# FastStone Capture review (2026): is it worth $29.95? > Windows screen capture, annotation and screen recorder Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. FastStone Capture is a Windows program for taking screenshots of windows, menus, regions and scrolling pages, then marking them up in a built-in editor. It also records the screen to MP4 or WMV files and sells as a one-time license after a 30-day trial. - **Category:** Desktop Utilities - **Made by:** FastStone Corporation - **Website:** https://www.faststone.org/FSCaptureDetail.htm - **Runs on:** Windows - **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you use a Mac, Linux or a phone, since there is no version for them. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, FastStone Capture is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $29.95 one-time. - **Pricing model:** Free trial - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** 30-day trial, then a license is required. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | 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. | Read from https://www.faststone.org/order.htm on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with FastStone Capture before buying. ## Key features - **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. ## Good for - Windows users who want a one-time purchase instead of a subscription - Documentation writers who annotate many screenshots - People who record short screen videos without a separate recorder ## Worth knowing - 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.6 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. FastStone Capture grabs windows, menus, regions and scrolling pages on Windows, marks them up and records the screen. It is $29.95 once after a 30-day trial. It runs on Windows only, and recordings save only as MP4 or WMV. - **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. - **Free plan and trial: C.** A 30-day trial, then a license is needed. There is no free plan for Capture. - **Features: B.** Capture 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. - **Ease of use: B.** No store rating is on record, but it is a program you install and start using with nothing to set up. - **Platforms and integrations: D.** Windows only. The vendor lists no Mac, Linux or mobile version, and it needs Windows 10 or 11. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from FastStone Corporation's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among desktop utilities - FastStone Capture's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 69 of the 186 other desktop utilities we grade, and level with 46. - It stands best on value for money (A, above 55 of 186) and worst on platforms and integrations (D, above 0). The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/utilities ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace FastStone Capture you would be making a video editor. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It costs $29.95, paid once. - You could not: A video editor. - You could not: Capture tools hooked into the operating system. - You could not: Recording the screen with its sound, and somewhere to keep the video. - You could not: A real app for Windows. Something home-made would be a web page. - You could not: The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Microsoft OneNote, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint **Tags:** Screenshots, Screen recording, One-time purchase, Video editing ## Alternatives - [ShareX](https://toolgpa.com/tools/sharex): Free, open-source screenshot and screen recording for Windows. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/faststone-capture-vs-sharex) - [Greenshot](https://toolgpa.com/tools/greenshot): Free, open-source screenshot tool for Windows with an editor. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/faststone-capture-vs-greenshot) - [Snipaste](https://toolgpa.com/tools/snipaste): Screenshot tool that pins images to the screen as floating windows. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/faststone-capture-vs-snipaste) - [PicPick](https://toolgpa.com/tools/picpick): Windows screen capture, image editor and design tools in one app. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/faststone-capture-vs-picpick) - [Screenpresso](https://toolgpa.com/tools/screenpresso): Windows screenshot and video capture with a built-in editor. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/faststone-capture-vs-screenpresso) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://www.faststone.org/FSCaptureDetail.htm - https://www.faststone.org/order.htm - https://www.faststone.org/FSCaptureDownload.htm Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/faststone-capture Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).