Screen Capture Software: 10 Free and Paid Tools
By Sometimes even the most articulate of us struggle to convey our message.
Fortunately, screenshots are here to save the day. In this post, let’s look at some of the top screen capture software that help you communicate your ideas more effectively.
What makes a good screen capture software?
A good screen capture app should be easy to use, preferably within seconds, whether you’re a newbie or an experienced user. Here are the three main factors you should look for.
Fast capture. You’d know a screen capture platform is terrible if it requires numerous steps to take a screenshot. The best platforms need only a single click for full-screen images. Avoid those that make you click through multiple menu tabs.
Affordable. Unless you have advanced editing needs, you usually don’t need to spend any money on screen capture software. Luckily, a good chunk of the platforms in this list are entirely free.
Editor. You might have a graphic design suite, but wouldn’t it be easier to capture and edit your screenshot within the same software? That said, look for a platform that offers cropping, pixelating, arrows, and text boxes. You should be able to get by with these features.
Now, let’s dive into the screen capture platforms that meet the criteria above!
Best screen capture software
1. Skitch [User-friendly]
Despite the discontinued support for Windows, iOS, and Android, Skitch still makes an excellent screen capture software platform.
Crop, addarrows, and pixelate sensitive information on your screenshot—this user-friendly tool offers just enough features to solve yourbasic annotation needs.
Plus, Skitch is created by Evernote, so you can easily sync your newly captured screenshotsto your Evernote account.
Pricing: Free
2. GoFullPage [Full-page]
Source: Chrome Web Store
GoFullPage (previously known as Full Page Screen Capture) is a browser extension that captures your entire webpage.
Once you click the extension, GoFullPage will scroll down to take a full screenshot and put each scroll window in a single image. Save it as an image or PDF. To edit, right-click it.
Interesting features include the premium cropping tool, where you can drag the crop toggle as you scroll.
Source: GoFullPage
There’s also GoFullPage Legal, which captures your webpage’s URL and datestamp. No doubt, this will be a helpful feature if you want to apply for a trademark!
Note that you need to be on the premium plan to access GoFullPage’s editing tools.
Pricing: Starts free, with paid plans at $1/month. Free 7-day trial available.
3. TinyTake [Large files]
Source: TinyTake
TinyTake is a free tool created by MangoApps. Take a screenshot of a region, window, or full screen; and annotate it with a text box, arrow, or highlighter.
What’s great about TinyTake is that you can easily share large files with anyone, including non-users. Drag your files and folders to the files tab and TinyTake will automatically zip and upload them to the cloud with unique public sharing links.
TinyTake also offers screen recording capabilities.
Pricing: Free
4. Snagit [Advanced editing]
Source: YouTube
Snagit is the brainchild of TechSmith, the industry leader behind Camtasia and Screencast.
If you look at the list of features, you’ll see that Snagit boasts many impressive editing tools.
There’s Smart Move,which allows you to move the objects in your screen capture. Another similar feature, Text Replace, enables you to edit your text’s font, color, and size without recreating the image.
And then there’s Text Capture, a tool that lets you grab text from a screenshot and paste it into another document. That’s right, you don’t need to retype the text!
Source: YouTube
Pricing: Free 15-day trial, with a one-time fee of $49.99 (excludes maintenance fee).
5. CloudApp [Productivity]
Source: YouTube
If recreating the same old screenshots is eating up your productivity, CloudApp is for you.
This screen capture software features templates specially designed for sales intro, bug report, customer support (CS) responses, and announcement. The next time you have a product demo or sales note that you want to reuse for the future, save it as a template.
Note that this feature is available for screenshots, videos, and GIFs.
Pricing: Starts free, with paid plans scaling from $9.95/month. A free 7-day free trial is available.
6. Monosnap [Developers]
Source: Monosnap
Listen up, developers! Monosnap is the screen capture software to use if you’re a DigitalOcean user.
Gather all your screenshots and store them on DigitalOcean Spaсes. Thanks to this tight integration, you can upload the images on your Monosnap account with a single click.
Monosnap also offers several interesting tools. One example is Capture Frozen Area, which allows you to freeze your screen before capturing. This particular feature is helpful if you want to capture blink-and-you-miss-it elements like pop-ups.
Pricing: Starts free, with paid plans scaling from $2.50/month when billed annually.
7. Ashampoo Snap 12 [Windows]
Source: YouTube
This Windows-only product has come a long way. Its latest screen capture software, Snap 12, is completely updated with impressive features.
For starters, there’s the pixel-perfect rectangular selections with a magnifying glass. Look no further if you want to capture screenshots down to the precise locations.
You can also capture a screenshot based on your mouse position. What’s more, navigating around the newly-designededitor is a piece of cake. You know what each tool does at a single glance.
Pricing: Starts free. To upgrade, pay a one-time fee of $24.99.
8. Lightshot [Multi-platform]
Source: YouTube
Available on Windows, Mac, Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Opera, it goes without saying that Lightshot is compatible on multiple platforms.
Even though Lightshot’s interface looks dated, the free pricing makes up for it.
One feature that stands out is Similar Image Search—pick an image on your screen, and the screen capture software will find dozens of similar pictures on Google.
Pricing: Free
9. Snip & Sketch [Basic]
If you’re looking for a free and basic screen capture software for Windows, Snip & Sketch (originally Screen Sketch) is a great option.
Take a rectangular, Windows, full screen, or freeform screenshot! It’s even possible to time your “snips” in three or 10 seconds. Use the eraser to delete specific strokes or click it twice to remove them all. Rotate the protractor to draw arches and more.
Snip & Sketch’s editing tools may be on the basic side, but they’re enough to accomodate the casual user.
Pricing: Free
10. Droplr[Teams]
Source: Droplr
Do you frequently email screenshots to your team or customers? Surely there must be a better way.
Droplr offers a variety of integrations (e.g., Trello, Intercom) to streamline your workflow across different teams.
Droplr also offers multiple built-in tools for collaboration.
Gather multiple screenshots into a collection and grab a unique URL link! You can even shorten the long, messy URL links with Droplr’s link shortener tool. Add tags to make searching easier and organize screenshots in your personal workspace.
Pricing: Free 3-day trial, with paid plans scaling from $7/month when billed annually.
Wrapping up: Which screen capture software will you choose today?
Screenshots are a lifesaver, especially when you need to illustrate your points and show them “in action” to the recipient. No surprise, these screen capture platforms do a great job at getting our message across smoothly.
Let’s quickly recap on each tool’s unique strengths!
- Skitch is best for beginners with basic editing needs.
- GoFullPage works great for full-page screenshots. If you’re tired of capturing each scroll window and compiling them in a single image, this should be your top pick.
- TinyTake lets you easily share large files with anyone, including non-users.
- Snagit is the best screen capture software for folks with advanced editing needs.
- CloudApp is an ideal choice if you often create screenshots of the same format.
- Monosnap fits developers to a tee, thanks to its tight integration with DigitalOcean.
- Ashampoo Snap 12 is excellent for Windows users with advanced editing needs.
- Lightshot is highly compatible with multiple platforms, including Windows, Mac, Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Opera.
- Snip & Sketch is a free Windows screen capture software with basic editing tools.
- Droplr is a surefire choice for teams that want to streamline their workflow.
Try these screen capture platforms today, and let us know which is your favorite.
And while you’re at it, browse over 1,000 tools on the AppSumo store. Whether you’re looking to pair your screen capture software with a screen recorder or full-on design suite, we got everything you need.