CleanShot Xvs
Shottr
Shottr: If you want a free option with paid extras rather than paying up front for everything
CleanShot X
Paid Mac screenshot and screen recording tool with annotation, scrolling capture and cloud sharing
As of 1 September 2026, CleanShot X starts at $29/one-time. A macOS screenshot and screen recording utility that replaces the built in capture tools with annotation, a scrolling capture mode, a self-cleaning desktop and optional cloud hosting for shared links. Softwr lists it under Utilities. CleanShot X is made by Antoine Lucas (Pika), available on Mac.
Overview
What CleanShot X does
CleanShot X captures screenshots and screen recordings with a floating annotation toolbar, scrolling capture for long web pages or documents, a persistent desktop hiding feature so a screenshot does not show desktop clutter, and quick GIF recording. Captures can be shared as links through CleanShot cloud hosting, with options like self-destructing links and custom domains on higher tiers. The distinguishing fact against Shottr and Kap is that CleanShot X has never had a free tier. It is a one-time 29 US dollar purchase for a permanent licence that includes 1GB of cloud storage and one year of app updates; after that year, further updates are an optional 19 dollars a year, though the app keeps working on the version already installed if that is skipped. A separate Cloud Pro subscription, starting at 8 dollars per user per month billed annually, adds team features like branded sharing domains and SSO. Shottr is free for most annotation use with a one-time paid unlock for extras, and Kap is entirely free and open source but focused on video rather than annotation. Buyers are designers, support teams and anyone who shares screenshots constantly and wants a polished annotated result without extra editing steps. The trade-off is cost stacked on cost: the base licence is reasonable, but a team wanting cloud link sharing at scale is paying an ongoing per-user subscription on top of the one-time app purchase.
What people use it 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
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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.
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of CleanShot X
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- CleanShot XvsKap
Kap: If your main need is simple screen recording rather than annotation and cloud link sharing
- CleanShot XvsPaste
Paste: If your workflow need is clipboard history generally rather than screenshot-specific capture
Pricing
What CleanShot X costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
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 /mo
- Per user, billed annually
- Branded sharing domains and self-destruct links
- SSO for team accounts
Capabilities
Features
Annotation toolbar
Floating tools for arrows, text, blur and shapes applied immediately after capture
Scrolling capture
Captures a full scrollable window or webpage as one stitched image
Cloud sharing links
Uploads captures to CleanShot cloud storage and copies a shareable link
Self-cleaning desktop
Hides desktop icons and clutter for the duration of a screenshot or recording
Quick GIF and video recording
Screen recording with trimming and instant GIF export
All in one clipboard
Records recent captures for quick recall and re-annotation
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
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.
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.
Is there a free version?
No. There is a trial but no permanent free tier, unlike Shottr.
Keep looking
Where to go from CleanShot X
- CleanShot X alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- CleanShot X pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- CleanShot X badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for CleanShot X, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
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Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
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