Is Kap or Magnet better?

Neither clearly leads. Kap starts at Free and Magnet at $4.99/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Kap or Magnet?

Kap has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Kap and $4.99/one-time for Magnet.

Does Kap or Magnet 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. Magnet starts at $4.99/one-time.

What is Kap best used for?

Kap is most often used for a developer recording a demo gif for a readme or documentation page, a marketer capturing a quick product walkthrough clip without buying screen recording software, someone creating app store style device-framed screenshots for a listing, a user who only needs video capture and does not want to pay for a suite of annotation features they will not use. Of those, a developer recording a demo gif for a readme or documentation page and a marketer capturing a quick product walkthrough clip without buying screen recording software are not what Magnet is typically brought in for.

What can Kap do that Magnet cannot?

Kap covers Multi-format export, Area, window or display capture, Plugin system, Basic trimming. Magnet covers Keyboard shortcuts, Drag to snap, Multi-display support, Mac App Store distribution.

Utilities · head to head

Kap vs Magnet

Kap

Utilities

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

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Magnet

Utilities

Mac App Store window manager sold as a one-time paid app, with no free tier

From: $4.99/one-time
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: Kap it has no annotation tools at all, so any still-image markup work needs a separate app such as Shottr or CleanShot X.; Magnet there is no free tier at all, so a user cannot try before buying beyond the Mac App Store return window.
They diverge on capability: Kap covers Multi-format export, Magnet covers Keyboard shortcuts.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kap and Magnet actually diverge.

Attributes where Kap and Magnet differ
Attribute	Kap	Magnet
Starting price	Free	$4.99/one-time
Pricing model	Open source, no licence fee	One-time purchase
Free tier	Yes	No

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 Kap

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

Only in Magnet

Keyboard shortcuts
Drag to snap
Multi-display support
Mac App Store distribution
Menu bar access
Third display layouts

What people use each for

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

Kap

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

Magnet

A user who wants the App Store handling licensing, family sharing and updates automaticallynot Kap
Someone who prefers paying a small one-time fee up front over evaluating a free tool firstnot Kap
A less technical user who does not want to install from GitHub or Homebrewnot Kap
A family sharing one Apple ID that wants one purchase to cover multiple Macs in the householdnot Kap

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Magnet

There is no free tier at all, so a user cannot try before buying beyond the Mac App Store return window.
It offers fewer customisation options than Rectangle, such as fewer configurable snap zones and less granular per-app behaviour.
Update cadence has historically been slower than the actively developed open source Rectangle project.
It is Mac only and App Store only, so it cannot be scripted, redistributed internally by a company, or installed outside Apple normal channels.
Being a small independent app, support depends on the developer responding to App Store reviews or email rather than a dedicated support team.

Pricing, plan by plan

Kap

Free

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

Magnet

$4.99/one-time

Magnet$4.99/one-time
- Full app unlocked immediately, no trial gating
- Mac App Store purchase and family sharing
- Free updates through the App Store

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Magnet if

You need keyboard shortcuts.
You work on Mac.
You also want drag to snap.

Magnet review

Questions people ask

Is Kap or Magnet better?: Neither clearly leads. Kap starts at Free and Magnet at $4.99/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kap or Magnet?: Kap has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Kap and $4.99/one-time for Magnet.
Does Kap or Magnet 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. Magnet starts at $4.99/one-time.
What is Kap best used for?: Kap is most often used for a developer recording a demo gif for a readme or documentation page, a marketer capturing a quick product walkthrough clip without buying screen recording software, someone creating app store style device-framed screenshots for a listing, a user who only needs video capture and does not want to pay for a suite of annotation features they will not use. Of those, a developer recording a demo gif for a readme or documentation page and a marketer capturing a quick product walkthrough clip without buying screen recording software are not what Magnet is typically brought in for.
What can Kap do that Magnet cannot?: Kap covers Multi-format export, Area, window or display capture, Plugin system, Basic trimming. Magnet covers Keyboard shortcuts, Drag to snap, Multi-display support, Mac App Store distribution.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kap: Is Kap free?

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

Magnet: Does Magnet have a free version?

No. It has always been a paid Mac App Store purchase with no free tier.

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.

Magnet: Can I share one purchase across my family Macs?

Yes, through Apple Family Sharing on the Mac App Store, the same as any other App Store app.

Kap: Can Kap export directly to GIF?

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

Magnet: How is it different from Rectangle?

Magnet is a paid App Store app from the start; Rectangle is free and open source, with paid Pro features sold as a separate app.

Kap vs Magnet

Kap

Magnet

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Kap

Only in Magnet

What people use each for

Kap

Magnet

Where each one falls short

Kap

Magnet

Pricing, plan by plan

Kap

Magnet

Which should you pick?

Choose Kap if

Choose Magnet if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Kap

More on Magnet

Keep looking

Other head to heads