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.
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.
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.
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.
Where ksnip stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave ksnip
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Screenshot tools checklist (13 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Screenshot tools checklist | ksnip | Shottr | CleanShot X | Greenshot | Monosnap | Snagit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Region / window / scrolling capture | ||||||
| Annotations | ||||||
| OCR text extraction | ||||||
| Instant share link | ||||||
| Cloud upload | ||||||
| Pixel measure & color picker | ||||||
| Self-hosted upload target | ||||||
| One-time purchase option | ||||||
| Open source |
Every fact and feature listed for ksnip is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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Starts at Free verified 2026-07-10
ksnip is a non-profitable copylefted libre software project
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ksnip/ksnip/master/README.md -
License GPL-3.0 verified 2026-07-10
GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3, 29 June 2007
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ksnip/ksnip/master/LICENSE.txt -
Pricing model Free verified 2026-07-10
Free GPL-3.0; optional donations.
ksnip is a non-profitable copylefted libre software project, and still has some costs that need to be covered
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ksnip/ksnip/master/README.md -
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux verified 2026-07-10
Supports Linux (X11, Plasma Wayland, GNOME Wayland and xdg-desktop-portal Wayland), Windows and macOS.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ksnip/ksnip/master/README.md -
Status active verified 2026-07-10
Continuous build released 2026-07-03; binaries built for every pushed commit.
continuous
https://github.com/ksnip/ksnip/releases -
Region / window / scrolling capture Partial verified 2026-07-10
Region + window capture supported; no scrolling/full-page capture.
Screenshot of a custom rectangular area that can be drawn with mouse cursor.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ksnip/ksnip/master/README.md -
Annotations Yes verified 2026-07-10
Annotate screenshots with pen, marker, rectangles, ellipses, texts and other tools.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ksnip/ksnip/master/README.md -
OCR text extraction Partial verified 2026-07-10
Requires ksnip-plugin-ocr; not on macOS.
OCR support through plugin (Window and Linux/Unix).
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ksnip/ksnip/master/README.md -
Instant share link Partial verified 2026-07-10
Imgur upload yields a link, but no explicit auto-copy-link workflow.
Upload screenshots directly to imgur.com in anonymous or user mode.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ksnip/ksnip/master/README.md -
Cloud upload Yes verified 2026-07-10
Upload screenshots directly to imgur.com in anonymous or user mode.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ksnip/ksnip/master/README.md -
Pixel measure & color picker Partial verified 2026-07-10
Color picker via kColorPicker; no pixel-measurement tool.
ksnip depends on kImageAnnotator and kColorPicker
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ksnip/ksnip/master/README.md -
Self-hosted upload target Yes verified 2026-07-10
Upload screenshots via FTP in anonymous or user mode.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ksnip/ksnip/master/README.md -
One-time purchase option No verified 2026-07-10
Free GPL-3.0; no purchase.
GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3, 29 June 2007
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ksnip/ksnip/master/LICENSE.txt -
Open source Yes verified 2026-07-10
GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3, 29 June 2007
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ksnip/ksnip/master/LICENSE.txt
FAQ
Yes. Shottr, Greenshot and Monosnap have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Greenshot and Flameshot — every license claim links its source.