10 Best Screenshot Apps for macOS
Screenshot for Mac 1.9.98.98 comes with built-in options for taking screenshots but it doesn’t offer users sufficient annotation options or advanced features like encryption, conversion to GIF, etc.
Today, we bring you a list of the 10 best screenshot apps available for macOS and they all have their unique features.
1. Snappy
Snappy is a beautiful feature-rich screenshot tool with so many advanced features I am surprised that it is free. It was designed for taking quick shots (referred to as snaps) and organizing them for you into collections.
Snappy also supports annotation, sharing, iCloud sync, and password encryption.
2. CloudApp
CloudApp enables you to record videos, webcam, annotate screenshots, and create GIFs that you can save to the cloud.
It is free to use forever (after a 14-day free trial) and it is on our list because the free version offers all that you will need for typical and even somewhat advanced screenshotting tasks.
3. Quicktime
macOS ships with Quicktime so you don’t need to go looking for a download link. If you didn’t already know, Quicktime is a beautiful video player that you can use to record your screen.
Quicktime is excellent for those who want to take screenshots without the need for making annotations or adding effects. You can record your screen by heading to File > New Screen Recording.
Select the screen area that you want to capture, choose whether you want to record video, and hit the record button.
4. Lighshot
Lightshot is a lightweight screenshot app for taking quick captures of your screen. All you have to do is drag the selection tool to cover the area you want to capture and save it either locally or online on prntscr.com where it will be publicly available.
screenshot mac with windows keyboard
5. Monosnap
Monosnap is a free screenshot utility that allows you to annotate images as soon as they are captured. You can decide to export your captures to JPG or PNG, or even export them to external apps like Gimp.
6. Skitch
Skitch is an app that was created to work with Evernote. You can use it to create screenshots and it has a variety of annotation tools that you can easily use to mark up images.
7. Jing
Jing is a free screenshotting tool brought to you by the makers of Snag It. It provides an avenue for home and office users to create visual elements and share with others. It also supports a seamless integration with Screencast.
8. Screenie
Screenie is a free screenshotting tool that also works as an image manager. It features the ability to filter and search through images, change screenshot filetypes to JPG, PSD, etc., and to take timed desktop screenshots using the touch bar.
9. Teampaper Snap
Teampaper Snap is a modern screenshotting app that allows you to take screenshots of a selected area. It works in the menu bar with copy & paste support. It also allows you to share your screenshots with third parties via links.
10. CleanShot
The last but definitely not the least is the awesome CleanShot. It enables you to take clutter-free screenshots of your Desktop. That’s right, you don’t have to worry about your desktop icons being all over the place.
What’s even cooler is that you can generate correctly aligned window screenshots with your wallpaper as a background, customize keyboard shortcuts, record your screen, etc.
CleanShot is the only non-free app on our list and it will cost you a whole $15. You decide if it’s worth it. Did I mention any of your favourite screenshot app for Mac or I leave it out? Drop your comments in the section below.
Take a screenshot on your Mac
You can capture the entire screen, a window, or just a portion of the screen.
How to take a screenshot on your Mac
- To take a screenshot, press and hold these three keys together: Shift, Command, and 3.
- If you see a thumbnail in the corner of your screen, click it to edit the screenshot. Or wait for the screenshot to save to your desktop.
How to capture a portion of the screen
- Press and hold these three keys together: Shift, Command, and 4.
- Drag the crosshair
to select the area of the screen to capture. To move the selection, press and hold Space bar while dragging. To cancel taking the screenshot, press the Esc (Escape) key. - To take the screenshot, release your mouse or trackpad button.
- If you see a thumbnail in the corner of your screen, click it to edit the screenshot. Or wait for the screenshot to save to your desktop.
How to capture a window or menu
- Open the window or menu that you want to capture.
- Press and hold these keys together: Shift, Command, 4, and Space bar. The pointer changes to a camera icon
. To cancel taking the screenshot, press the Esc (Escape) key. - Click the window or menu to capture it. To exclude the window’s shadow from the screenshot, press and hold the Option key while you click.
- If you see a thumbnail in the corner of your screen, click it to edit the screenshot. Or wait for the screenshot to save to your desktop.
Where to find screenshots
By default, screenshots save to your desktop with the name ”Screen Shot [date] at [time].png.”
In macOS Mojave or later, you can change the default location of saved screenshots from the Options menu in the Screenshot app. You can also drag the thumbnail to a folder or document.
How to Take a Screenshot on a Mac
Screenshot Tool
If you want to open the screenshot tool, navigate to Launchpad > Other > Screenshot, or use the shortcut Shift+Command+5. You will have the option to take a screenshot of the entire screen, a selected window, or a custom section of the screen.
There are also options to capture recorded video, including the entire screen or a custom section of the screen. An options drop-down menu allows you to choose where to save screenshots, set up a timer, and other settings.
Grab the Whole Screen
You can take a screen grab of the entire screen from the screenshot tool, or you can use the shortcut Shift+Command+3. By default, the screenshot will save as a .png file on your desktop.
Screenshot Part of the Screen
To capture a specific part of your screen, press Shift+Command+4 and your pointer will change to a cross-hair. Click and drag the cross-hair so that it covers the area you wish to capture. Let go to grab the selected area or press the Esc key to cancel. By holding down Shift, Option, or Space Bar, you can change the shape, size, and position of the selection area before capturing an image. The screenshot will be saved as a .png file on the desktop by default.
Take an Image of the Touch Bar
If you have a Mac with a Touch Bar, you can take a screenshot of it by pressing Shift+Command+6. The image will be saved as a .png file on your desktop.
Change Where Your Mac Screenshots Are Saved
By default, screenshots are saved to your desktop, but you can change that. Open the screenshot tool with Shift+Command+5, or by going to Launchpad > Other > Screenshot > Options. Under the menu section Save to, you can select a new default location, like Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages, or Preview. Or click Other Location to choose a specific folder.
Instead of saving screenshots directly to your computer, you can instead send them to the clipboard by adding the Control key to any shortcut command. For instance, use Shift+Command+Control+3 to capture the entire screen, or Shift+Command+Control+4 to take a screenshot of a portion of the screen. You can then paste the screenshot anywhere you like.
Change Image Format
By default, screenshots on Mac are saved as .png files, but those can get pretty big, especially if you have a large Retina display monitor. You can switch to .jpg format with a small amount of coding. Go to Launchpad > Other > Terminal and type the following inside the new window:Enter your password if asked, then restart the computer. Future screenshots should save in the preferred format you specified. You can always change it back by typing the above command with PNG at the end instead.
Third-Party Options
If you prefer a third-party solution, Snaggit has everything you could need, but also comes with a $50 price tag. The same company also makes a free program called TechSmith Capture (formerly Jing). Other free options include Skitch and LightShot, while Snappy can sync screenshots with the Snappy app for iOS.
Conclusion
Screenshot tools for Mac have always been easy to use, yet somewhat rudimentary. You could capture just about anything if you knew the right keyboard shortcuts, but you had to know what you were doing first. Since the release of Mojave, macOS now has a built-in screenshot tool—similar to what you might find in Windows—that allows you to take screen grabs with the click of a button. Here’s how to capture what’s on your screen.