14 Best Free Snipping Tools in 2023 [Updated]

Snipping tools are useful for everyone from students to content creators, but which one is the best for you? In this guide, we'll take a look at some of the best free snipping tools you can use.

Best for: users who want a fully-featured snipping tool and a screen recorder

OS: Windows, Mac

Price: free trial, full version from $59.95

G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5, 50 reviews

If you're looking for a snipping tool for Windows or Mac, Movavi Screen Recorder should be on your list. This multifunctional app is both a snipping tool and a screen recorder in one, capable of recording online calls and webinars, creating original video content, and snapping partial or full snapshots of your screen. The app has a free trial, so you can test it out before purchasing.

Key features:

• Screen recording and snipping

• Scrolling screenshots

• Built-in editing tools

• Can capture audio and video

Pros:

• More functional than most snipping tools

• Creates quality images and video recordings

• Easy to use for beginners

Cons:

• You need to pay for the full-featured version

Best for: users who want a free, open-source snipping tool

OS: Windows

Price: free

TechRadar rating: 4.5 out of 5

ShareX is often regarded as one of the best free snipping tools for Windows 10 available. It's a completely free and open-source tool for Windows 7 to 11 that you can use to capture your screen in a variety of ways, e.g. take a picture from a video or capture a particular window.

Key features:

• Multiple capture methods

• An open-source app

• No ads or hidden fees

Pros:

• Lightweight and quick to set up

• Easy to use

• Always free for everyone

• One of the best snipping tools that’s free

Cons:

• No ads or hidden fees

Download ShareX

Best for: users with multiple monitors

OS: Windows

Price: free version, premium version from $29.99

G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5, 27 reviews

Screenpresso is another free Windows snipping tool that is lightweight, quick to install, and easy to use. It offers image and video capture and built-in editing, so you can enhance your captures with arrows and annotations. It's also a great tool for people with multiple monitors, as you can capture different windows and image regions across each screen with ease.

Key features:

• One-click capture

• Built-in editing tools

• Drag & drop sharing

Pros:

• Useful for multiple monitor set-ups

• Quick and easy online sharing

• Top quality images and videos

Cons:

• No Mac or Linux support

Download Screenpresso

#ComissionsEarned

Best for: users who want to take screenshots for free without a watermark

OS: Windows, macOS

Price: free trial, lifetime license for $49.96

G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars. 2 reviews

Aiseesoft Screen Recorder works to capture online videos, games, webinars, lectures, Skype calls, videoconferences, and webcam videos. You can record in full screen or set customized screen size parameters.

Aiseesoft offers all you need to take a screenshot: different capture modes, a selection of output formats and an ease of use.

Key features:

• Various image formats for screenshots

• Works on both Windows and Mac

Pros:

• Easy to take snapshots

• No watermark with the free version

• Hotkeys

Cons:

• Less than stellar reports from customer service interaction

• Unintuitive user interface

Download Aiseesoft Screen Recorder

#ComissionsEarned

Best for: Users who want to be able to screenshot, screencast, and edit with just one program

OS: Windows

Price: 30 days free, licences from $19.77

G2 rating: 4.8 out of 5, 12 reviews

Action! Screen Recorder is a Windows screen recorder by Mirillis. It has HD recording capabilities and comes with a 30-day free trial. You can take screenshots of a full screen, web player, and/or a specific section of the screen. It also comes with a free Android app that lets you control your recording while it’s in progress without touching your computer.

Key features:

• Supports screenshots, recording, and streaming

• Plenty of output formats

Pros:

• Feature-rich

• Includes editing features

Cons:

• Needs a decent PC to perform well

Download Action! - screen and game recorder

Best for: users who want a one-button snip tool

OS: Windows, Mac, Linux

Price: free

G2 rating: 4.9 out of 5, 5 reviews

ScreenRec is an alternative snipping tool for Windows that you may want to consider. This tool stands out for its speediness and convenience. It's really straightforward to use and captures screenshots with a single click or keyboard shortcut. You can also instantly upload your screenshots to the cloud, with 2 GB of storage space. ScreenRec is cross-platform, so you can use this snipping tool on Linux and Mac as well. 

Key features:

• One-click capture

• Multiple capture methods

• 2 GB cloud storage

Pros:

• Quick and easy to use

• Instant capture with a click or keyboard shortcut

• Free cloud storage included

Cons:

• Cloud has some privacy issues

Download ScreenRec

Best for: users who want a snipping tool with intuitive editing

OS: Windows, Mac

Price: free

G2 rating: 4.7 out of 5, 103 reviews

Lightshot is a useful snipping tool for Mac and Windows. The best thing about this snipping tool is its built-in editor, allowing you to adjust, enhance, and annotate your captures with ease before you save or share them online.

Key features:

• 2-click capture

• Share screenshots online

• Built-in editor with various editing tools

Pros:

• Really easy to use

• Runs on both Windows and Mac

• Powerful and intuitive editing

Cons:

• Lots of pop-up notifications

Download Lightshot

Best for: users who want an all-in-one design tool

OS: Windows

Price: free version, premium version from $2.50/month

CNET rating: 3.5 out of 5, 137 reviews

Next up, we have PicPick. This is more of an advanced design tool than a simple screenshot tool. It's capable of capturing screenshots, but also offers much more, like graphical special effects, whiteboard features, and other design tools aimed at a designer audience.

Key features:

• All-in-one design tool

• Includes snipping, image editor, whiteboard, and more

• Special effects and graphical tools

Pros:

• Lots of useful features

• Great customer support

• Advanced design elements

Cons:

• Only available for Windows

Download PicPick

Best for: users who want a very user-friendly snipping tool

OS: Windows, Mac

Price: free

G2 rating: 4.8 out of 5, 143 reviews

Greenshot is another snipping tool for Windows and Mac. It's free and open-source, and it stands out for its user-friendly design and sleek interface, as well as its wide range of screenshot modes and capture methods, including scrolling screenshots.

Key features:

• Free and open source

• Multiple capture methods

• Take scrolling screenshots

Pros:

• Very beginner-friendly

• Always free to use, with no hidden fees

• Useful for different screenshot types and sizes

Cons:

• Lacks recording features

Download Greenshot

Best for: users who want an online snipping tool

OS: any (web-based)

Price: free version, premium version for $9.95 /month

Trustpilot rating: 4.7 out of 5, 637 reviews

Screencapture.com is an online screen recorder you can use to capture videos and images of your screen. It offers high-quality recordings, strong privacy protection for your files, rapid video saving in HD quality, and the option to capture audio and video via your mic and webcam, if needed.

Key features:

• A versatile online screen recorder

• Privacy protection for your recorded files

• Mic and webcam support

Pros:

• Really easy to use

• Runs in your browser

• Top quality images and recordings

Cons:

• You have to pay for the full version

Go to Screencapture.com

Best for: users who want a snip tool with real-time editing

OS: any (web-based)

Price: free version, premium version from $29.95/month

TechRadar rating: 4.5 out of 5

Next up, we have Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder, another online screenshot app you can use to capture your screen for free, although there is a premium version that has more features and capabilities. This app lets you capture your screen's content, as well as work with mics and webcams for extra audio and video.

Key features:

• Record video and capture images of your screen

• Capture both video and audio simultaneously

• Real-time editing

Pros:

• User-friendly interface

• Top quality recording

• Easy on-the-fly editing and annotations

Cons:

• Many features locked behind paywall

Go to Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder

Best for: users who want to take screenshots directly in the browser

OS: any

Price: free

Chrome Web Store rating: 4 out of 5, 36 reviews

It's also possible to find free snipping tool browser extensions, like Movavi Screenshot. This extension can be added to Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox and used for capturing snaps and images of your browser windows at the touch of a button. It allows you to capture, edit, and save images in a variety of formats and share them to OneNote or via email. You can use this extension on both Windows and Mac. So, if your tool for screenshots is not working on a Mac, Movavi Screenshot will help you out. 

Key features:

• Capture and save files easily

• Uploads to OneNote or email

• Take full or partial captures

Pros:

• Runs in both Chrome and Firefox

• Perfect for capturing anything in your browser

• Quick to install and easy to use

Cons:

• Doesn't run in other browsers

Add Movavi ScreenShot to Chrome

Best for: users who want a screenshot and screen recorder extension

OS: any

Price: free

Chrome Web Store rating: 4.6 out of 5, 24,715 reviews

Awesome Screenshot and Screen Recorder is another browser extension that runs in Google Chrome. It doubles up as both a snipping tool and screen recorder, so you can take videos in addition to capturing screenshots and snapshots of your browser. It's free and easy to use, with no ads to worry about.

Key features:

• Screen capture and recording

• Can capture audio as well as video

• Multiple capture modes

Pros:

• Great for making quick videos and captures

• Excellent customer support

• Useful guides for beginners

Cons:

• You may not need all of the different features

Add Awesome Screenshot and Screen Recorder to Chrome

Best for: users who want a trusted snipping tool for Chrome

OS: any

Price: free

Chrome Web Store rating: 4.6 out of 5, 16,314 reviews

Last but not least, we have Nimbus Screenshot & Screen Video Recorder. The extension is available in Google Chrome, so you can access it from any device with this browser, e.g. you can use it for screen capture on a Chromebook. The tool lets you capture full or partial web page screenshots, record screencasts, and edit your screenshots as needed with trimming, cropping, and annotations.

Key features:

• Built-in editor

• Record videos and take screenshots

• Instant uploads and sharing

Pros:

• A fully-featured extension

• Lots of functions like recording and editing

• Enhance and adjust your captures with ease

Cons:

• Only on Chrome

Add Nimbus Screenshot & Screen Video Recorder to Chrome

If you're still not sure which tool is right for you, try to focus on these important factors to help you make your decision much easier:

Ease-of-use: snipping tools should be easy to use. They shouldn't be complicated or complex in any way, so try to find one that matches your skill level and is convenient for you to use.

Features: some snipping tools are very basic and only offer simple screenshots, while others come with many more features like multiple screenshot modes, screen recording, built-in editing tools, and scrolling screenshots.

Support: check to see if any kind of support is provided by the developer, such as a live chat system you can contact if you have any queries or problems.

User reviews: it's also a good idea to read through some user reviews of the different snipping tools you might like to use in order to learn about how well they work and see if any bugs or other issues are present.