CleanShot X vs Zight

CleanShot X

• Mac users who take and annotate many screenshots
• Buyers who prefer a one-time license to a subscription
• Support and product teams sharing quick captures by link

Zight

• Support and success teams answering tickets with a quick recording
• Getting a screen recording back from a customer who installs nothing
• Teams that turn walkthrough videos into written step-by-step guides

CleanShot X

• macOS only, requiring macOS 13.0 or newer. The vendor says there are no plans for a Windows version.
• There is no free trial; purchases are covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
• The $35 Basic license includes one year of updates; later updates need an optional $19 per year renewal.
• Unlimited cloud storage, custom domains, team features, SSO and SCIM need the Pro subscription.

Zight

• The free Share plan limits recordings to 5 minutes at up to 720p, with 1 GB of storage and only the last 50 captures.
• Transcription, captions and blur start on Create, and unlimited AI summaries and Smart Actions on Collaborate.
• Zendesk, Intercom, Jira, Notion and other premium integrations are a paid add-on below the Scale plan.
• SCIM, HIPAA compliance and SSO beyond Google sign-in need Scale; the desktop apps cover Windows and Mac and the mobile app is iOS only.

CleanShot X

Screenshots and scrolling capture

Capture an area, a window, the full screen or scrolling content in either direction, with a self-timer, crosshair and magnifier.

Screen recording

Record to MP4 or GIF with microphone and computer audio, a camera overlay, and keystrokes and clicks shown on screen.

Built-in video editor

Add zooms, refine cursor movement and adjust backgrounds on a screen recording without leaving the app.

Annotation and backgrounds

Highlight or hide parts of a screenshot, add annotations, and place captures on styled backgrounds from 20 presets.

Text recognition

Copy text out of any image and read QR codes, with on-device recognition in more than 30 languages.

CleanShot Cloud

Upload a capture to get a share link with password protection, self-destruct timers and video transcription. Basic has 1 GB; Pro is unlimited.

Zight

Screen and webcam recording

Record the screen, the webcam or both from the Mac or Windows app or the Chrome extension. The link to the finished recording is copied to the clipboard automatically.

Screenshots and annotation

Capture the visible area or a scrolling page and mark it up with shapes, arrows, text and stickers. Blur and redaction need a paid plan.

Request Video links

Send a link that lets anyone record their screen and return it with no account or install. Share includes 5 requests a month, Create 10 and Collaborate 50.

Zight AI and Smart Actions

Transcribes recordings in 50+ languages and generates titles, captions, summaries and chapters. Smart Actions turn a recording into documents such as step-by-step guides.

Meeting recorder

Zight joins the calls on your calendar and returns notes and action items, which can be queried from AI tools through its MCP server.

GIF maker and editing

Record GIFs of up to 15 seconds on the free plan and 60 seconds on paid plans. Paid plans can also trim, split, crop and merge videos on every platform.

CleanShot X

• CleanShot Basic$35

  one-time payment; optional update renewal at $19 per year

  The Mac app to keep, with one year of updates and 1 GB of CleanShot Cloud storage. A license is active on one Mac at a time.

• CleanShot Pro$10

  per user / month, billed annually

  Always up to date, with unlimited cloud storage, custom domain and branding, team features, SSO and SCIM.

Zight

• Share$0

  1 user, 5-minute recordings at up to 720p, screenshots, 15-second GIFs, 5 Video Requests a month and 1 GB of storage.

• Create$9.95

  per user / month, billed annually ($12.95 billed monthly)

  Unlimited recording time at up to 4K, transcription and captions, 5 AI smart actions and 10 Video Requests a month, and 5 GB of storage.

• Collaborate$12

  per user / month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly)

  For teams of 2 or more: unlimited AI and Smart Actions, 50 Video Requests, custom branding and CTAs, advanced analytics and user management.

• ScaleCustom

  For organizations of 10 or more: premium integrations, SSO and SCIM, HIPAA compliance with a BAA, custom data retention and view-only licenses.

CleanShot X

• Lifetime license

  One-time license for $35

  CleanShot Basic is a pay-once license that keeps working indefinitely. It includes one year of updates, and renewing updates afterwards is optional at $19 per year.

• Annual discount

  17% off Pro with yearly billing

  The pricing page marks yearly billing for CleanShot Pro as 17% cheaper than monthly, at $10 per user per month billed annually.

• Education

  30% educational discount

  Entering a university-issued email address gives 30% off. For Cloud Pro or update renewals, CleanShot asks students to email from their university address.

• Other savings

  20% off for PixelSnap customers

  Existing PixelSnap 2 customers get 20% off CleanShot, according to the pricing page.

• Other savings

  Included with Setapp

  CleanShot is also available through a Setapp subscription, which bundles it with more than 200 other apps.

Zight

• Annual discount

  Save 20% with annual billing

  Zight's pricing page says annual billing saves 20% compared with paying monthly: Collaborate is $12 per user a month billed annually against $15, and Create is $9.95 against $12.95.

• Education

  Free and discounted plans for education

  Zight's pricing FAQ says it offers free and discounted plans for teachers and for students with a valid educational email address, arranged through sales.

• Nonprofit

  Discounted plans for qualifying nonprofits

  The same FAQ says qualifying nonprofits can get free or discounted plans by talking to sales. The size of the discount is not stated.