Utilities · head to head
CleanShot X vs Rclone
CleanShot X
Utilities
Paid Mac screenshot and screen recording tool with annotation, scrolling capture and cloud sharing
- From
- $29/one-time
- Rated
- -
Rclone
Utilities
Command line sync and mount tool for around 70 cloud storage providers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Rclone has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: CleanShot X there is no free tier at all, unlike Shottr, so a user has to commit 29 dollars before ever trying the full feature set beyond a trial.; Rclone sync deletes files at the destination to make it match the source, so one transposed argument between source and destination can wipe a backup and there is no undo.
- They diverge on capability: CleanShot X covers Annotation toolbar, Rclone covers Unified backend model.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which CleanShot X and Rclone actually diverge.
| Attribute | CleanShot X | Rclone |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $29/one-time | Free |
| Pricing model | One-time purchase | Open source, no licence fee |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Mac | Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Docker |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Utilities).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in CleanShot X
- Annotation toolbar
- Scrolling capture
- Cloud sharing links
- Self-cleaning desktop
- Quick GIF and video recording
- All in one clipboard
Only in Rclone
- Unified backend model
- Crypt overlay
- FUSE mount
- Bisync
- Server-side transfers
- rclone serve
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
CleanShot X
- A support or design team that shares annotated screenshots constantly and wants a polished result without extra editing stepsnot Rclone
- Someone who frequently captures long web pages or documents and wants a single stitched scrolling screenshotnot Rclone
- A user who wants a screenshot with no desktop clutter visible in the background without manually tidying firstnot Rclone
- A team that wants branded shareable links with custom domains rather than generic hosted image URLsnot Rclone
Rclone
- Migrating tens of terabytes between two object storage providers without staging on local disknot CleanShot X
- Encrypted offsite backup to a cheap provider that you do not want reading your filenamesnot CleanShot X
- Mounting an object bucket for a media server that expects a filesystem pathnot CleanShot X
- Nightly one-way sync from an on-premises NAS to cloud storage as a second copynot CleanShot X
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
CleanShot X
- There is no free tier at all, unlike Shottr, so a user has to commit 29 dollars before ever trying the full feature set beyond a trial.
- App updates beyond the first year require an optional 19 dollar a year fee, which some users only discover after the first year lapses.
- Cloud Pro team features are a separate ongoing subscription on top of the one-time app purchase, so the full cost for a team is higher than the headline 29 dollars suggests.
- It is Mac only, so a mixed Windows and Mac team cannot standardise on one screenshot tool across both platforms.
- Its video recording is more basic than a dedicated screen recorder such as Kap or a full editor, so heavier video work still needs separate software.
Rclone
- Sync deletes files at the destination to make it match the source, so one transposed argument between source and destination can wipe a backup and there is no undo.
- Google Drive throttles the shared default OAuth client, so large jobs stall until you register a private API client ID, a step that is documented but easy to miss until a migration is already days behind.
- Millions of small files hit per-provider request ceilings rather than bandwidth limits, which makes transfer time nearly impossible to estimate from data volume alone.
- The FUSE mount is not a real filesystem; applications that expect POSIX locking, partial writes or fast directory listings will behave badly or corrupt state on network interruption.
- Support is a community forum and a single principal maintainer, so an organisation that needs contractual response times on a data movement tool has no vendor to buy that from.
Pricing, plan by plan
CleanShot X
$29/one-time- CleanShot X$29/one-time
- Permanent licence, keep the app forever
- 1GB of cloud storage included
- One year of app updates, optional 19 USD per year after
- Cloud Pro$8/month
- Per user, billed annually
- Branded sharing domains and self-destruct links
- SSO for team accounts
Rclone
Free- RcloneFree
- MIT licence with no paid edition
- All backends and features included
- Single static binary, no runtime dependencies
Which should you pick?
Choose CleanShot X if
- You need annotation toolbar.
- You work on Mac.
- You also want scrolling capture.
Choose Rclone if
- You need unified backend model.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Docker.
- You also want crypt overlay.
Questions people ask
- Is CleanShot X or Rclone better?
- Neither clearly leads. CleanShot X starts at $29/one-time and Rclone at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, CleanShot X or Rclone?
- Rclone has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/one-time for CleanShot X and Free for Rclone.
- Does CleanShot X or Rclone run on more platforms?
- CleanShot X runs on Mac. Rclone runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Docker.
- Can I use Rclone for free?
- Yes. Rclone has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. CleanShot X starts at $29/one-time.
- What is CleanShot X best used for?
- CleanShot X is most often used for a support or design team that shares annotated screenshots constantly and wants a polished result without extra editing steps, someone who frequently captures long web pages or documents and wants a single stitched scrolling screenshot, a user who wants a screenshot with no desktop clutter visible in the background without manually tidying first, a team that wants branded shareable links with custom domains rather than generic hosted image urls. Of those, a support or design team that shares annotated screenshots constantly and wants a polished result without extra editing steps and someone who frequently captures long web pages or documents and wants a single stitched scrolling screenshot are not what Rclone is typically brought in for.
- What can CleanShot X do that Rclone cannot?
- CleanShot X covers Annotation toolbar, Scrolling capture, Cloud sharing links, Self-cleaning desktop. Rclone covers Unified backend model, Crypt overlay, FUSE mount, Bisync.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
CleanShot X: Is CleanShot X a subscription?
The app itself is a one-time purchase. Only the optional Cloud Pro team plan and post-first-year update access are subscriptions or recurring fees.
Rclone: Does rclone cost anything at scale?
The software does not. Your storage provider bills egress and API requests, and a failed transfer that retries pays those charges twice.
CleanShot X: Does CleanShot X include cloud storage?
Yes, 1GB is included with the base purchase; more storage and team features require the separate Cloud Pro subscription.
Rclone: Can I use it as a backup tool?
It copies and syncs but does not do versioned incremental backup by default. Use it under a backup tool, or use its own crypt and backup-dir options deliberately.
CleanShot X: Is there a free version?
No. There is a trial but no permanent free tier, unlike Shottr.
Rclone: Why is my Google Drive transfer so slow when my link is fast?
You are almost certainly rate limited on the shared OAuth client. Create your own client ID in Google Cloud Console and configure the remote to use it.
Related pages
More on CleanShot X
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