Gifox vs ScreenToGif
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Gifox
Mac menu bar app for recording and converting animated GIFs
Where they differ
- Gifox starts at $14.99 one-time purchase per license, taxes included. ScreenToGif is free.
- Only Gifox lists a macOS app.
- Only ScreenToGif lists a Windows app.
- Gifox can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- ScreenToGif is open source, according to its own site.
- Gifox also covers menu bar app.
At a glance
| Gifox | ScreenToGif | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $14.99 one-time purchase per license, taxes included | Free |
| Free plan | Gifox Basic is free forever: screen recordings are limited to 10 seconds and carry a watermark, with unlimited file conversion and the crop, trim, split and clone editing tools. | The whole app is free, with its source code published on GitHub under the MS-PL license. The developer accepts donations through PayPal, Patreon and Ko-fi. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Made by | Bitwild Ltd | Nicke Manarin (N-Tech) |
| Price read from | gifox.app | github.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Gifox
- Short GIFs for bug reports, support replies and presentations
- Mac users who want fine control over GIF size and quality
- Buyers who prefer a one-time license to a subscription
ScreenToGif
- Short GIFs for bug reports, documentation and tutorials
- Windows users who want a free recorder with a built-in editor
- Removing or annotating individual frames before exporting
Worth knowing
Gifox
- Mac only, for macOS 10.15 Catalina or later.
- The free Basic plan limits each screen recording to 10 seconds and adds a watermark.
- Gifox 3 is announced at $24 with one year of free updates; Gifox 2 licenses bought within 12 months of its release switch for free.
- Mac App Store and direct-download versions use different licensing and are not compatible with each other.
ScreenToGif
- Windows only: it needs Windows 10 or 11 and the .NET 9 Desktop Runtime or newer.
- The developer describes it as a quick, small recorder and recommends other software for recordings longer than a few minutes.
- The developer's site now marks ScreenToGif as legacy and presents a newer app, N-Studio, as its successor.
- It is a one-developer project supported by donations and sponsors.
Key features
Gifox
- Free-area and window selection
- Free-area mode captures any part of the screen, and window-snap mode records one app window at its exact pixel size.
- Status bar menu
- Recording, importing and sharing all run from the menu bar. Videos and image sequences dropped on it become GIFs, which can be dragged into other apps.
- Integrated editor
- Crops, cuts, trims, duplicates and rearranges recorded or imported videos, then exports them again without leaving the app.
- Capture settings
- Chooses what appears in a recording: the cursor, mouse clicks, keyboard input, the window shadow and the desktop picture.
- Compression control
- Sets playback speed and frame rate, the number of colors, resizing and dithering to trade output quality against file size.
- Sharing to cloud services
- Connects to Dropbox, Google Drive and Imgur to share a GIF from inside the app. Nothing is uploaded unless a recording is explicitly shared.
ScreenToGif
- Screen recorder
- A hollow window is placed over the area to capture and can snap to another window. The frame rate is set from 1 to 60 fps, and the frame can be moved while recording.
- Webcam recorder
- Captures the video feed from a webcam chosen from the connected video devices; resizing the window changes the size of the recording.
- Board recorder
- A canvas for drawing with a pen whose color and tip size can be changed. Strokes are recorded automatically as they are drawn.
- Frame-based editor
- Shows every frame of a recording so unwanted ones can be removed, and adds annotations such as captions and free drawing. It can also import GIFs and videos.
- Export to GIF, APNG, video, PSD or PNG
- A finished project is saved as an animated GIF or APNG, a video, a PSD file or PNG images, and single frames can be exported as images.
Plans
Gifox
Gifox Basic$0
Free forever, with 10-second watermarked screen recordings, unlimited file conversion and the crop, trim, split and clone editing tools.
Gifox Pro$14.99
one-time purchase per license, taxes included
Everything in Basic plus unlimited screen recording and a removable watermark. The app is kept forever, including all minor versions.
Gifox Co-founder$150
one-time purchase, lifetime license for 1 Mac
A limited crowdfunding license with Gifox 2 and 3, all future core upgrades and priority support. Tiers for 2 and 3 Macs cost $300 and $450.
ScreenToGif
ScreenToGif$0
The complete app, downloaded from the developer's site or GitHub, or installed from the Microsoft Store, Chocolatey or FossHub.
Ways to pay less
Gifox
- Lifetime license
Pro is a one-time purchase at $14.99
The pricing page says the app is yours forever, including all minor versions, with no subscriptions or repeating payments.
- Education
30% off for students and teachers
Students and teachers get a 30% discount by emailing the team from a .edu address, according to the pricing page.
- Lifetime license
Founding licenses with lifetime upgrades
A crowdfunding campaign sells a limited number of lifetime licenses at $150 for 1 Mac, $300 for 2 and $450 for 3, covering Gifox 3 and all future core upgrades. No refunds.
- Other savings
Included with a Setapp subscription
The pricing page says Gifox is also available in the Mac App Store and with a Setapp subscription.
ScreenToGif
No public discounts listed.
