17 Best Screenshot Tools for Windows in 2023

In this guide, we’re exploring the best screenshot tool for Windows users, to make it easy to take quick snapshots and screen grab while you’re in a game or just browsing the Internet.

Best for: easy screenshots

OS: Windows, Mac

Price: free trial, $59.95 for a lifetime version

G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5, 49 reviews

Movavi Screen Recorder is one of the best screenshot program options for those who want to take captures and recordings of a screen.

This screen recorder can capture footage from individual parts of your screen, and also comes with an editor to trim and alter the footage. It captures in full HD, so you’ll get all the glorious detail even if you are recording in a game. Much better than using a simple “Print Screen” option.

There is a free trial version or you can pay for the full version of Movavi Screen Recorder if you are happy with the quality.

Key features:

• Screenshots and video capture

• Scrolling screenshots

• Editing functionality inbuilt

• HD footage

Pros:

• Simple to get to grips with

• Both stills and footage look fantastic in HD

Cons:

• Not totally free to use

Best for: open-source screenshot and video capture

OS: Windows

Price: free

TechRadar rating: 4 out of 5

ShareX may be the best screen capture tool that is free of charge. It is Open Source and you can use it to take a screenshot in a variety of ways, there is even an automatic screenshot setting. The images can be set to save or to copy to a clipboard, and the software works on Windows 10 as well as earlier versions.

Key features:

• Links to cloud storage easily

• Basic OCR recognition

• Capture and upload video or still screenshots

Pros:

• Auto capture setting

• Regular updates and options to edit the source code

• Possible to annotate and edit the images

Cons:

• The interface isn’t as easy to use as some

Download ShareX

Best for: inbuilt snipping tool

OS: Windows

Price: free

Windows Snipping Tool comes inbuilt and provides an easy and free screenshot tool with more functionality than the “Print Screen” command.

The tool has some really basic functionality, but if you need to take a screenshot of the whole screen or to choose a section of the screen to grab an image of, it may come in handy. One of the coolest features it offers is the ability to draw a custom shape to snap an image.

Key features:

• Snipping and capturing tool

• Delay option

• Simple annotation, sharing, and upload

Pros:

• Already installed on Windows devices

• Easy shortcuts to quickly take a screenshot

Cons:

• Very limited editing functionality

Best for: all-in-one capture tool

OS: Windows, macOS

Price: free trial version, $62.45 for the full version

TopSevenReviews rating: 4.5 out of 5

Aiseesoft is one of those screen recorders that have additional screenshotting features. However, unlike many others in this group, Aiseesoft is great for both capturing your daily screen activities, but also recording gameplay with high FPS and almost no effect on CPU. So, if you want an app that lets you capture anything happening on your screen, it’s a great choice.

Key features:

• Record gameplay with no quality loss

• Take instant snapshots with text, shapes, and arrows

• Add metadata to your videos and screenshots

Pros:

• Simple recording and screenshotting

• Capturing both screen activities and gameplay

• Intuitive callouts on screenshots

Cons:

• The trial version limits the recording time to 3 minutes

Best for: taking in-game screenshots

OS: Windows

Price: free trial version, $11.84 for the full version

G2 rating: 4.8 out of 5, 12 reviews

This app is designed mainly to capture gameplay and stream it to platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and Ustream. However, it also lets you take instant screenshots while you’re playing. The images are then accessible through the in-app interface. You can delete those you don’t like and export the ones that are the best. Unfortunately, you cannot edit screenshots in the app. However, if it's not what you’ve been looking for, this app may just be the right choice.

Key features:

• Live-streaming to Twitch and YouTube

• Simple screenshot file management

• Capturing screenshots from outside devices

Pros:

• Great at capturing gameplay

• Lets you organize your screenshots in the app

• Lets you take screenshots from other devices, e.g. with a capture card

Cons:

• No screenshot editing features

Best for: similar image search

OS: Windows, Mac

Price: free

G2 rating: 4.7 out of 5, 103 reviews

Lightshot is one of the top screenshot apps that you can get for free, and the similar image search is a particularly good feature, allowing people to take a screenshot and quickly search for images that are the same. This means if you spot something that you want to look up it is really simple to do so.

Key features:

• Simple shortcuts using the PrtScn button

• Similar image lookup

• Works as a browser plugin

• Simple online image editor

Pros:

• Simple install for Mac and Windows

• Upload easily to a server

Cons:

• Images upload to prntscr.com, which can be a problem if you have private screenshots

Download Lightshot

Best for: color picker

OS: Windows

Price: free

CNET rating: 3.5 out of 5, 137 reviews

PicPick is designed with a specific focus on color and color management. It features an image editor, color picker, color palette, and even a simple whiteboard function. This is one of the best screenshot tools for Windows users with a focus on design and web development, and it can help you to match up colors as well as provide some other easy design functions.

Key features:

• Link to OneDrive and other cloud storage options

• Easy to identify colors as hex codes

• Whiteboard function

Pros:

• Easy to capture from any program or part of your screen

• Excellent for designers and anyone working with graphics

Cons:

• Annotation features aren’t as good as some other free screenshot tools

• No video capture option

Download PicPick

Best for: capturing full IE pages

OS: Windows, Mac

Price: free

G2 rating: 4.8 out of 5, 142 reviews

If you want to capture full web pages from Internet Explorer, Greenshot is an excellent solution. You don’t have to worry about things going missing on a scrolling page, as Greenshot will capture the page from top to bottom, even “below the fold”. It also allows you to perform all the basic screenshot functions you would expect and has a simple annotation function.

Key features:

• Capture full web pages from IE

• Simple annotation

• Optional OCR

Pros:

• Open-source with a customizable install to get the features you want

• Allows you to capture a long webpage without having to edit

Cons:

• Limited editing functionality

• No video capture

Download Greenshot

Best for: linking to Android

OS: Windows, Mac

Price: free

G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5, 27 reviews

Screenpresso is a really easy-to-use and lightweight piece of software with a focus on professional uses. It is also the best screenshot app for Windows that links easily to your Android device. This means you can grab screen captures from either, and edit and share them from your desktop. The upload and share options on Screenpresso are more than sufficient for most of us.

Key features:

• Android compatibility

• Captures HD images and videos

• Time delay if required

• Multilingual support

Pros:

• Really easy to use with a simple layout

• Great app for screenshots and video capture on all Windows versions

Cons:

• Not totally free, the paid version is required to remove watermarks

Download Screenpresso

Best for: online gallery

OS: Windows, Mac

Price: free (paid upgrades)

TechRadar rating: 4.5 out of 5

TinyTake is a smart and lightweight app for screenshots and video capture. You can very easily take screen captures and instantly share your images via an online gallery, which can save a lot of time and make it easier to share your captures among colleagues. This great screen capture tool also has simple annotation functions and even a bulk sharing option.

Key features:

• Bulk sharing of images

• Online gallery

• Webcam capture option

• Custom shortcuts

Pros:

• Simple and intuitive functionality with an easy layout

• Store your screenshots in the cloud

• Arrows and highlighting make annotation simple

Cons:

• Free plan is only for personal use, limited to 2 GB

Download TinyTake

Best for: analytics

OS: Windows, Mac, and Linux

Price: free

G2 rating: 4.9 out of 5, 5 reviews

ScreenRec offers a lot of the functionality of the other options, making it easy to take screenshots or video recordings, but it is set apart as a fantastic option due to the fact that it includes a brilliant analytics suite, letting you see who viewed your image or video and for how long when you upload it to the ScreenRec server.

Key features:

• Images stored on a secure server

• HD video and screenshots

• Tag and organize images on the cloud

• Analytics included

Pros:

• Excellent for business onboarding and creating a library of useful videos for others

• You can track who has watched your video and for how long

Cons:

• No advanced editing functions, only simple annotations

Download ScreenRec

Best for: simple clipboard sharing

OS: Windows, Mac, and Linux

Price: free (paid Pro membership)

G2 rating: 4.6 out of 5, 9 reviews

Time is of the essence, if it is quick and easy sharing you are looking for then Gyazo could be a good option. After installation, it makes it really simple to copy GIFs and other images to your clipboard, from where you can place them into emails, social media, messages, or more.

It’s easy to use, and the free version does allow you simple functionality and basic sharing.

Key features:

• Unlimited screenshots

• Store captured images on the cloud

• Grab unlimited HD replay videos on Windows

Pros:

• Incredibly fast to share images you have captured, even while gaming

• Secure, encrypted storage

• Easy editing function

Cons:

• Some of the features are hidden behind a paywall

• Mac and Linux functionality is not as good as Windows

Download Gyazo

Best for: advanced annotations

OS: Windows

Price: free

SnapDraw is perfect for those with a certain set of needs, namely advanced annotations. Once the image has been captured using a hotkey, you can make some pretty advanced changes in a matter of seconds.

Add annotations, insert images, add text, create your own watermark, and even add reflection effects and 3D rotation for your image. If you want to make these sorts of edits for free then SnapDraw makes a decent Windows companion.

Key features:

• Advanced annotation options

• Integrated FTP upload and sharing

• Draw mode

Pros:

• Great for outlining items, making hefty annotations, and explaining things to others

• Free of charge with no upselling

Cons:

• No video capture

• Interface is not particularly modern or simple-to-use

Download SnapDraw

Best for: Chrome plugin

OS: Windows and Mac

Price: free with paid upgrades

Chrome Web Store rating: 4.6 out of 5, 16,228 reviews

Nimbus is a decent free screenshot tool for Windows, and it is one of the best if you want to keep everything within your browser. It makes it really easy to grab and share images without having to make edits in computer software or worry about installing more apps on your device. It has great editing and annotation functions, but unfortunately, a lot of the features are hidden behind a paywall.

Key features:

• Chrome compatibility

• Easy workspace to collaborate with others

• Video and still image modes

• OCR available on paid plans

Pros:

• Excellent collaborative tool for a team to share images or videos

• Optical Character Recognition available on paid plans

• Integrates with Nimbus Note for storage, tagging, and adding information

Cons:

• Many features including OCR hidden behind a paywall

Get Nimbus

Best for: online capture

OS: any (web-based)

Price: free

This screenshot tool means that you can capture images using a scrolling window or providing a URL. You can scroll to the video, text, or image you wish to screenshot and take a faithful and reliable copy. It works on a multitude of devices, too. The only downside really (and it is a big one) is the fact that you can only capture what is in your browser.

Key features:

• Online capture

• Scheduled screenshots

• Video capture

• Online editing suite

Pros:

• Simple to capture images online without downloading any large software files

• Easy, intuitive editing

Cons:

• Doesn’t capture from desktop applications or from some private pages

Go to Apowersoft Free Online Screenshot

Best for: Google Drive integration

OS: Windows and Mac

Price: free

Chrome Web Store rating: 4.6 out of 5, 24,625 reviews

Awesome Screenshot lets you take screen captures and videos within your browser, and can easily save them within drive for simple and secure sharing and storage. It’s got all the features you would expect including an option to capture part of the screen, and simple editing and annotating.

Key features:

• Simple Drive integration

• Annotate and share with friends and colleagues

• Edit and retouch options

Pros:

• Quickly create and store secure screen grabs and videos

• Extremely lightweight software that won’t slow your computer

• Intuitive layout

Cons:

• Only captures from your browser

• Browser installation can be a bit clunky

Get Awesome Screenshot

Best for: lightweight software

OS: Windows

Price: free for personal use

G2 rating: 4.7 out of 5, 27 reviews

FastStone is incredibly simple and lightweight and lets you grab images from freehand or fixed regions, plus scrolling windows. As well as screenshots, you can take video recordings of the screen which can also include onscreen changes and mouse clicks. The software is lightweight and simplistic, but does a reliable job and is free for personal use.

Key features:

• Multiple capture options including freehand or fixed regions

• Annotation function

• Record clicks and mouse movements if required

Pros:

• Simple and lightweight with a really easy interface

• Integrates well with Microsoft suite including Excel and Word

Cons:

• Only free for personal use

• No advanced editing functions

Download FastStone Capture

What makes the best screen capture tool can vary depending on your own needs. Different people may have different needs from their screenshot tools, and it is important to evaluate a few different factors before you make your choice, especially if you are going to pay.

• Usability. Ensure that the tool is simple and straightforward. Nobody wants to spend hours working out how to use the functions when it should take seconds.

• Features. Do you need annotation features, scrolling screenshots, editing, private sharing, or other functionality? Make sure you’ve got all the features you need.

• Price. Many of the best screenshot tools for Windows are free, but some also have paid upgrades, make sure you stay on budget.

• Support. If something goes wrong, is there an option to get the help you need through a forum or even a contact form?