FastStone Capture vs ShareX (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, FastStone Capture and ShareX share a 2.6 GPA, and only ShareX has a free plan.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
FastStone Capture grades higher on features and ease of use. ShareX grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
FastStone Capture
Windows screen capture, annotation and screen recorder
Free trial · from $29.95 one-time
Which one is for you
Pick FastStone Capture if
- Fits if you want a one-time purchase for screenshots on a Windows PC
- Works for people who capture scrolling pages and mark them up before sending
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you use a Mac, Linux or a phone, since there is no version for them
- Skip it if you want a free plan: after 30 days a license is required
- Too light for video work beyond MP4 and WMV recordings
- Watch out: it needs Windows 10 or 11
Pick ShareX if
- Fits if you capture, mark up and share screenshots many times a day on Windows
- Works for bug reports and how-to docs that need a short clip or a GIF
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're on a Mac or Linux, as it's Windows only
- Not for you if you want sharing to work with no setup, since you choose and configure each upload destination
- Tight if you need OCR in many languages, because it only reads the ones installed in Windows
- Watch out: scrolling capture can fail or come out wrong on pages with animated or hover-triggered parts
- Watch out: uploads go to third-party services you pick, so each one's own terms and privacy policy apply
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAFastStone CaptureGood | 2.6GPAShareXGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$29.95 once for a lifetime license with free upgrades, under a year of this category's middle subscription. A family license for up to 5 computers is $69.95. | AIt costs nothing and anyone can download and run it. Free and open source under the GPL-3.0 licence, with no advertisements, and the team says donations are its only source of income. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 30-day trial, then a license is needed. There is no free plan for Capture. | AThe complete app is free and needs no account, as a setup or portable download, or from the Microsoft Store or Steam. There's no paid edition to grow into and no cap. |
| Features | BCapture modes, an editor, a screen recorder, text capture and pinning. The listing names no gap in the core job, though recordings are limited to MP4 and WMV. | CScreen capture is its job: region, window, monitor and scrolling captures, video and GIF recording, an editor with arrows and blur, task chains ending in an upload, plus OCR and a ruler. Its docs admit scrolling capture can fail on animated pages. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating is on record, but it is a program you install and start using with nothing to set up. | CNo store rating on record, and much of it is what you set up: the after-capture chain and custom uploaders, shared as .sxcu files, are yours to configure. A plain screenshot is a hotkey away, but the rest takes configuring. |
| Platforms and integrations | DWindows only. The vendor lists no Mac, Linux or mobile version, and it needs Windows 10 or 11. | DWindows only. It uploads to Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Cloudflare R2 and YouTube, and custom uploaders reach services that aren't built in. Nothing for Mac or Linux. |
| Best for | Windows screenshots and recordings for a one-time price | free screenshots on Windows that file and share themselves |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: FastStone Capture and ShareX. How we grade
Where they differ
- FastStone Capture can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- ShareX is open source, according to its own site.
- FastStone Capture also covers video editing.
- ShareX also covers file sharing.
In commonWindowsScreen recordingScreenshots
At a glance
| FastStone Capture | ShareX | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free |
| Starts at | $29.95 one-time | Free |
| Free plan | None | The whole app is free and open source, with no advertisements and no account. The team says donations are its only source of income. |
| Free trial | 30-day trial, then a license is required | None listed |
| Windows | ||
| Made by | FastStone Corporation | ShareX Team |
| Price read from | faststone.org | getsharex.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Worth knowing
FastStone Capture
- Windows only: the vendor lists no Mac, Linux or mobile version.
- The vendor says it requires Windows 10 or 11.
- After the 30-day trial a license is required; there is no free plan for Capture.
- Screen recordings save only as MP4 or WMV, with MP3 for audio-only.
ShareX
- Windows only: the site describes it as a screenshot tool for Windows, with downloads on the website, GitHub, Microsoft Store and Steam.
- Files are uploaded to third-party services the user chooses and configures, so each destination's own terms and privacy policy apply.
- OCR can only use the recognizer languages installed in Windows.
- The docs say scrolling capture can fail or produce inaccurate results on pages with static, animated or hover-triggered elements.
Key features
FastStone Capture
- Capture modes
- Grab windows, objects, menus, the full screen, rectangular, freehand or fixed-size regions and scrolling windows or web pages.
- Built-in editor
- Annotate with text, arrows, highlights, callouts and step numbers, blur an area, and apply edge effects, resizing and cropping.
- Screen recorder
- Record screen changes, microphone, speaker audio, webcam and mouse clicks to MP4 or WMV, with a timer and a basic video editor.
- Text capture and pinning
- Pull text from an image with OCR and pin a screenshot on top of other windows like a sticky note.
- Send and save options
- Send captures to a file, clipboard, printer, email, an FTP server, or OneNote, Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents.
- Screen tools
- Includes a color picker, magnifier, crosshair and screen ruler, plus global hotkeys and automatic file naming.
ShareX
- Capture methods
- Captures the full screen, the active window or monitor, a drawn region, the last or a custom region, or a scrolling page, and has an auto capture mode.
- Screen recording and GIFs
- Records the screen as video or as an animated GIF. Bundled tools include a video converter, a video trimmer and an animated GIF trimmer.
- Annotation and image editor
- Region capture and the built-in editor add arrows, text, step numbers, highlights and speech balloons, and hide details with blur, pixelate or a smart eraser.
- After-capture and after-upload tasks
- Each capture can run a set chain of tasks: copy to the clipboard, save to a file, open in the editor, run an action, upload, then shorten or copy the resulting URL.
- Uploads and custom uploaders
- Uploads images, text, files, folders and URLs to a chosen destination. Custom uploaders, shared as .sxcu files, send uploads to services that are not built in.
- OCR and other tools
- OCR uses the engine included with Windows and runs locally. Other tools include a color picker, ruler, QR code scanner, hash checker and pin to screen.
Plans
FastStone Capture
Single license$29.95
one-time
Lifetime license for one user, with free upgrades; the order page also lists a volume discount.
Family license$69.95
one-time, for up to 5 computers
Lifetime license for home users covering up to 5 computers.
ShareX
ShareX$0
The complete app as a setup or portable download, or from the Microsoft Store or Steam. Open source under the GPL-3.0 license.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, FastStone Capture or ShareX?
As of Nov 13, 2026, FastStone Capture starts at $29.95 one-time, and ShareX is free.
Which has a free plan, FastStone Capture or ShareX?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only ShareX has a free plan. FastStone Capture does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.