The best CleanShot X alternatives for Mac
CleanShot X does a lot: screenshots, scrolling capture, screen recording, a video editor and its own cloud. If you want something lighter or more private, here are the alternatives we checked, Frostshot included, with what each one does and doesn’t do. We only list what we could confirm.
The short answer
- Frostshot: capture, mark up and copy in one move, optional auto-blur, Keep for Later in the notch. Pay once. No scrolling capture or screen recording.
- Shottr: small and fast, with a pixel ruler, a color picker and scrolling screenshots. Free to start.
- The macOS screenshot tool: already on your Mac, with a timer and screen recording. Fewer tools for marking up and sharing.
- Stay with CleanShot X if you rely on scrolling capture, screen recording with a video editor, or cloud links.
Side by side
| Feature | Frostshot | Shottr | macOS screenshot tool | CleanShot X |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capture, mark up, copy | Tools rise under your selection; Return copies | Annotation in the Shottr window | Markup from the thumbnail | Quick Access Overlay |
| Copy text (OCR) | Copy Text | OCR, and it reads QR codes | Live Text in Preview or Quick Look | Text recognition |
| Blur and redaction | Blur tool, plus optional auto-blur (off by default) | Pixelate, remove objects, text hiding | No automatic blur | Blur and pixelate |
| Keep captures for later | Kept for Later in the notch, Recent Captures and pins | Pins, or save to a folder | Files on your desktop or in a folder | Capture history |
| Scrolling capture | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Screen recording | No | No | Yes | Yes, with a video editor |
| How you pay | Pay once, no subscription | Free to use; paid tiers are a one-time purchase | Included with macOS | Basic: pay once with a year of updates. Pro: subscription |
Frostshot
Built for one job: capture something, mark it up, press Return, and it’s on your clipboard. Copy Text (⌥⇧⌘T) reads text straight off the screen, and code keeps its indentation. Optional auto-blur hides emails, API keys, phone and card numbers and IP addresses. Kept for Later holds captures in the notch until you’re done, Recent Captures (⌥⇧H) keeps what you copied, and Combine with Join seamlessly stitches two overlapping captures of one page. Everything stays on your Mac, with no account. It doesn’t do scrolling capture or screen recording. Coming soon to the Mac App Store for macOS 26, as a one-time purchase.
Shottr
A tiny, fast app loved by people who care about pixels. It has a screen ruler, a color picker, scrolling screenshots, OCR that reads QR codes, and pins. You can use it for free; it asks you to upgrade after 30 days, and a license is required for commercial use.
The macOS screenshot tool
Shift-Command-3, Shift-Command-4 and the Screenshot app on Shift-Command-5 come with every Mac. The Screenshot app has a timer and records the screen. Add Control to a shortcut to copy instead of saving a file, and use Live Text in Preview to copy text from an image. It’s free, but marking up, blurring and finding old captures take more steps.
FAQ
What is the best free alternative to CleanShot X?
The screenshot tool built into macOS is free and already on your Mac, and Shottr can be used for free. Frostshot is a one-time purchase.
Which CleanShot X alternative has scrolling capture?
Shottr. Frostshot and the macOS screenshot tool don’t have scrolling capture.
Which alternative can blur private details automatically?
Frostshot, with auto-blur. It’s off by default, and it finds emails, API keys, phone and card numbers and IP addresses on your Mac.
Is Frostshot a subscription?
No. You pay once on the Mac App Store.
More comparisons and guides
Frostshot is coming soon to the Mac App Store. See how it works at frostshot.app, compare it in detail with CleanShot X and Shottr, and follow @frostshotapp for launch day.
Follow the build on X. New features, previews and launch day, as they happen. Or leave your email and we’ll write once, on launch day.
Follow @frostshotapp