The ShareX Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about ShareX 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.
ShareX
The Insider’s Guide
Free, open-source screenshot and screen recording for Windows
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among desktop utilities, read from ShareX’s own pages.
Made by ShareX Team · 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 ShareX’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on ShareX’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
2.6
GPA, above 36 of the 94 other desktop utilities we grade
ShareX is a free, open-source screen capture tool for Windows. It takes screenshots of a region, window, monitor or scrolling page, records the screen as video or GIF, and can pass each capture through a chain of tasks such as annotating, saving, uploading and copying the link. It also bundles utilities including OCR, a color picker and a ruler. The project has no ads, needs no account and is funded by donations.
To get you started, here are 8 things to know about ShareX, taken from its own pages and our grades.
A plain screenshot is a hotkey away, but the rest takes configuring.
- 1
Best for free screenshots on Windows that file and share themselves
ShareX is a free, open-source screenshot and screen recording tool for Windows that can annotate, save and upload each capture and copy the link.
- 2
It is free
ShareX has no paid plan at all. The whole app is free and open source, with no advertisements and no account. The team says donations are its only source of income.
- 3
It runs on Windows
Windows.
- 4
Capture methods
Captures the full screen, the active window or monitor, a drawn region, the last or a custom region, or a scrolling page, and has an auto capture mode.
- 5
Screen recording and GIFs
Records the screen as video or as an animated GIF. Bundled tools include a video converter, a video trimmer and an animated GIF trimmer.
- 6
Annotation and image editor
Region capture and the built-in editor add arrows, text, step numbers, highlights and speech balloons, and hide details with blur, pixelate or a smart eraser.
- 7
A 2.6 GPA, above 36 of 94
That is against the other desktop utilities we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 8
Keep it
ShareX is free, so making your own would save you nothing.
ShareX at a glance
- Pricing
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Windows
- Made by
- ShareX Team, since 2007
- Category
- Desktop Utilities
- Our grade
- 2.6 GPA, good
The report card
Best for free screenshots on Windows that file and share themselves
ShareX is a free, open-source screenshot and screen recording tool for Windows that can annotate, save and upload each capture and copy the link. The upload chains and custom uploaders are yours to set up, each upload goes to a third-party service under its own terms, OCR reads only languages installed in Windows, and scrolling capture can fail on animated pages. It's Windows only.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A | It costs nothing and anyone can download and run it. Free and open source under the GPL-3.0 licence, with no advertisements, and the team says donations are its only source of income. |
| Free plan and trial | A | The complete app is free and needs no account, as a setup or portable download, or from the Microsoft Store or Steam. There's no paid edition to grow into and no cap. |
| Features | C | Screen capture is its job: region, window, monitor and scrolling captures, video and GIF recording, an editor with arrows and blur, task chains ending in an upload, plus OCR and a ruler. Its docs admit scrolling capture can fail on animated pages. |
| Ease of use | C | No store rating on record, and much of it is what you set up: the after-capture chain and custom uploaders, shared as .sxcu files, are yours to configure. A plain screenshot is a hotkey away, but the rest takes configuring. |
| Platforms and integrations | D | Windows only. It uploads to Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Cloudflare R2 and YouTube, and custom uploaders reach services that aren't built in. Nothing for Mac or Linux. |
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 ShareX is for
- Fits if you capture, mark up and share screenshots many times a day on Windows
- Works for bug reports and how-to docs that need a short clip or a GIF
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you're on a Mac or Linux, as it's Windows only
- Not for you if you want sharing to work with no setup, since you choose and configure each upload destination
- Tight if you need OCR in many languages, because it only reads the ones installed in Windows
- Watch out: scrolling capture can fail or come out wrong on pages with animated or hover-triggered parts
- Watch out: uploads go to third-party services you pick, so each one's own terms and privacy policy apply
Good to know
Good for
- Windows users who capture, annotate and share screenshots many times a day
- People who upload captures to their own storage or a self-hosted service
- Recording short clips or GIFs for bug reports and documentation
Worth knowing
- Windows only: the site describes it as a screenshot tool for Windows, with downloads on the website, GitHub, Microsoft Store and Steam.
- Files are uploaded to third-party services the user chooses and configures, so each destination's own terms and privacy policy apply.
- OCR can only use the recognizer languages installed in Windows.
- The docs say scrolling capture can fail or produce inaccurate results on pages with static, animated or hover-triggered elements.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
Free
No paid plan at all
ShareX is free to use.
It costs nothing and anyone can download and run it.
ShareX
$0
The complete app as a setup or portable download, or from the Microsoft Store or Steam. Open source under the GPL-3.0 license.
The free plan
The whole app is free and open source, with no advertisements and no account. The team says donations are its only source of income.
Read from getsharex.com on Oct 6, 2026.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Windows
Free, open-source screenshot and screen recording for Windows. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, screen recording, screenshots, file sharing.
Its docs admit scrolling capture can fail on animated pages.
- Capture methods
- Captures the full screen, the active window or monitor, a drawn region, the last or a custom region, or a scrolling page, and has an auto capture mode.
- Screen recording and GIFs
- Records the screen as video or as an animated GIF. Bundled tools include a video converter, a video trimmer and an animated GIF trimmer.
- Annotation and image editor
- Region capture and the built-in editor add arrows, text, step numbers, highlights and speech balloons, and hide details with blur, pixelate or a smart eraser.
- After-capture and after-upload tasks
- Each capture can run a set chain of tasks: copy to the clipboard, save to a file, open in the editor, run an action, upload, then shorten or copy the resulting URL.
- Uploads and custom uploaders
- Uploads images, text, files, folders and URLs to a chosen destination. Custom uploaders, shared as .sxcu files, send uploads to services that are not built in.
- OCR and other tools
- OCR uses the engine included with Windows and runs locally. Other tools include a color picker, ruler, QR code scanner, hash checker and pin to screen.
Where it runs
- Windows
What it works with
- Amazon S3
- Google Cloud Storage
- Cloudflare R2
- YouTube
- Google Translate
- DeepL
ShareX is made by ShareX Team, and has been around since 2007.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
36/94
Other desktop utilities it is graded above
ShareX's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 36 of the 94 other desktop utilities we grade, and level with 20.
It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 49 of 94) and worst on platforms and integrations (D, above 0).
ShareX has no paid plan.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 95 desktop utilities we grade, cut by the letter each got. ShareX’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 24 of 94
- AFree plan and trialAbove 49 of 94
- CFeaturesAbove 1 of 94
- CEase of useAbove 6 of 94
- DPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 94
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 55 desktop utilities. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. ShareX is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
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.
Keep it
ShareX is free, so making your own would save you nothing.
And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces.
What you could not
- Capture tools hooked into the operating system.
- Recording the screen with its sound, and somewhere to keep the video.
- Storing and serving files for other people.
- A real app for Windows. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It plugs into other products, Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage and Cloudflare R2 among them.
What this rests on. ShareX’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
Greenshot, Flameshot, Camtasia Snagit, ScreenToGif and Monosnap
The 5 tools ShareX is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 3.0GPA
Greenshot
Free plan · from $1.99 one-time
Free, open-source screenshot tool for Windows with an editor.
- 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 macOS and Linux apps.
- ShareX also covers screen recording and file sharing.
- 2.4GPA
Camtasia Snagit
Free trial · from $39/yr
Screen capture and recording tool with annotation and step guides.
- ShareX has a free plan. Camtasia Snagit does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Camtasia Snagit lists a macOS app.
- ShareX is open source, according to its own site.
- 2.8GPA
ScreenToGif
Free
Free Windows recorder that turns screen captures into GIFs.
- ShareX also covers screenshots and file sharing.
- ScreenToGif also covers video editing.
- 2.8GPA
Monosnap
Free plan · from $2.5/mo
Screenshot and screen recording tool with its own cloud storage.
- Only Monosnap lists a macOS app.
- Only Monosnap lists a browser extension.
- ShareX is open source, according to its own site.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
12
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 ShareX free?
Yes. ShareX is free to use.
How much does ShareX cost?
ShareX lists one plan. ShareX: $0.
What platforms does ShareX work on?
ShareX is available on Windows.
Does ShareX have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. ShareX is listed for Windows.
Does ShareX have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. ShareX is listed for Windows.
Is ShareX open source?
Yes. ShareX is open source, according to its own site.
What does ShareX integrate with?
ShareX's listing names Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Cloudflare R2, YouTube, Google Translate and DeepL.
Who makes ShareX?
ShareX is made by ShareX Team. It dates from 2007.
What are the alternatives to ShareX?
The closest alternatives to ShareX in our directory are Greenshot, Flameshot, Camtasia Snagit, ScreenToGif and Monosnap.
How does ShareX compare with other desktop utilities?
ShareX's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 36 of the 94 other desktop utilities we grade, and level with 20.
Is ShareX good value for money?
ToolGPA grades ShareX A for value for money. ShareX has no paid plan.
Could I make my own version of ShareX?
ShareX is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from ShareX’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 ShareX's own pages on 6 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-02-06.
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 ShareX Team. Prices change, so check getsharex.com before you buy.
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
- ShareX, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/sharex
- 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, "ShareX: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 6, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/sharex
Know someone choosing between desktop utilities?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/sharex/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded desktop utilities after ShareX, 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 ShareX’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. ShareX is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by ShareX Team. Prices and plans change: check getsharex.com before you buy.