# Alternatives to ksnip Cross-platform Qt screenshot annotator. ksnip ranks #3 of 8 in Screenshot tools, with an Alt Score of 70. It is licensed under GPL-3.0, free from Free and available on Windows, macOS and Linux. 9 of 9 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/ksnip/ Category: Screenshot tools ## Where ksnip stands out - **Open source** — 3 of 8 apps with a verified answer have this - **Self-hosted upload target** — 3 of 8 apps with a verified answer have this ## Overview - **Who it's for**: Linux, Windows, and macOS users—developers, technical writers, students, and support staff—who need a free, open-source tool to capture and mark up screenshots without relying on proprietary or cloud-locked apps. - **What you get**: A Qt-based screenshot tool with flexible capture modes (rectangular region, full screen, active window, multi-monitor) paired with a built-in annotation toolkit: pen/marker drawing, shapes, text, arrows, stickers, blur/pixelate for redacting sensitive info, and image effects like borders, shadows, and watermarks. It also supports cropping, an OCR plugin, and direct upload to imgur, FTP, or custom scripts. - **How it works**: Trigger a capture (region, window, or full screen, optionally with a delay), then annotate the resulting image in the editor using the toolbar of drawing and markup tools, and finally save it locally, copy it to the clipboard, or upload it directly from the app. ## Profile - **License**: GPL-3.0 (verified 2026-07-10) - **Pricing model**: Free (verified 2026-07-10) - **Starts at**: Free (verified 2026-07-10) - **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Linux - **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-10) ## Ranked alternatives | # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms | |---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------| | 1 | [Shottr](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/shottr.md) | 90 | Proprietary | macOS | | 2 | [CleanShot X](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/cleanshot-x.md) | 75 | Proprietary | macOS | | 3 | [Greenshot](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/greenshot.md) | 70 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS | | 4 | [Monosnap](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/monosnap.md) | 70 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Browser extension | | 5 | [Snagit](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/snagit.md) | 65 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS | | 6 | [Flameshot](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/flameshot.md) | 50 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 7 | [Lightshot](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/lightshot.md) | 45 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Browser extension | Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/ ## Feature comparison Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified). | Screenshot tools checklist | ksnip | Shottr | CleanShot X | Greenshot | Monosnap | Snagit | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | Free | Freemium | One-time | Free | Freemium | Subscription | | Starts at | Free | Free | $29 | Free | $2.5 USD/mo | €39.57/year | | License | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | | Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | macOS | macOS | Windows, macOS | Windows, macOS, Browser extension | Windows, macOS | | Region / window / scrolling capture | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | | Annotations | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | OCR text extraction | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | | Instant share link | Partial | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | | Cloud upload | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | | Pixel measure & color picker | Partial | Yes | Partial | Partial | Yes | Partial | | Self-hosted upload target | Yes | Yes | No | Partial | Yes | No | | One-time purchase option | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | | Open source | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | ## Sources Sources for ksnip. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **Starts at**: Free — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “ksnip is a non-profitable copylefted libre software project” - **License**: GPL-3.0 — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3, 29 June 2007” - **Pricing model**: Free — (verified 2026-07-10) - Note: Free GPL-3.0; optional donations. - Quote: “ksnip is a non-profitable copylefted libre software project, and still has some costs that need to be covered” - **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Linux — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “Supports Linux (X11, Plasma Wayland, GNOME Wayland and xdg-desktop-portal Wayland), Windows and macOS.” - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-10) - Note: Continuous build released 2026-07-03; binaries built for every pushed commit. - Quote: “continuous” - **Region / window / scrolling capture**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-10) - Note: Region + window capture supported; no scrolling/full-page capture. - Quote: “Screenshot of a custom rectangular area that can be drawn with mouse cursor.” - **Annotations**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “Annotate screenshots with pen, marker, rectangles, ellipses, texts and other tools.” - **OCR text extraction**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-10) - Note: Requires ksnip-plugin-ocr; not on macOS. - Quote: “OCR support through plugin (Window and Linux/Unix).” - **Instant share link**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-10) - Note: Imgur upload yields a link, but no explicit auto-copy-link workflow. - Quote: “Upload screenshots directly to imgur.com in anonymous or user mode.” - **Cloud upload**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “Upload screenshots directly to imgur.com in anonymous or user mode.” - **Pixel measure & color picker**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-10) - Note: Color picker via kColorPicker; no pixel-measurement tool. - Quote: “ksnip depends on kImageAnnotator and kColorPicker” - **Self-hosted upload target**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “Upload screenshots via FTP in anonymous or user mode.” - **One-time purchase option**: No — (verified 2026-07-10) - Note: Free GPL-3.0; no purchase. - Quote: “GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3, 29 June 2007” - **Open source**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3, 29 June 2007” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/