# Alternatives to Lightshot

Minimal upload-and-share screenshots.

Lightshot ranks #8 of 8 in Screenshot tools, with an Alt Score of 45. It is proprietary, free from Free and available on Windows, macOS and Browser extension. 7 of 9 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/lightshot/
Category: Screenshot tools

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Windows and Mac users who need a fast, no-frills way to capture screenshots and share them without installing a heavy image-editing suite. It suits both casual users and professionals who screenshot frequently for support, documentation, or quick sharing.
- **What you get**: A lightweight capture tool that lets you select any screen area with a hotkey and grab it in two clicks. It includes a simple built-in editor for annotating (arrows, text, crop) before sharing, and one-click upload that generates a shareable link automatically. It also offers a reverse image search feature to find visually similar images online.
- **How it works**: Press the assigned hotkey, drag to select the screen region you want, then optionally annotate it in the pop-up editor. Save it locally or upload it directly to get a shareable link, and use the built-in search to find similar images if needed.

## Profile

- **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-10)
- **Pricing model**: Free (verified 2026-07-10)
- **Starts at**: Free (verified 2026-07-10)
- **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Browser extension

## 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 | [ksnip](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/ksnip.md) | 70 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 5 | [Monosnap](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/monosnap.md) | 70 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Browser extension |
| 6 | [Snagit](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/snagit.md) | 65 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS |
| 7 | [Flameshot](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/flameshot.md) | 50 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |

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 | Lightshot | Shottr | CleanShot X | Greenshot | ksnip | Monosnap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free | Freemium | One-time | Free | Free | Freemium |
| Starts at | Free | Free | $29 | Free | Free | $2.5 USD/mo |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Browser extension | macOS | macOS | Windows, macOS | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Browser extension |
| Region / window / scrolling capture | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial | Yes |
| Annotations | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| OCR text extraction | ? | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial | Yes |
| Instant share link | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Partial | Yes |
| Cloud upload | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
| Pixel measure & color picker | ? | Yes | Partial | Partial | Partial | Yes |
| Self-hosted upload target | No | Yes | No | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| One-time purchase option | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Open source | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |

## Sources

Sources for Lightshot. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **Pricing model**: Free — <https://app.prntscr.com/index.html> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Download Lightshot for free”
- **Starts at**: Free — <https://app.prntscr.com/index.html> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Download Lightshot for free”
- **License**: Proprietary — <https://app.prntscr.com/license.html> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Note: No OSS license; closed-source.
  - Quote: “Except where diligently implied, absolutely NO part of Skillbrains website may be reproduced or recreated without explicit written permission by operators of Skillbrains”
- **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Browser extension — <https://app.prntscr.com/index.html> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Lightshot is available for Windows / Mac , Chrome , Firefox , IE & Opera .”
- **Region / window / scrolling capture**: Partial — <https://app.prntscr.com/index.html> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Note: Only free-form region selection documented; no window/scrolling capture stated.
  - Quote: “Our app allows you to select any area on your desktop and take its screenshot with 2 button-clicks.”
- **Annotations**: Yes — <https://app.prntscr.com/learnmore.html> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “It has the classic Pen, Brush and Blur tools, and you can even highlight something or add a text note.”
- **Instant share link**: Yes — <https://app.prntscr.com/index.html> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Upload your screenshot to the server and get its short link right away.”
- **Cloud upload**: Yes — <https://app.prntscr.com/index.html> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Upload your screenshot to the server and get its short link right away.”
- **Self-hosted upload target**: No — <https://app.prntscr.com/index.html> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Note: Uploads only to Skillbrains' prntscr.com; no self-hosted target.
  - Quote: “Upload your screenshot to the server and get its short link right away.”
- **One-time purchase option**: No — <https://app.prntscr.com/index.html> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Note: Free; no paid purchase tier.
  - Quote: “Download Lightshot for free”
- **Open source**: No — <https://app.prntscr.com/license.html> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Note: No source repo / OSS license; proprietary.
  - Quote: “All other content is copyright by Skillbrains.”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/