Is Hazel or Kap better?

Neither clearly leads. Hazel starts at $42/one-time and Kap at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Hazel or Kap?

Kap has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $42/one-time for Hazel and Free for Kap.

Does Hazel or Kap run on more platforms?

Both run on Mac, so platform support will not decide this one for you.

Can I use Kap for free?

Yes. Kap has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Hazel starts at $42/one-time.

What is Hazel best used for?

Hazel is most often used for a freelancer who wants invoices and receipts auto-filed into client folders based on the text inside them, anyone whose downloads folder becomes unmanageable and wants files auto-sorted by type or age, a photographer who wants imported files renamed by date pattern and moved to a project folder automatically, a user who wants old files in a scratch folder auto-deleted after a set number of days without remembering to clear it manually. Of those, a freelancer who wants invoices and receipts auto-filed into client folders based on the text inside them and anyone whose downloads folder becomes unmanageable and wants files auto-sorted by type or age are not what Kap is typically brought in for.

What can Hazel do that Kap cannot?

Hazel covers Folder watching, Conditional actions, Content-based matching, Duplicate detection. Kap covers Multi-format export, Area, window or display capture, Plugin system, Basic trimming.

Utilities · head to head

Hazel vs Kap

Hazel

Utilities

Rule-based file organisation for macOS that watches folders and automatically files, renames or deletes

From: $42/one-time
Rated: -

Full review Website

Kap

Utilities

Free open source screen recorder for macOS, focused on video and GIF capture rather than annotation

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Kap has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Hazel there is no free tier, only a 14-day trial, so the full 42 dollar cost is a real barrier for a casual user just wanting one simple rule.; Kap it has no annotation tools at all, so any still-image markup work needs a separate app such as Shottr or CleanShot X.
They diverge on capability: Hazel covers Folder watching, Kap covers Multi-format export.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hazel and Kap actually diverge.

Attributes where Hazel and Kap differ
Attribute	Hazel	Kap
Starting price	$42/one-time	Free
Pricing model	One-time purchase	Open source, no licence fee
Free tier	No	Yes

Identical on both: platforms (Mac), 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 Hazel

Folder watching
Conditional actions
Content-based matching
Duplicate detection
Trash auto-empty
App Sweep

Only in Kap

Multi-format export
Area, window or display capture
Plugin system
Basic trimming
Menu bar operation
Open source

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Hazel

A freelancer who wants invoices and receipts auto-filed into client folders based on the text inside themnot Kap
Anyone whose Downloads folder becomes unmanageable and wants files auto-sorted by type or agenot Kap
A photographer who wants imported files renamed by date pattern and moved to a project folder automaticallynot Kap
A user who wants old files in a scratch folder auto-deleted after a set number of days without remembering to clear it manuallynot Kap

Kap

A developer recording a demo GIF for a README or documentation pagenot Hazel
A marketer capturing a quick product walkthrough clip without buying screen recording softwarenot Hazel
Someone creating App Store style device-framed screenshots for a listingnot Hazel
A user who only needs video capture and does not want to pay for a suite of annotation features they will not usenot Hazel

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Hazel

There is no free tier, only a 14-day trial, so the full 42 dollar cost is a real barrier for a casual user just wanting one simple rule.
Rules are entirely hand-built, so the tool provides no value until a user invests time writing and testing conditions.
A misconfigured rule can silently move, rename or delete the wrong files, and mistakes are only obvious after the fact unless tested carefully first.
It is Mac only, so it does nothing for a Windows machine sharing the same file workflow.
It focuses purely on file automation, so a user also wanting window management, clipboard history or gesture control needs entirely separate tools.

Kap

It has no annotation tools at all, so any still-image markup work needs a separate app such as Shottr or CleanShot X.
There is no scrolling capture or OCR, features both Shottr and CleanShot X include.
Editing is limited to basic trimming, so anything beyond a simple cut needs a dedicated video editor afterward.
It is Mac only, offering nothing for screen recording needs on Windows.
As a volunteer-maintained open source project, updates and bug fixes depend on community contribution rather than a company with paid support obligations.

Pricing, plan by plan

Hazel

$42/one-time

Single User Licence$42/one-time
- One user, Hazel 6
- Free updates within the major version
- 14-day free trial before purchase
Family Pack$65/one-time
- Multiple users covered under one purchase
- Same feature set as the single licence

Kap

Free

KapFree
- Free and open source under the MIT licence
- MP4, WebM, GIF and device frame export
- Plugin system for extended workflows

Which should you pick?

Choose Hazel if

You need folder watching.
You work on Mac.
You also want conditional actions.

Hazel review

Choose Kap if

You need multi-format export.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Mac.
You also want area, window or display capture.

Kap review

Questions people ask

Is Hazel or Kap better?: Neither clearly leads. Hazel starts at $42/one-time and Kap at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hazel or Kap?: Kap has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $42/one-time for Hazel and Free for Kap.
Does Hazel or Kap run on more platforms?: Both run on Mac, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Kap for free?: Yes. Kap has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Hazel starts at $42/one-time.
What is Hazel best used for?: Hazel is most often used for a freelancer who wants invoices and receipts auto-filed into client folders based on the text inside them, anyone whose downloads folder becomes unmanageable and wants files auto-sorted by type or age, a photographer who wants imported files renamed by date pattern and moved to a project folder automatically, a user who wants old files in a scratch folder auto-deleted after a set number of days without remembering to clear it manually. Of those, a freelancer who wants invoices and receipts auto-filed into client folders based on the text inside them and anyone whose downloads folder becomes unmanageable and wants files auto-sorted by type or age are not what Kap is typically brought in for.
What can Hazel do that Kap cannot?: Hazel covers Folder watching, Conditional actions, Content-based matching, Duplicate detection. Kap covers Multi-format export, Area, window or display capture, Plugin system, Basic trimming.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hazel: Is Hazel a subscription?

No. It is a one-time purchase per major version, currently 42 US dollars for a single user licence.

Kap: Is Kap free?

Yes, entirely. It is open source under the MIT licence with no paid tier.

Hazel: Can Hazel read the content of files, not just names?

Yes, rules can match on text found inside supported file types such as PDFs and text documents.

Kap: Does Kap do screenshots or only video?

It is focused on video and GIF recording. For still screenshots with annotation, pair it with Shottr or CleanShot X.

Hazel: Does Hazel run in the background automatically?

Yes, it watches configured folders continuously and applies rules as files change, with no manual trigger needed.

Kap: Can Kap export directly to GIF?

Yes, GIF is one of its native export formats alongside MP4, WebM and Apple device frames.

Hazel vs Kap

Hazel

Kap

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Hazel

Only in Kap

What people use each for

Hazel

Kap

Where each one falls short

Hazel

Kap

Pricing, plan by plan

Hazel

Kap

Which should you pick?

Choose Hazel if

Choose Kap if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Hazel

More on Kap

Keep looking

Other head to heads