Mac users can easily take a screenshot by pressing the Shift + Command + 3 keys on their keyboard. But for a certain need, you might want to use a third-party screenshot app instead. We have crafted a list of the best screenshot apps for Mac. From free to paid.
Although Mac comes with a built-in feature to take a screenshot, it doesn’t allow you to select a specific area. When you press the keyboard keys mentioned above, it will take a screenshot of the entire area of the active window, with the screenshot is stored to the Desktop folder.
All the screenshot apps on the list below allow you to select a specific area of the active window to be captured. Plus, you can also directly annotate it.
Shortcuts ⤵️
Features to Look in a Screenshot App for Mac
You look for a screenshot app for Mac because you are not interested in using the default screenshot feature of Mac. Right?
So, before you install a certain app and stick with it, make sure to learn the features it offers and make sure that the features you need are truly available.
If you often take screenshots and share them with your teammates, for instance, then picking a screenshot app that has a cloud sharing feature would be a great idea.
Or if you want to install a screenshot app because you have no Photoshop or any image editing tool, then you can pick a screenshot app that comes with a built-in editing feature.
Here are some features you need to consider when picking a screenshot for Mac:
- The area it can capture
- Page scrolling screenshot capability
- Annotation
- Cloud sharing capability
- Local save
- Editing capability
List of Free Screenshot Apps for Mac
On the list:
1. Jumpshare
Jumpshare is one of the free screenshot apps that you can use to take screenshots on your Mac. The developer of the app adopts a freemium business model, meaning that you can use the app for free with a paid upgrade option.
The free version of Jumpshare is more than enough for basic screenshot taking. You can capture the whole area of the active window or select a specific area. Additional features like annotation and cloud sharing are available.
However, you can’t directly save a screenshot to your local storage unless you upgrade to one of the pro plans. Instead, you need to download it manually from the cloud.
Although you can use Jumpshare for personal use, it is ideally to be used as a collaboration tool as it has cloud sharing in mind.
Jumpshare Pros:
- Great for instant screenshot sharing
- Useful features on the free version
- Useful annotation feature
- Keyboard shortcuts
Jumpshare Cons:
- Free version doesn’t allow direct local download
2. Lighshot
Lightshot is a simple, lightweight screenshot app for Mac and Windows. Unlike Jumpshare, it doesn’t have cloud sharing in mind. Thus, you can directly save your screenshot to your computer.
But you can still share your screenshot with someone on the internet by uploading it to the Lightshot server. You don’t need to create an account to be able to share a screenshot in Lightshot.
After you upload a screenshot (with a single click), Lightshot will directly provide the link you can share with anyone.
Lightshot doesn’t have fancy features like Jumpshare, but it is more than enough to take screenshots. You can select a specific area to be captured and add some annotations. You can add elements like circle, arrow or free shape.
Lightshot Pros:
- Extremely lightweight
- Keyboard shortcut
- Useful annotation feature
- Screenshots can be stored locally
- Easy sharing without an account
Lightshot Cons:
- Lack of customization
- No image editing capability
3. Gyazo
Gyazo is a cloud-based screenshot app. The desktop app plays a role only to take the screenshot. The rest is done via its cloud app.
After you take a screenshot using its desktop app, a new tab will automatically be open on your web browser — with a random URL. From this tab, you can take a follow up action over your screenshot. Whether you want to download it or edit it first.
Gyazo allows you to directly store the screenshot to your computer or share it on the internet via the provided URL. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to add annotations unless you upgrade to the pro version.
However, basic editing like cropping and rotating are still allowed.
Gyazo Pros:
- Ability to save screenshot on local computer
- Doesn’t require an account to share a screenshot
Gyazo Cons:
- Annoying login status message
- Limited editing capabilities on the free version
4. Monosnap
If you are looking for a screenshot tool that has the capability to crop the screenshot, then you can use Monosnap. This app is also released as a freemium product. With the free version, you can capture the entire active window, selected area of the active window or previous screen.
Monosnap allows you to save your screenshots in either PNG or JPG format. The app itself is distributed via the App Store. Meaning that you don’t need to download the binary file first like the first three apps above.
The annotation feature of Monosnap allows you to do things like adding arrows, adding a circle, adding texts, and so on. You can customize annotation elements. Such as changing the arrow size and color. Furthermore, Monosnap allows you to directly crop and resize the taken screenshot.
Want to censor a certain area? You can also do so in Monosnap.
Monosnap Pros:
- Easier installation via App Store
- Capable of cropping and resizing the screenshots
- Ability to store the screenshots to computer
- More customization options on annotation
- Customizable screenshots
Monosnap Cons:
- Requires an account to share a screenshot on the internet
5. Xnapper
Xnapper is a unique screenshot app. It automatically adds a background to the taken screenshot. The background is editable. You can use a gradient color, solid color or even use an image as the background.
You can create the background yourself or you can use one of the available presets.
Xnapper also allows you to annotate your screenshots, but still lacking of element options. Also, it has no feature to censor a certain area of the screenshot.
Although you can use Xnapper for free, you will find your screenshots contain a watermark which, unfortunately, cannot be removed until you upgrade to the pro version.
Xnapper Pros:
- Beautiful backgrounds
- Great to take screenshot for social media content
- Ability to store the screenshots to computer
Xnapper Cons:
- Watermarked screenshot
- No cloud sharing
6. Zight
Zight was previously known as CloudApp. So, as you can guess, it is technically a cloud-based app. The desktop you install on Mac only plays a role as a client app. When you take a screenshot with Zight, the actual screenshot file is stored to the Zight server, not your computer.
As a consequence of this concept, you won’t be able to use Zight app without an internet connection.
Since Zight is a cloud-based app, you need to create an account first before you can use it.
Zight is not designed specifically to be a screenshot app. Instead, you can also use it to record your screen.
The screenshot feature of Zight allows you to capture the entire active window or select a specific area. You can also annotate the taken screenshot by adding elements like arrow, line, circle, rectangle, text and so on.
Zight Pros:
- Ability to rename screenshot file before download
- Useful annotation feature
- Ability to set the color of the annotation elements
Zight Cons:
- Requires a cloud account to use
- No image editing capability
7. Markup Hero
Markup Hero offers two screenshot-taking types. First, you can take a clipboard screenshot. If you use this option, you can directly paste the taken screenshot into an editing app like Photoshop or GIMP.
The second type of screenshot you can take with this app is regular screenshot.
Markup Hero requires you to select an area of the window to be captured. It doesn’t offer a feature to automatically capture the entire window area.
The way Markup Hero works is pretty similar to Gyazo. If you take a regular screenshot, it will automatically open a new tab on your browser to open the editor. In the editor, you can annotate the screenshot you have taken. Once done editing, you can download the image file.
You can download the file of the screenshot in JPG, PNG or PDF.
Markup Hero Pros:
- Customized annotation elements
- Multiple image file format options
- Clipboard screenshot for easier editing with an image editor
Markup Hero Cons:
- No desktop app for editing
- Requires upgrade to share a screenshot
List of Paid Screenshot Apps for Mac
On the list:
8. CleanShot X
The first paid app we recommend to take screenshots on Mac is CleanShot X. This is the tool we use at Totheweb.
CleanShot X, as the name suggests, has a clean interface. The app is widely used by creators to take screenshots of web pages to create tutorials.
One of the features we love the most is the ability to add ordered numbers. This feature is super useful when you are creating a step-by-step guide. CleanShot X allows you to take a screenshot of the entire window or selected area.
Another useful feature offered by CleanShot X is the ability to capture a scrolling page. Useful if you want to take a screenshot of blog posts or news on the internet.
Furthermore, you can also directly add a background to your screenshot or crop it. Cloud sharing feature is also available.
CleanShot X Price: $29 (one-time payment)
CleanShot X Pros:
- Super clean interface
- Capable of capture a scrolling page
- No subscription fee
- Cloud sharing capability without account
- Customizable shortcuts
CleanShot X Cons:
- No free version or trial
9. Snagit
Snagit is a screenshot app by TechSmith, the parent company of Camtasia. Same as CleanShot X, the app is also released as a paid app. No free version is available.
But the developer of Snagit gives you a chance to try the app for 15 days for free during the trial period. If you are interested in using this app, you can leverage the trial period to try all of the available features.
Snagit is a feature-rich screenshot app. First, it allows take any type of screenshot. You can use the app to take a screenshot of the active window, active screen, selected area of a window, or even scrolling page.
The app also allows you to take a clipboard screenshot.
Its editing app is also superior. You can also add elements like ordered numbers (steps), free form, arrow, circle, rectangle, text, marker and so on.
You can download the taken screenshot into a wide range of image formats. From JPG, PNG, HEIC to WebP.
Snagit Price: Starts from $39/year
Snagit Pros:
- Superior features
- Multiple image format options
- Multiple sharing options
- Offers free trial without credit card
Snagit Cons:
- No one-time payment option
- Requires extra steps to save the screenshot to computer
10. Shottr
If you are looking for a paid screenshot app for Mac that offers s one-time payment option, then Shottr can be a great option. This app is extremely affordable. You can get it at only $12.
Shottr is a clean, lightweight app. It offers all the basic features of screenshot-taking apps. From the ability to capture a selected area, ability to annotate the taken screenshot and so on.
Shottr has a unique feature that all other screenshot apps on the list don’t have. The feature is the color detector. If you activate this feature, Shottr will automatically reveal the hex code of a color when you hover your cursor over an area of the screenshot.
You can simply press the tab key on your keyboard to copy the hex code.
The annotation feature of Shott also allows you to add elements like numbered orders (steps), arrow, rectangle, circle, line, freehand drawing and so on. You can also instantly censor a sensitive area on the screenshot.
Shottr Price: $12 (one-time payment)
Shottr Pros:
- Clean and light interface
- Capable of capture a scrolling page
- Customizable shortcuts
- No subscription fee
- Offers 30-day trial without credit card
Shottr Cons:
- No sharing option
Summary – Which Screenshot App Should You Use?
Mac has a built-in feature to take screenshots. However, given its lack of capabilities, you need a third-party app to take screenshots for a professional need.
Jumpshare is a great app to take screenshots for free, but it doesn’t allow you to directly save the taken screenshot to your computer unless you upgrade to the pro version.
Lightshot is another free app you can consider, but it is not as great as Jumpshare.
If you are okay with spending money, apps like CleanShot X and Shottr are more recommended. These two apps have a clean interface and allow you directly save a screenshot to your computer.
The two also come with a feature to add ordered numbers, which is great if you often take screenshots to create a step-by-step guide.