ShottieShort answer: CleanShot X covers the most ground and Shottr is the best free one. The built-in ⌘⇧5 tools cover plain screenshots and recordings at no cost, Xnapper is built around getting a screenshot onto a backdrop with no fiddling, Snagit suits documentation work, and Shottie is $29 once with scrolling capture, text recognition, backgrounds and click-to-zoom recording.
This page is published by Shottie, one of the apps below, so read our entry with that in mind. It's a desk comparison, not a lab test: every price and feature comes from each app's own website, checked on September 30, 2026. "Not listed" means the app's site doesn't mention it, not that it's impossible.
At a glance
| App | Price | Markup | Backgrounds | Scrolling capture | Text recognition | Screen recording |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| macOS (⌘⇧3, ⌘⇧4, ⌘⇧5) | Free, built in | Markup from the floating thumbnail | No | No | Live Text in Preview, not a capture shortcut | Yes: microphone, plus system audio on macOS 27 |
| CleanShot X | $35 once (1 year of updates, then $19/year), or Pro at $10/user/month billed yearly | Yes | Yes, 20 built in plus your own | Yes, vertical and horizontal | Yes, on-device, 30+ languages | Yes: MP4 or GIF, microphone, computer audio, webcam, Smart Zooms |
| Shottr | Free with occasional prompts; Basic license $12 once, Friends Club $30 once | Yes | Yes, gradients, shadows and corners | Yes, any app | Yes, plus QR codes | Not listed |
| Xnapper | Free with a watermark; $29.99 once for 1 Mac, $54.99 for 2, $79.99 for 3 (1 year of updates) | Arrows, shapes, text, blur, auto-redact | Yes, gradient or image, auto-balanced | Not listed | Yes, on-device | Not listed |
| Snagit | $39/year subscription | Yes, extensive | Borders and edge effects; backdrops not listed | Yes | Yes | Yes: microphone, system audio, webcam, GIF |
| Shottie | $29 once for 2 Macs, free Shottie 1.x updates | Yes | Yes, gradients and wallpapers | Yes, any app | Yes, on-device | Yes: 60 fps MP4, microphone, system audio, webcam, zooms from clicks |
macOS built-in: enough more often than you'd think
⌘⇧3 captures the screen, ⌘⇧4 a portion (press Space for a window) and ⌘⇧5 opens the Screenshot app with a timer and screen recording; hold Control with ⌘⇧3 or ⌘⇧4 to copy instead of saving. Click the floating thumbnail to mark the screenshot up or trim a recording. There are no backgrounds and no scrolling capture, and Apple's guide lists a microphone for recordings, with system audio added in macOS 27 (how that works). Choose it if you take the odd screenshot and don't need a backdrop or a long capture.
CleanShot X: the most complete, one-time price
CleanShot X covers nearly every row of the table: 20 built-in backgrounds plus your own, scrolling capture in every app, on-device text recognition in 30+ languages, and screen recording to MP4 or GIF with microphone, computer audio, a webcam and Smart Zooms. Basic is $35 once with a year of updates, then optional at $19 a year; Pro is $10 per user a month billed yearly and adds unlimited cloud storage and team features. It needs macOS 13 or later. Choose it if you want one polished license for everything and don't mind paying for updates after the first year. Our CleanShot X alternatives page goes deeper.
Shottr: the best free one
Shottr is a small app with gradient backgrounds, shadows and rounded corners, annotations, pixelate, scrolling screenshots in any app, text recognition with QR codes, and pinned screenshots. It's free to use and asks you to buy every once in a while; the Basic license is $12 once, required for commercial use, and Friends Club is $30 once. One license covers one user and up to five computers. It doesn't list screen recording. Choose it if you want screenshots only and the lowest price. The scrolling screenshot guide has Shottr's known limits.
Xnapper: screenshots on a backdrop in seconds
Xnapper balances the padding and picks a background color for you, redacts emails, credit cards, IP addresses and API keys in one click, and copies text on-device. It's free with a watermark; a one-time license removes it, at $29.99 for one Mac, $54.99 for two or $79.99 for three, each with a year of updates and renewal afterwards at a 40% discount. Scrolling capture and screen recording aren't listed. Choose it if most of your screenshots go straight into posts and docs.
Snagit: built for documentation
Snagit adds a step recorder that turns your clicks into a step-by-step guide, smart redact, templates, scrolling capture, text recognition, and recording with microphone, system audio and webcam, with GIF export. It's $39 per user per year and needs macOS 14 or later; TechSmith's site also brands it Camtasia Snagit. Borders and edge effects are listed, but gradient backdrops aren't. Choose it if you write how-to guides or training material and a yearly subscription is fine.
Shottie: screenshots and zoom recordings, $29 once
Shottie is a menu bar app for macOS 15 or later. ⌘⇧2 opens a capture in an editor with arrow, box, ellipse, text, numbered steps, highlight, blur, pixelate, cover and crop, on a gradient or wallpaper backdrop with padding, corners and a shadow, then ⌘C to copy; PNGs keep your display's native resolution. ⌘⇧1 copies text from any area on-device, Scrolling Capture works in any app, and pins float a screenshot on screen. ⌘⇧8 records an area, window or full screen with microphone and system audio, turns clicks into zooms you edit on a timeline, and exports 60 fps MP4 at 1080p or 4K. It has no GIF export and no cloud share links. It's $29 once for two Macs with free Shottie 1.x updates and a 30-day refund, no free trial, no account and no analytics; captures never leave your Mac. Choose it if you want screenshots and recordings in one purchase without a subscription.
If your Mac is older, or you need it for work
Minimum macOS versions, from each site: Xnapper 10.15, CleanShot X 13, Snagit 14 and Shottie 15. Shottr's own pages give two different minimums, Catalina and Monterey, so check its site before installing. On licensing, Shottr's Basic license is what commercial use requires, and CleanShot X and Xnapper both include a year of updates and charge for the years after, while Shottie's free updates cover Shottie 1.x.
How to choose
Free: macOS for plain captures, Shottr when you need more. One purchase covering everything: CleanShot X or Shottie, the difference being CleanShot's cloud links and GIF export against Shottie's lower price and lack of an account. Backdrop-first: Xnapper. Guides and training: Snagit. To try the backdrop and markup side without installing anything, the free screenshot beautifier, annotation editor and blur tool run in your browser. For recorders specifically, see the Screen Studio alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best free screenshot app for Mac?
For plain captures, the built-in ⌘⇧5 tools cost nothing and need no install. Shottr adds scrolling capture, text recognition and backgrounds; it's free to use with occasional prompts to buy, and its $12 Basic license is required for commercial use (checked September 30, 2026).
Is there a Mac screenshot app with no subscription?
Yes, most of them. CleanShot X is $35 once, Shottr's Basic license is $12 once, Xnapper starts at $29.99 once and Shottie is $29 once. Snagit is sold as a $39/year subscription (checked September 30, 2026).
Which screenshot apps for Mac can add a background?
CleanShot X, Shottr, Xnapper and Shottie. Snagit adds borders and edge effects but doesn't list backdrops. For a one-off, the free screenshot beautifier on this site runs in your browser and never uploads the image.
Which ones can take a scrolling screenshot?
CleanShot X, Shottr, Snagit and Shottie. macOS has no scrolling capture, and Xnapper's site doesn't list one.
