and the same app on Windows and Linux. Drag a selection and annotate it on screen with arrows, highlights, blur or pixelate, text, drawing, rectangle and circle borders, an incrementing counter and solid boxes. A command-line interface lets you script captures and bind them to keys.
Limits. Its site lists no screen recording, text recognition or scrolling capture.
Price. Free. From flameshot.org. Checked on 2026-09-29.