MacPipAnswer
Shottr vs CleanShot X: which Mac screenshot app should you pick?
Pick Shottr if you want a small, fast screenshot tool you can use for free, with scrolling capture, text recognition, a ruler and a colour picker, and a $12 licence when you want the rest or use it for work. Pick CleanShot X if you also want screen recording with click highlights, keystrokes and a webcam, plus cloud share links, and you’re fine paying $35 once with a year of updates.
Both are Mac only and paid once at their base price. CleanShot X also has a Pro plan paid per user, monthly or yearly, and is sold through Setapp too.
Shottr and CleanShot X side by side
From each app’s own pages, read on 5 November 2026.
| Shottr | CleanShot X | Ahead | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free to use, Basic $12 once, Friends Club $30 | Basic $35 once, Pro $10 per user a month billed yearly | Shottr |
| Updates | Not stated on its pricing page | 1 year, then $19 a year if you want more | Unclear |
| Computers | One user, up to five computers | Extra seats in its License Manager | Shottr |
| Try first | Free, asks you to upgrade after 30 days | No trial, 30-day money-back | Shottr |
| macOS | 10.15 Catalina or later | 13 or later | Shottr |
| Screen recording | Not on its page | Yes: webcam, click highlights, keystrokes, MP4 or GIF | CleanShot X |
| Sharing | Upload to your own S3 storage (licence) | CleanShot Cloud links, comments, transcripts | CleanShot X |
Why pick Shottr
Shottr is a 2.4 MB download, optimized for Apple silicon. It does scrolling capture, text and QR code recognition, arrows, text, highlights, a spotlight, step counters, pixelate and object removal, a ruler with the arrow keys, a colour picker on Tab, overlays and pinned shots, and backgrounds with shadows and rounded corners. A licence is needed for commercial use, cloud upload and hiding the menu bar icon. It sends telemetry you can turn off in Preferences, and checks for updates on launch.
- You mostly take screenshots and want them fast.
- You want to pay little or nothing.
- You’re on an older Mac (it runs from macOS 10.15).
Why pick CleanShot X
CleanShot X covers screenshots and recordings in one app. It has scrolling capture, capture history, pinned shots, hiding desktop icons, markup with redaction, numbered steps and highlighted text, and 20 backgrounds. Its recorder adds a webcam bubble, click highlights, your keystrokes, voice and system audio, with Studio Mode for smart zooms and trimming. Text recognition runs on the Mac. CleanShot Cloud gives one-click links, comments, transcripts and, on the Pro plan, team sign-in with SSO and SCIM.
- You record your screen as often as you capture it.
- You share with a team and want links and comments.
- You already pay for Setapp.
A third option
Clacky’s screenshots (macOS 14 or later) have arrows, numbered steps, blur and a solid redact bar, Polish and Showcase frames, Scrolling Capture up to 20,000 pixels and Grab Text, and its recorder (macOS 15 or later) keeps live click sounds and ripples in the video. It costs $4.99 once with every update, after 3 days free. It has no cloud links. See Clacky vs CleanShot X.
Where these facts come from
Checked on 5 November 2026. Prices are in US dollars, before tax. Apps change, so check each page before you buy.
- Shottr: shottr.cc and pricing
- CleanShot X: cleanshot.com and pricing
Questions
Is Shottr free?
Does CleanShot X have a free trial?
Can Shottr record the screen?
Which one copies text from the screen?
Facts checked on 5 November 2026.
Related
- Clacky vs CleanShot XClacky vs CleanShot X for Mac: screen recording, captions, quick edits, screenshots, Grab Text, click sounds and price. A fair, sourced comparison.
- Is the built-in Mac screenshot tool enough?For everyday shots, yes. It has no blur or redact bar, numbered steps, backgrounds or scrolling capture. Here is what it does and when you need more.
- Scrolling CapturePick a window and Clacky scrolls it for you, stitching one tall image of the whole page.
- Screenshot editorGrab an area, a window or the whole screen. Mark it up with arrows, steps, text and blur, then copy or save.
- Copy text from an image or video on a MacUse Live Text: open the image in Preview or Photos, drag across the text, Control-click and choose Copy Text. For any screen, Clacky’s Grab Text is ⌥⇧⌘T.
- Is QuickTime enough for screen recording?For quick silent recordings, yes. Before macOS 27 it can’t record Mac sound, and it has no pause, camera bubble or captions. Here is when you need more.
Make something on your Mac today.
3 days free, every feature. Then $4.99 once.