ShareX vs CleanShot X

ShareX9.1Visit CleanShot X7.8Visit

Higher score ShareX #2 in Screen Capture Software 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit ShareX

vs

CleanShot X #11 in Screen Capture Software 7.8/10 Paid ✓ 4 of 5 features Visit CleanShot X

• ShareX fits best

  Power users wanting free open-source Windows capture

• CleanShot X fits best

  Mac users needing polished recording and sharing

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Side by side

Feature	ShareX 9.1/10 Visit ↗	CleanShot X 7.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	7.8
Ranking	#2 in Screen Capture Software	#11 in Screen Capture Software
Best for	Power users wanting free open-source Windows capture	Mac users needing polished recording and sharing
Pricing model	Free	Paid
Starting price	Free plan	$10/user/mo
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop	Desktop
Platforms	Windows	macOS
Features ShareX 5/5 · CleanShot X 4/5
Scrolling capture	✓	✓
Annotation tools	✓	✓
OCR	✓	✓
Browser extension	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Cloud sharing	✓	✓
Specs
Desktop platforms	Windows	Macos
Export formats	Not checked yet	MP4, GIF
Our review
Pros	Captures regions, windows, monitors, full screens and scrolling pages Combines screen recording, GIFs, annotation, image editing and OCR Configurable hotkeys and upload workflows support repeatable tasks	Captures scrolling pages, timed shots and full-screen or window views Combines annotations, on-device OCR and MP4 or GIF recording Cloud sharing adds comments, transcripts and protected links
Cons	Windows-only, so it does not suit macOS or Linux workflows Its wide range of tools may be more than basic capture needs require Custom workflows may take more configuration than simple screenshot tools	Runs on macOS only No free plan; Basic starts at $35 one-time SSO and SCIM are limited to the Pro plan
Our verdict	ShareX is a free, open-source Windows application for capturing screenshots, recording screens and GIFs, editing and annotating images, extracting text with OCR, and sharing files. It is aimed at people who want to tailor screenshot,… Read the review →	CleanShot X brings screenshots, screen recording, annotation, editing and sharing together in a macOS app. It suits Mac users who need to explain visual material, capture scrolling content or distribute recordings and screenshots through… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• ShareX — where it wins

  • Captures regions, windows, monitors, full screens and scrolling pages
  • Combines screen recording, GIFs, annotation, image editing and OCR
  • Configurable hotkeys and upload workflows support repeatable tasks

  Where it doesn't

  • Windows-only, so it does not suit macOS or Linux workflows
  • Its wide range of tools may be more than basic capture needs require
  • Custom workflows may take more configuration than simple screenshot tools

• CleanShot X — where it wins

  • Captures scrolling pages, timed shots and full-screen or window views
  • Combines annotations, on-device OCR and MP4 or GIF recording
  • Cloud sharing adds comments, transcripts and protected links

  Where it doesn't

  • Runs on macOS only
  • No free plan; Basic starts at $35 one-time
  • SSO and SCIM are limited to the Pro plan

• ShareX9.1/10 · Free plan

  A flexible Windows capture toolkit with scrolling screenshots, OCR, recording and upload workflows.

  Visit ShareXFull verdict →
• CleanShot X7.8/10 · Paid

  A capable Mac capture suite, with cloud collaboration on Pro and no free plan.

  Visit CleanShot XFull verdict →