Best Snipping Tools for Mac in 2022
1. SnagIt
Best for: Screen recording and adding annotations
Screen Capture: Yes | Screen Record: Yes | Scrolling Capture: Yes | Ease of Use: Yes | Image Editing: Yes | Annotation Tools: Yes | Can Share Content: Yes | Optical Character Recognition: Yes | Has Mac Version: Yes
SnagIt is a free screen recording and screen capturing tool for macOS. You can use its screen capturing tool in various situations, including panoramic screen capture. It’s easy to use and only requires three steps.
Pros:
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Easy to use
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Content is shareable via the app
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Has a variety of basic snipping tools
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Can do scrolling screenshots
Cons:
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Grab Text feature sometimes doesn’t work
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Have to pay first on each upgraded feature before using
Pricing plans:
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Free Trial – 15 days
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Individual – $62.99/year
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Business – $62.99/year
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Education – $37.99/year
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Government & Non-profit – $53.99/year
Free Download
2. TextSniper App
Best for: Editing snippets
Screen Capture: Yes | Screen Record: Yes | Scrolling Capture: Yes | Ease of Use: Yes | Image Editing: Yes | Annotation Tools: No | Can Share Content: Yes | OCR: Yes | Has Mac Version: Yes
TextSniper is a great snipping tool for Mac users that features an effective OCR feature. This allows it to recognize texts from scanned images. Its beginner-friendly interface makes it ideal for daily use.
Pros:
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Easy-to-use interface
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App is available in various languages
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Affordable compared to other snipping apps
Cons:
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Major features require more payment to unlock
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OCR is sometimes inaccurate on complicated symbols
Pricing plans:
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Free Trial – 7 days
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License for 1 Mac – $7.99 (one-time payment)
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License for 3 Macs – $9.99 (one-time payment)
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Unlimited License – $11.99 (one-time payment)
Free Download
3. Movavi Screen Recorder
Best for: Screen recording for video conferences and virtual meetings
Screen Capture: Yes | Screen Record: Yes | Scrolling Capture: Yes | Ease of Use: Yes | Image Editing: Yes | Annotation Tools: No | Can Share Content: Yes | Optical Character Recognition: No | Has Mac Version: Yes
Another easy-to-use screen capturing tool is Movavi Screen Recorder. It features a great set of tools for screen recording that you can use to record video conferences and online videos. You can take snippets on your Mac with just one click.
Pros:
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Beginner-friendly interface
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Can screen record at 1080p high-quality
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Has a video editing tool that you can purchase
Cons:
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Software crashes were reported by some users
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Limited features on the trial version
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Exporting feature is buggy
Pricing plans:
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Free Trial – Unlimited
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Personal License – $39.95 (one-time payment)
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Business License – $49.95/year
Free Download
4. Monosnap
Best for: Storing snips in their cloud
Screen Capture: Yes | Screen Record: Yes | Scrolling Capture: Yes | Ease of Use: Yes | Image Editing: Yes | Annotation Tools: No | Can Share Content: Yes | Optical Character Recognition: No | Has Mac Version: Yes
Monosnap is a handy snipping tool for Mac computers that comes with its own cloud storage. You can use their cloud to store and share your snippets without worrying about them taking up too much space on your Mac. It’s a quick way to produce high-quality screenshots.
Pros:
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Can screen record GIFs and videos
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Customizable screenshot hotkeys
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Can capture on various parts of the screen
Cons:
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Limited features on the trial version
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Cost can get higher once you access more advanced features
Pricing plans:
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Free Trial – Unlimited
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Non-Commercial – $2.5/month if billed yearly, $3/month if billed monthly
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Commercial – $5/month if billed yearly, $10/month if billed monthly
Free Download
5. Greenshot
Best for: Lightweight screenshot app
Screen Capture: Yes | Screen Record: No | Scrolling Capture: No | Ease of Use: Yes | Image Editing: Yes | Annotation Tools: Yes | Can Share Content: Yes | Optical Character Recognition: No | Has Mac Version: Yes
Greenshot is an open-source snipping tool available for both Mac and Windows OS. It has the basic screenshot options and annotation tools, and you can also share your content through various platforms such as MS Office programs, Picasa, Flickr, etc.
Pros:
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Straightforward interface
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Does not take up too much memory space
Cons:
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The app cannot open two screenshots at once
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Mediocre screenshot quality compared to other paid snipping tools
Pricing plans:
- Paid for Mac users at $1.99
Free Download
6. Lightshot
Best for: Taking simple screenshots from an app, website, or a video
Screen Capture: Yes | Screen Record: No | Scrolling Capture: No | Ease of Use: Yes | Image Editing: Yes | Annotation Tools: No | Can Share Content: Yes | Optical Character Recognition: No | Has Mac Version: Yes
Lightshot is another lightweight screenshot tool for Mac and Windows computers. It captures screenshots efficiently and can be used to take consecutive screenshots without lagging. It has a beginner-friendly interface and is free.
Pros:
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Lightweight and easy to use
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Free and can be downloaded from the App Store
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Has basic editing tools for snippets
Cons:
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No capture modes
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Has no advanced editing and annotation tools
Pricing plans:
- Free
Free Download
7. SnapNDrag
Best for: Taking screenshots from videos, websites, emails
Screen Capture: Yes | Screen Record: No | Scrolling Capture: No | Ease of Use: Yes | Image Editing: Yes | Annotation Tools: Yes | Can Share Content: Yes | Optical Character Recognition: No | Has Mac Version: Yes
SnapNDrag is one of the older screenshot tools on Mac that can provide quality snippets. It has the basic annotating and editing tools necessary to edit your screenshots. You can also share the snippet via Mail, Messages, and social media platforms.
Pros:
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Quick way to take quality screenshots
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Has basic editing and annotating tools
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Customizable hotkeys
Cons:
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Screenshots have basic quality compared to other snipping tools
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The app interface can be buggy, as reported by some users
Pricing plans:
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Free Trial – Unlimited
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SnapNDrag Pro – $16.99 (one-time payment)
Free Download
8. Capto
Best for: Generating screenshots and creating small screen recordings
Screen Capture: Yes | Screen Record: Yes | Scrolling Capture: Yes | Ease of Use: Yes | Image Editing: Yes | Annotation Tools: Yes | Can Share Content: Yes | Optical Character Recognition: No | Has Mac Version: Yes
Capto is a screenshot tool on Mac that can also be used as a screen recording and video editing app. It has various screenshot modes and sharing options. You can also add annotations to your snippets using its editing tool.
Pros:
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Powerful software for taking screenshots and screen recordings
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Has advanced editing tools
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Supports HD screen recording
Cons:
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Instances of poor audio quality on screen recordings
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Limited file support
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Problems with handling larger media files
Pricing plans:
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Free Trial – 14 days
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Single User License – $29.99 (one-time payment)
Free Download
9. Skitch
Best for: Evernote users or lightweight screenshots that don’t require too much editing
Screen Capture: Yes | Screen Record: No | Scrolling Capture: No | Ease of Use: Yes | Image Editing: Yes | Annotation Tools: Yes | Can Share Content: No | Optical Character Recognition: No | Has Mac Version: Yes
If you’re the type to mark your screenshots, then Skitch is the best snipping tool available. It’s also owned by Evernote, so the integration between both apps are seamless. Outside of that, it’s a simple snipping and markup tool with limited features.
Pros:
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Integrates seamlessly with Evernote
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Free and can be found in the App Store
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Lots of photo marking tools
Cons:
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Lacks an eraser
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Cannot record video
Pricing plans:
- Free
Free Download
10. Droplr
Best for: Taking high-quality screen recordings
Screen Capture: Yes | Screen Record: Yes | Scrolling Capture: No | Ease of Use: Yes | Image Editing: Yes | Annotation Tools: Yes | Can Share Content: Yes | Optical Character Recognition: No | Has Mac Version: Yes
Droplr is one of the better tools on this list for screen recording and creating short GIFs. Lastly, users have access to a cloud link that they can share easily with others, which is perfect for apps that make it difficult to send complete photos.
Pros:
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4k quality screen-recording
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Premium add-ons
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Has a mobile app version
Cons:
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Cannot annotate until photos are uploaded, making it feel slow
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GIF customization is lacking
Pricing plans:
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Pro Plus – $6 per month
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Team – $7 per user/month up to 15 users
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Enterprise – Custom quote, 16+ users
Free Download
How to Snip on Mac
Taking snippets on Mac is easy as long as you know the right keyboard shortcuts. There are three ways to take a snip on your Mac computer:
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taking a screenshot of the entire screen
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taking a screenshot of a selected area
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taking a timed screenshot
To take a screenshot of the entire screen, this is what you need to do:
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Press the keys Command + Shift + 3.
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A small thumbnail will appear at the bottom-left where you can edit and save the image.
To take a screenshot of a selected area, follow these steps:
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Press the keys Command + Shift + 4 on your keyboard. A small bullseye icon will appear on the screen to replace the cursor.
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Click on the top-left corner of your desired area.
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Then, hold and drag to cover the rest of the area that you want to screenshot.
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Release once the whole area has been covered.
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A screenshot thumbnail will appear on the bottom-right corner of your screen.
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Click it to edit and save.
Lastly, here are the steps to take a timed screenshot:
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Press the keys Command + Shift + 5 to open the Screenshot app interface.
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Then, click on options and check either 5 or 10 seconds. You can now take a screenshot with a delay based on your selected time.
Where to Find Your Saved Screenshots on a Mac
By default, screenshots on a Mac are saved to the Desktop folder. You can change this location using the Screenshot app. Follow these steps:
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Open the Screenshot app by pressing Command + Shift + 5 or by using Spotlight Search and typing “screenshot.”
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Click Options.
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Under Save To, the checked folder shows the current destination for your screenshots.
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To change it, select a different folder. Close the app, and all future screenshots will be saved to the new location.