Shottr vs Xnip (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Shottr grades higher than Xnip: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Shottr grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Shottr
Small Mac screenshot tool with annotation, OCR and a ruler
Free plan · from $12 one-time
Xnip
Mac screenshot tool with scrolling capture and annotation
Free plan · from $4.99/yr
Which one is for you
Pick Shottr if
- Fits if you measure pixels and colors on screen as a designer or front-end developer
- Works for capturing a long page or a whole chat as one scrolling screenshot
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're on Windows or Linux, as it's Mac only and the vendor calls a port unlikely
- Not for you if you want private share links: Shottr Cloud uploads are public to anyone with the URL, with no storage guarantee
- Tight if you're using it free at work, because commercial use requires the $12 license
- Watch out: no Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud or FTP uploads, and a Basic license can't be upgraded to the $30 tier
- Watch out: its pages disagree on the minimum macOS (10.15 or 12), and the interface isn't localized
Pick Xnip if
- Fits if you take screenshots on a Mac and mark them up straight away
- Works for people who want text lifted out of an image on the device
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want clean screenshots without paying, since the free version adds a watermark
- Skip it if you use Windows or a phone, as it runs only on Mac
- Too light for screen recording, which the listing does not mention
- Watch out: the same purchase name appears at $7.99 and $9.99 and the listing does not explain why
- Watch out: it needs macOS 13.5 or later
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAShottrGood | 2.4GPAXnipFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$12 once for the Basic Tier, covering one user on up to five computers, with no subscription. Utilities here sit at $2.99 a month in the middle, so that's four months' money for keeps. Friends Club is $30 once, though a Basic licence can't be upgraded to it. | AXnip Pro is $4.99 a year, below 60% of the cheapest quarter of this category's subscriptions. The no-watermark in-app purchase is $7.99 once. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree for as long as you want, with most features there. Two catches: after 30 days it starts asking you to consider upgrading, and commercial use requires a license. | CFree to download, but every screenshot carries a watermark until you pay. |
| Features | CScreenshots are its one job: area, fullscreen and scrolling captures, arrows and backdrops, text lifted off the screen, a ruler, a color picker with a contrast checker, pixelate and pin. Uploads go to S3 or its own cloud, but not Dropbox, Drive, iCloud or FTP. | CScrolling and window capture, annotation, text recognition and pinned images. It does the capture job fully, which is a smaller job than a recorder-and-editor suite. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record, but there's nothing to set up: it's a small native app and the tools sit on single keys, like Tab to copy a colour. The interface isn't localised though, and the vendor says it's avoiding other languages for now. | BNo store rating is on record, but it is a program you install and start using with nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | DMac only. Its pages disagree on the minimum macOS: 10.15 on the homepage, 12 in the knowledge base. It works with Raycast and Alfred and uploads to S3-compatible storage, but not Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud or FTP. | DMac only. The listing says macOS 13.5 or later and shows no Windows, phone or web version. |
| Best for | pixel-careful screenshots on a Mac | Mac screenshots you mark up right away |
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: Shottr and Xnip. How we grade
Where they differ
- Shottr can be bought with a one-time purchase.
In commonFree planmacOSScreenshots
At a glance
| Shottr | Xnip | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $12 one-time purchase (Basic Tier) | $4.99 per year (Xnip Pro) |
| Free plan | Free to use for as long as you want, with most features available. After 30 days the app starts asking you to consider upgrading. Commercial use requires a license. | Free download from the Mac App Store; screenshots carry a watermark that the paid options remove. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Made by | Electric Endeavors LLC | Xnip |
| Price read from | shottr.cc | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Shottr
- Mac only, and the vendor calls a Windows or Linux version unlikely. Its pages disagree on the minimum macOS: 10.15 on the homepage, 12 in the knowledge base.
- The free version asks you to consider buying after 30 days, and commercial use requires a paid license.
- Shottr Cloud uploads are public to anyone with the URL and carry no storage guarantee. Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud and FTP are not supported.
- The interface is not localized; the vendor says it is intentionally avoiding other languages for now.
Xnip
- Mac only; the App Store listing says it requires macOS 13.5 or later.
- Free screenshots carry a watermark; removing it needs a paid in-app purchase.
- The listing shows two purchases with the same name at $7.99 and $9.99 and does not explain the difference.
Key features
Shottr
- Scrolling screenshots
- Captures a long web page or chat conversation as one image, in any app or window. A manual scrolling mode covers systems where automatic capture does not work.
- Annotations and backdrops
- Adds text, arrows, freehand drawings, highlights, spotlights and a magnifier callout, and the Backdrop tool sets a screenshot on a gradient with shadows and rounded corners.
- Text recognition and QR codes
- A hotkey lets you select an area of the screen; Shottr recognizes the text in it and copies it to the clipboard. The same feature reads QR codes.
- Screen ruler and color picker
- Arrow keys measure horizontal and vertical distances on a screenshot, and the Tab key copies the color under the cursor. A contrast checker supports WCAG 2.0 and APCA.
- Pixelate, erase and pin
- Hides parts of an image behind pixelation or removes them, and pins screenshots as floating, always-on-top borderless windows for reference.
- Upload and link sharing
- Uploads a screenshot to Shottr Cloud or any S3-compatible storage and copies its public URL. Shottr Cloud needs a free access token tied to your email.
Xnip
- Scrolling capture
- Captures webpages, long chats, documents and code that extend past the screen into a single screenshot.
- Window capture
- Captures a window with its natural macOS shadow; holding Shift selects several windows to capture at once.
- Annotation on capture
- Markup, draw, pixelate, step-number and highlight tools open right after a capture, and the capture area can be resized while you work.
- Text recognition
- Recognizes text anywhere on screen with an on-device engine; the vendor describes the app as fully offline.
- Pinned images
- Pins an image as an always-on-top floating window so a reference stays visible while you work in other apps.
Plans
Shottr
Free$0
Most features with no time limit. After 30 days the app starts asking you to consider upgrading.
Basic Tier$12
one-time purchase
A license for one user on up to five computers. Required for commercial use; the vendor says the activated version gives a better overall experience.
Friends Club$30
one-time purchase
Adds access to experimental features and better support. A Basic license cannot be upgraded to this tier.
Xnip
Free$0
Screenshot capture and annotation; screenshots carry a watermark.
Xnip Pro Yearly Subscription$4.99
per year, auto-renewing
Removes the watermark and includes access to features in future updates.
No watermark & Edit window$7.99
one-time; a second purchase of that name shows $9.99
In-app purchase listed twice under one name at $7.99 and $9.99; the listing does not say how they differ.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Shottr or Xnip?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Shottr starts at $12 one-time purchase (Basic Tier), and Xnip starts at $4.99 per year (Xnip Pro).
Which has a free plan, Shottr or Xnip?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Shottr and Xnip have a free plan.
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.