CleanShot X

CleanShot X

by CleanShot

78
Score /100
63
Score /100
Price
Features
UX
Reviews
Price
Features
UX
Reviews

Premier all-in-one screenshot and screen recording app for macOS with elegant native design and smart folder organization.

Visit Official Site

Tool Analysis

Verified
Pricing

$29/yr

Free Tier

No

Platforms

macOS

Ratings & Reviews by Use Case
78 /100

screenshot tool

Primary
Price
Features
UX
Reviews

Strengths

Best-in-class macOS UX and interface design
Capture recording GIF scrolling and OCR in one app
Floating window UI is uniquely elegant
Cross-platform cloud sharing with CleanShot Cloud

Weaknesses

Expensive at $29 one-time no free tier beyond trial
$19/mo cloud subscription adds significant cost
Mac-only no Windows version available

Feature Ratings

Mac UX Excellence 6%

Users consistently call CleanShot X the gold standard for Mac screenshot tools

Pain Points
Price 2%

Paid tool with no free tier beyond trial plus cloud subscription

"The gold standard Mac screenshot tool with the most polished UX"
Ratings & Reviews by Use Case
63 /100

screenshot recording

Price
Features
UX
Reviews

Strengths

The scrolling capture plus built-in annotation tools save me from opening a separate editor every time, and the cloud upload with auto-copied link is genuinely fast
If you want more of a swiss-army-knife tool (screen recording, OCR, self-timer included), CleanShot X is worth it
I've been using CleanShot X for 3 yrs or so, and haven't looked back

Weaknesses

Without any prior notice, CleanShot removed important functionality that allowed custom uploads to self-hosted servers
I used CleanShot for about a year and it was solid but the renewal thing always bugged me

Feature Ratings

"Paid Mac swiss-army with recording and scrolling; Shottr stays the cheaper stills pick."

Use Cases & Performance

Mac users wanting the most polished screenshot experience

Best-in-class macOS UX the gold standard.

Content creators capturing recording and sharing screenshots

All-in-one capture recording GIF and OCR.

Windows users

Mac-only — use ShareX on Windows.

Users on a tight budget

At $29 one-time plus cloud subscription it adds up.

Compare Alternatives (11)

Greenshot
vs Greenshot 84/100

Lightweight open-source screenshot tool for Windows with simple annotation and Office integration.
Shottr
vs Shottr 80/100

Ultra-lightweight Mac screenshot tool at 2.3MB offering pixel ruler OCR scrolling capture and image compression at great value.
ShareX
vs ShareX 79/100

The most powerful free and open-source screenshot tool for Windows with 20+ capture modes, 80+ upload destinations, and extensive automation.
Flameshot
vs Flameshot 75/100

Free open-source cross-platform screenshot tool with in-capture annotation CLI support and Linux compatibility for developers.
Snagit
vs Snagit 73/100

Industry-leading professional screenshot and screen recording tool with intuitive annotation, scrolling capture, and cross-platform support.
Bandicam
vs Bandicam 68/100

Windows screen recorder with a watermarked free tier and a paid yearly license. Reviewers call recording easy; audio dropouts show up in the same comments.
Lightshot
vs Lightshot 63/100

Ultra-fast cross-platform screenshot tool that captures annotates and shares screenshots via cloud link in under two seconds.
ScreenRec
vs ScreenRec 55/100

Free screen recording and screenshot tool with cloud sharing links — use with extreme caution due to spyware accusations.
ScreenPal
vs ScreenPal 50/100

PCMag Editor's Choice screen recording and screenshot tool with AI captioning for training content creation.
OBS Studio
vs OBS Studio 42/100

Free open-source recorder and streamer for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Community treats it as the screencast counterpart to ShareX. Crash, lag, and 1 FPS reports pull UX down.
Loom
vs Loom 27/100

Cloud screen-and-camera recorder for async work video. A free Starter tier exists; paid seats start at 18 per user per month. Cancel and record-fail comments dominate this batch.