The Greenshot Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Greenshot in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Greenshot
The Insider’s Guide
Free, open-source screenshot tool for Windows with an editor
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among desktop utilities, read from Greenshot’s own pages.
Made by Thomas Braun, Jens Klingen and Robin Krom · checked Oct 6, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Greenshot’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Greenshot’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 6, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
3.0
GPA, above 84 of the 94 other desktop utilities we grade
Greenshot is a lightweight, open-source screenshot tool for Windows. It captures a region, a window or the full screen, opens the result in an editor for annotating, highlighting or obscuring parts of it, and exports to a file, the clipboard, a printer, email, Office programs or an upload service. The Windows version is free under the GNU GPL. A separate, simpler Mac version is sold on the Mac App Store for $1.99.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Greenshot, taken from its own pages and our grades.
No store rating is on record, but there's nothing to set up: press the Print key, drag, and the capture opens in the editor.
- 1
Best for free Windows screenshots with a built-in editor
Greenshot is a free, open-source Windows screenshot tool with an editor: grab a region, mark it up and send it to a file, an email or a Jira ticket.
- 2
What it costs
Paid plans start at $1.99 one-time for the Mac version (US Mac App Store).
- 3
There is a free plan
Greenshot for Windows is free and open source under the GNU GPL, at no charge for private or commercial use. Only the Mac version is paid.
- 4
It runs on 2 platforms
Windows and macOS.
- 5
Region, window and fullscreen capture
Captures a selected region, the active window or the whole screen with the Print key and its modifiers, and can capture the last region again.
- 6
Image editor
Opens each capture in an editor for drawing rectangles, ellipses, lines, arrows and freehand lines, adding text, cropping and enlarging the image.
- 7
Highlight and obfuscate
Highlights text or an area, turns the surroundings to grayscale or magnifies a selection, and hides sensitive details by pixelizing or blurring them.
- 8
A 3.0 GPA, above 84 of 94
That is against the other desktop utilities we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Your call
It depends on the utility: a converter or a calculator is an afternoon.
Greenshot at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $1.99 one-time for the Mac version (US Mac App Store)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- macOS, Windows
- Made by
- Thomas Braun, Jens Klingen and Robin Krom
- Category
- Desktop Utilities
- Our grade
- 3.0 GPA, very good
The report card
Best for free Windows screenshots with a built-in editor
Greenshot is a free, open-source Windows screenshot tool with an editor: grab a region, mark it up and send it to a file, an email or a Jira ticket. The Mac version is a separate $1.99 app with fewer features, last updated in June 2020, and no Linux version is planned. Scrolling capture is documented only for Internet Explorer, and OCR needs a component of Office 2003 or 2007.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A | Free on Windows under the GNU GPL, for private and commercial use, as a plain download. The Mac app is $1.99 once on the Mac App Store, priced to cover the team's costs. |
| Free plan and trial | A | The full Windows app costs nothing, at home or at work, and there's no trial clock. Only the Mac version is paid. |
| Features | C | The still screenshot is covered: region, window and full screen, an editor with arrows, text, highlighting and blur, and export to a file, the clipboard, a printer, email, Office or Jira. The gaps are in the listing: scrolling capture is documented for Internet Explorer only, and OCR needs a part of Office 2003. |
| Ease of use | B | No store rating is on record, but there's nothing to set up: press the Print key, drag, and the capture opens in the editor. Only sending shots to Jira needs configuring first. |
| Platforms and integrations | C | Windows and Mac, but both are computers and that's the whole list: no phone apps, no web version. The Mac app is a separate, thinner one last updated in June 2020, and the FAQ says no Linux version is planned. Jira, Office and Flickr are the only things it talks to. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Greenshot is for
- Fits if you want a Windows screenshot tool with an editor, at no cost even at work
- Works for teams that attach marked-up screenshots to Jira tickets
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you're on Linux, as there's no version and the FAQ says none is planned
- Not for you if you're on a Mac and want the full thing, since the $1.99 Mac app has fewer features and dates from June 2020
- Too light for capturing long scrolling pages, which is only documented for Internet Explorer
- Watch out: the OCR plug-in depends on Microsoft Office Document Imaging, an optional part of Office 2003 and 2007
- Not for you if you want it on a phone or in a browser, since there are no phone apps or web version
Good to know
Good for
- Windows users who want a free screenshot tool with a built-in editor
- Technical writers, testers and developers documenting software
- Teams that attach screenshots to Jira tickets
Worth knowing
- The full version is for Windows. The Mac app costs $1.99, was last updated in June 2020 and has fewer features, per its App Store listing.
- There is no Linux version, and the FAQ says none is planned.
- Capturing a complete scrolling web page is documented only for Internet Explorer.
- The OCR plug-in depends on Microsoft Office Document Imaging (MODI), an optional component of Office 2003 and 2007.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$1.99 one-time
To start. There is a free plan too
Greenshot has a free plan. Paid plans start at $1.99 one-time for the Mac version (US Mac App Store).
Free on Windows under the GNU GPL, for private and commercial use, as a plain download.
Greenshot for Windows
$0
The full Windows app, free and open source under the GNU GPL for private and commercial use.
Greenshot for Mac
$1.99
one-time purchase (US Mac App Store)
A separate macOS app, priced to cover the team's costs. Its listing warns that it has fewer features than the Windows version.
The free plan
Greenshot for Windows is free and open source under the GNU GPL, at no charge for private or commercial use. Only the Mac version is paid.
Read from getgreenshot.org on Oct 6, 2026.
What the app costs elsewhere
Each country’s App Store price for the app, against $1.99 in the United States, in dollars at the day’s rate. The four cheapest and the four dearest of 11.
| Country | Price there | In dollars | Against the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | ₺99,99 | $2.03 | about the same |
| Philippines | ₱ 129.00 | $2.05 | about the same |
| India | ₹ 199 | $2.06 | about the same |
| Australia | $2.99 | $2.09 | about the same |
| Germany | 1,99 € | $2.23 | 12% more |
| South Africa | R39.99 | $2.42 | 22% more |
| Brazil | R$ 12,90 | $2.58 | 30% more |
| United Kingdom | £1.99 | $2.63 | 32% more |
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
2
Places it runs: macOS and Windows
Free, open-source screenshot tool for Windows with an editor. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, screenshots.
Windows and Mac, but both are computers and that's the whole list: no phone apps, no web version.
- Region, window and fullscreen capture
- Captures a selected region, the active window or the whole screen with the Print key and its modifiers, and can capture the last region again.
- Image editor
- Opens each capture in an editor for drawing rectangles, ellipses, lines, arrows and freehand lines, adding text, cropping and enlarging the image.
- Highlight and obfuscate
- Highlights text or an area, turns the surroundings to grayscale or magnifies a selection, and hides sensitive details by pixelizing or blurring them.
- Export destinations
- Saves to a file, copies to the clipboard, prints, attaches the image to an email, sends it to Office programs or uploads it to photo sites.
- Jira upload
- Can be configured to upload screenshots to a Jira Server or Jira Cloud instance, and lists recently viewed tickets in the destination picker.
- Mac version
- A separate Mac app captures a region, window or the full screen, annotates and obscures parts of the image, and exports to a file, the clipboard or email.
Where it runs
- macOS
- Windows
What it works with
- Jira
- Microsoft Office
- Flickr
Greenshot is made by Thomas Braun, Jens Klingen and Robin Krom.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
84/94
Other desktop utilities it is graded above
Greenshot's GPA of 3.0 is higher than 84 of the 94 other desktop utilities we grade, and level with 8.
It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 49 of 94) and worst on features (C, above 1).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 95 desktop utilities we grade, cut by the letter each got. Greenshot’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 24 of 94
- AFree plan and trialAbove 49 of 94
- CFeaturesAbove 1 of 94
- BEase of useAbove 33 of 94
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 65 of 94
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Your call
It depends on the utility: a converter or a calculator is an afternoon.
Greenshot sits between: not beyond making, and not a weekend's work either. What you would give up is listed below. Whether that is worth the price is your call. At $1.99, paid once, it costs less than the weekend it would take to replace, which is the argument for keeping it. Greenshot is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could not
- Capture tools hooked into the operating system.
- A real app for macOS and Windows. Something home-made would be a web page.
What this rests on. Greenshot’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
ShareX, Flameshot, Shottr, Camtasia Snagit and Monosnap
The 5 tools Greenshot is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.6GPA
ShareX
Free
Free, open-source screenshot and screen recording for Windows.
- Only Greenshot lists a macOS app.
- ShareX also covers screen recording and file sharing.
- 3.0GPA
Flameshot
Free
Free, open-source screenshot tool with on-screen annotation.
- Only Flameshot lists a Linux app.
- 2.6GPA
Shottr
Free plan · from $12 one-time
Small Mac screenshot tool with annotation, OCR and a ruler.
- Only Greenshot lists a Windows app.
- Greenshot is open source, according to its own site.
- Shottr can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- 2.4GPA
Camtasia Snagit
Free trial · from $39/yr
Screen capture and recording tool with annotation and step guides.
- Greenshot has a free plan. Camtasia Snagit does not, though it has a free trial.
- Greenshot is open source, according to its own site.
- Camtasia Snagit also covers noise cancellation, templates and screen recording.
- 2.8GPA
Monosnap
Free plan · from $2.5/mo
Screenshot and screen recording tool with its own cloud storage.
- Only Monosnap lists a browser extension.
- Greenshot is open source, according to its own site.
- Monosnap also covers screen recording and file sharing.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
11
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Greenshot free?
Greenshot has a free plan. Greenshot for Windows is free and open source under the GNU GPL, at no charge for private or commercial use.
How much does Greenshot cost?
Greenshot lists 2 plans. Greenshot for Windows: $0.
What platforms does Greenshot work on?
Greenshot is available on Windows and macOS.
Does Greenshot have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. Greenshot is listed for Windows and macOS.
Does Greenshot have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. Greenshot is listed for Windows and macOS.
Is Greenshot open source?
Yes. Greenshot is open source, according to its own site.
What does Greenshot integrate with?
Greenshot's listing names Jira, Microsoft Office and Flickr. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes Greenshot?
Greenshot is made by Thomas Braun, Jens Klingen and Robin Krom.
What are the alternatives to Greenshot?
The closest alternatives to Greenshot in our directory are ShareX, Flameshot, Shottr, Camtasia Snagit and Monosnap.
How does Greenshot compare with other desktop utilities?
Greenshot's GPA of 3.0 is higher than 84 of the 94 other desktop utilities we grade, and level with 8.
Could I make my own version of Greenshot?
It depends on the utility: a converter or a calculator is an afternoon.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Greenshot’s own pages on Oct 6, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Greenshot's own pages on 6 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-06-04.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Thomas Braun, Jens Klingen and Robin Krom. Prices change, so check getgreenshot.org before you buy.
- getgreenshot.org/
- getgreenshot.org/downloads/
- getgreenshot.org/help/
- getgreenshot.org/faq/
- getgreenshot.org/faq/do-i-have-to-pay-for-using-greenshot/
- getgreenshot.org/faq/will-there-ever-be-a-greenshot-version-for-linux-or-mac/
- getgreenshot.org/faq/using-jira/
- getgreenshot.org/faq/how-can-i-use-greenshot-for-ocr/
- getgreenshot.org/blog/
- getgreenshot.org/impressum/
- apps.apple.com/us/app/greenshot/id1103915944?mt=12
- github.com/greenshot/greenshot
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Greenshot, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/greenshot
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Greenshot: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 6, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/greenshot
Know someone choosing between desktop utilities?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/greenshot/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded desktop utilities after Greenshot, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Desktop Utilities Insider's GuideEvery one of the 95 desktop utilities we grade, compared
- LocalSend Insider's GuideOpen-source file sharing between nearby devices, no cloud3.2 GPA
- Ninite Insider's GuideInstalls and updates many Windows apps at once3.2 GPA
- 7-Zip Insider's GuideFree, open-source file archiver with the 7z format3.0 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Greenshot’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Greenshot is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Thomas Braun, Jens Klingen and Robin Krom. Prices and plans change: check getgreenshot.org before you buy.