As photographers, we constantly hone our skills to capture and edit epic portraits and landscapes, but we shouldn’t overlook another powerful genre: screenshots. It may sound silly, but it’s true. Whether we’re writing an email, designing a PDF, or giving a presentation, using visuals can help us better communicate our ideas. Fortunately, the art of capturing and customizing screenshots does not require much practice. Instead, you just need to use the right tools, or the right snipping tool. To help, we’ve put together a list of the best snipping tools for Windows and Mac that you can use to capture, annotate, edit, and share your screenshots.
Built-in Windows Snipping Tool
The Windows Operating System has its own built-in snipping tool, which you can use to take screenshots and add or edit your screenshot. You can also use different snip styles and even use Paint 3D to further enhance your snip.
Accessing the Windows Snipping Tool
There are many ways to access the Windows snipping tool, depending on the Windows Operating System (OS) version that you have. If you have Windows 10, just click the “Start” button on the taskbar and type “Snipping Tool” in the search box. After that, simply select the Snipping Tool from the search results. Alternatively, you can skip the search box and instead press the Windows + Shift + S keys at the same time to instantly launch the program.
When it comes to using the snipping tool, the Windows 10 version is user-friendly compared to previous versions. The Snip & Sketch app is a more advanced version. Both offer a wide variety of markup tools.
Built-in Mac Snipping Tool
Mac devices also feature their own snipping tool. This versatile and user-friendly snipping tool lets Mac users capture a variety of screenshots and/or screen recordings. Using the Mac snipping tool is easy as pressing and holding the following combination of keys: Shift+Command+5. From here, the Mac snipping tool offers options for capturing the entire screen, a particular window, or just a portion of the screen. You’ll also find options for recording the entire screen or a portion of the screen for 5 or 10 seconds. Lastly, you can choose where you’d like to save the screenshot or recording.
Best Snipping Tool for Mac and PC
Depending on your needs, you may find that a built-in snipping tool for Mac or Windows will sometimes lack the features you want. To help you find an alternative, we’ve sorted the best snipping tools for both Mac and PC, including both free and paid options.
EASEUS SCREENSHOT
EaseUS, well known for their date recovery software, also has a simple yet versatile snipping/screenshot tool. For PC only, EaseUS ScreenShot is a free software that lets you take a customizable screenshot of your PC screen and then annotate, edit, and enhance the screenshot quickly and easily
Pros:
- 100% Free
- Ability to set hotkeys
- Communicate on the screenshot with annotations like text, arrows, highlights, watermarks, circles, rectangles, and more.
Cons:
- PC Only
SNAGIT
One of the better known snipping tools, Snagit is an affordable (not free), user-friendly application. Like other entries on this list of the best snipping tools, Snagit includes an all-in-one capture feature for capturing various areas, such as the entire desktop, a region, a window, or a scrolling screen.
While it’s jam-packed with features, one of the most convenient tools is the Grab Text capability, which lets you extract text from a captured screen or file. You can then paste the text from the screenshot into your other documents. Snagit also offers several recording functions, which include screen recording, webcam and audio recording, and iOS screen recording. A recent update for Snagit 2021 included several improved features like pre-made templates, enterprise sharing destinations, and the capacity to create GIFs.
Pros:
- Simple interface
- Supports integrations
Cons:
- Lacks a completely free version
GREENSHOT
Greenshot is a portable and free screenshot software application that’s available for both Windows and Mac. Its key features include quick creation of screenshots of a selected region, full screen, or a scrolling web page.
One of the most unique features is that it can be used by anyone and as an open-source program, making this tool an ideal choice for software developers, project managers, or anyone who wants a free and easy way to create screenshots.
Pros:
- Easy to understand
- Let’s you obfuscate screenshots
Cons:
- Updates are few and far between
LIGHTSHOT
LightShot allows you take and customize screenshots in as little as two button clicks. This easy-to-use application works with both Windows and Mac OS. What gives LightShot an edge over some of other tools is its “similar image” search capability, which you can use to find and delete duplicate (or near duplicate) images.
Lightshot offers a decent array of editing tools that you can access anytime to markup and further customize your screenshot. Aside from being available for both Windows and macOS users, this snipping tool can also be used in web browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Opera.
Pros:
- Simple and intuitive user interface
- Free
Cons:
- Lacks a variety of capture modes
GEMOO SNAP
Gemoo Snap is a free and lightweight screenshot tool with features like Quick screenshot, Screenshot & Feedback, Screenshot & Beautify, Pin Screenshot, Screenshot to clipboard, and Recognize Text from image (OCR). You can capture a part of the screen, the entire screen, or scroll to capture the entire web page. After taking a screenshot, you can immediately add comment feedback and beautify the picture: add text, rectangle/triangle graphics, mosaics, arrows, numbers, lines, and backgrounds, etc. What’s more, you can take screenshots and pin them as floating windows in order to make a reference. Below are the primary features:
- Screenshot & Beautify – Add annotations to highlight, and customize your screenshots with backgrounds, rounded corners, and more.
- Image Feedback – Take a screenshot, annotate your ideas, and share via a link or paste the image.
- Pin Screenshot – Capture screenshots and pin them as floating windows, allowing you to reference them while working on your latest projects.
- Recognize Text from image (OCR) – Take a screenshot of an image and get access to the text you need.
- Image Collection – Whether you’re on your computer or using the web app on your phone or tablet, your captures are automatically stored in the cloud. Build your collection of inspiration from anywhere.
Pros:
- Multi-platform support: Windows, Mac, Online tool and Chrome extension
- Rich annotation tools to meet your daily image beautification needs
- You can use the Screenshot & Feedback function to communicate and give feedback quickly to improve work efficiency
- Free to use
Cons:
- Not suitable for mobile
MONOSNAP
Monosnap is one of the more popular snipping tools with over 1 million users worldwide. You can use Monosnap capture screenshots and videos, edit and annotate your snips, and save them on the application cloud storage.
Monosnap is a versatile and secure collaboration service that allows people to work together, share ideas, provide feedback, or collaborate on projects.
With Monosnap, users can annotate screenshots, which provides a clear and concise way to convey important information, making it easier to communicate with colleagues and team members.
With the service, users can capture screenshots, record short videos, or create GIFs during meetings, making it easy to revisit important points that were discussed. Monosnap also offers security, ensuring that your data is always safe and secure. With encrypted data transfer and storage, you can trust that your information is protected, even in high-security environments.
Pros:
- Affordable pricing
- Fast and unlimited monthly uploads for paid versions
Cons:
- Free version is available for single users only
SCREENREC
ScreenRec is worth a look if you’re looking for a simple snipping tool for Windows. The software is one of the most straightforward, simple options out there. In fact, it only requires one keyboard shortcut (Alt-S) to get going. Like the other options on this list, you can also annotate and mark up your screenshots.
In addition, you can automatically and instantly upload your screenshots to the cloud and keep mark them as private so they aren’t seen by the public. The software is available for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.
SHAREX
ShareX is a strong contender on this list of the best snipping tools because it is a feature-rich free application, equipped with a number of productivity tools, file destinations, upload methods, and region capture types, among others.
Like previously mentioned snipping tools, ShareX also offers a variety of capture methods. This app features a quick task menu and text through optical character recognition (OCR).
Other snipping and markup tools like rectangle, cursor, outline, freehand, smart eraser, and blur are included in ShareX.
Pros:
- Open source
- Ad-free
Cons:
- Complicated user interface
PICPICK
Last but not least, we have Picpick. This screen capture tool lets you capture and enhance your images, and you can also use it to share your output on multiple platforms. Picpick allows users to choose from a variety of screen capture modes and features several other tools like the image editor, color picker, color palette, pixel ruler, magnifier, crosshair, protractor, and whiteboard.
Pros:
- Feature-rich program
- Free for personal use
Cons:
- If opting for the paid version, you can’t share one license between different users
Final Thoughts on Snipping Tools
Whether you’re using a snipping tool for Mac or a snipping tool for Windows, the snipping tools listed above should help. They will allow you to quickly capture and edit screenshots to enhance your presentations and help you communicate more clearly. While you can always opt for the built-in tools in your respective operating system, the snipping tools listed here go above and beyond in terms of basic screen capturing.
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