TextSniper vs Xnip (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Xnip grades higher than TextSniper: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Xnip 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.
TextSniper
Mac menu bar tool that copies text from any part of the screen
Xnip
Mac screenshot tool with scrolling capture and annotation
Which one is for you
Pick TextSniper if
- Fits if you copy text out of videos, screenshots, scanned PDFs and slides
- Works for people who want text recognition done on the Mac, with no internet connection
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you mostly capture code, since the vendor says symbol-heavy text can be misread
- Not for you if you want a free go first, because the only trial is Setapp's week
- Tight if you're still on macOS Catalina, where it only reads English
- Watch out: the homepage shows $6.99 and $11.99, while the checkout is $7.99 and the US App Store $9.99
- Watch out: it's a one-time buy, but the vendor says major upgrades cost extra, and there's no iPhone app
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
| 2.2GPATextSniperFair | 2.4GPAXnipFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$7.99 once for one Mac, $9.99 for three. That's a one-off well under a year of what paid utilities here charge, so you're square after about three months. Watch for later: the vendor says major upgrades cost extra. | 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 | DNothing free from the vendor. No free version, no trial of its own, just a 7-day money-back guarantee, which isn't a trial. The only free run is Setapp's week, and that means signing up to somebody else's subscription. | CFree to download, but every screenshot carries a watermark until you pay. |
| Features | CDrag over the screen, get the text. It reads QR codes and barcodes and will speak the text aloud too. It does that one job fully, but it is a small job, and the vendor says symbol-heavy text like code can come out wrong. | 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. If you can take a screenshot you can use this: one shortcut, one drag, nothing to set up. It sits in the menu bar with no Dock icon. | 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, macOS Catalina or newer, and no integrations at all. One operating system, nothing to connect it to. An iPhone camera can feed text to the Mac, but there's no iPhone app. | DMac only. The listing says macOS 13.5 or later and shows no Windows, phone or web version. |
| Best for | copying text you can't select on a Mac screen | 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: TextSniper and Xnip. How we grade
Where they differ
- TextSniper can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- TextSniper also covers menu bar app.
- Xnip also covers screenshots.
At a glance
| TextSniper | Xnip | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $7.99 one-time purchase (license for 1 Mac) | $4.99 per year (Xnip Pro) |
| Free plan | None | Free download from the Mac App Store; screenshots carry a watermark that the paid options remove. |
| Free trial | Free for 7 days through Setapp's trial; direct purchases carry a 7-day money-back guarantee | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Made by | Valerijs Boguckis | Xnip |
| Price read from | textsniper.app | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
TextSniper
- Mac only, requiring macOS Catalina or newer, and the languages it recognizes depend on the macOS version installed.
- There is no standalone trial: the vendor points to Setapp's free week and offers a 7-day money-back guarantee on direct purchases.
- The vendor says it can misread text with a lot of symbols, such as computer code.
- A license is bought once, but the vendor says major upgrades and features come at an additional upgrade cost.
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
TextSniper
- Screen text capture
- Press the shortcut, drag over any part of the screen, and the text inside the selection is recognized and copied to the clipboard, ready to paste into another app.
- On-device recognition
- The App Store listing says recognition runs on the device with no internet connection, and the privacy policy says screenshots and text are not stored or sent to outside servers.
- QR code and barcode reader
- Captures a QR code or barcode shown on screen and converts it to text. An option in the settings opens captured links automatically.
- Text to speech
- Has the Mac read recognized text aloud, with a dedicated shortcut for capturing text with speech switched on.
- Languages by macOS version
- English only on macOS Catalina, growing to more than 25 languages on recent macOS versions, with vertical Chinese, Japanese and Korean text recognized from macOS Sonoma.
- Menu bar access and shortcuts
- Runs from the menu bar without a Dock icon, and the capture shortcut can be changed. An iPhone or iPad camera can also be used to capture text and send it to the Mac.
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
TextSniper
License for 1 Mac$7.99
one-time purchase
A direct license for a single Mac, sold through Gumroad. One button on the homepage still shows $6.99; the checkout price is $7.99.
License for 3 Macs$9.99
one-time purchase
A direct license for up to three Macs, sold through Gumroad and described as suited to multi-device, home and office use.
Unlimited License$9.99
one-time purchase (US Mac App Store)
The Mac App Store version. The homepage lists it at $11.99, but the US store listing shows $9.99.
Setapp$14.99
per month, through a Setapp membership
TextSniper with the rest of the Setapp catalog, free for 7 days. Setapp also lists a TextSniper-only subscription from $6.00 a year.
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, TextSniper or Xnip?
As of Nov 13, 2026, TextSniper starts at $7.99 one-time purchase (license for 1 Mac), and Xnip starts at $4.99 per year (Xnip Pro).
Which has a free plan, TextSniper or Xnip?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Xnip has a free plan. TextSniper 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.