Screenshot tool · alternatives

The best Shottr alternatives for Mac

Shottr: $12 once, Mac (macOS 10.15+). Verified 2026-09-04.

Why people switch

Why people look for a Shottr alternative

Shottr is a small, fast screenshot app that designers love for its pixel ruler, colour picker, and free personal licence. The gap that sends people looking for more is memory: Shottr's OCR puts text on the clipboard and forgets it, there is no capture library, and it does not record video. It is also a one-person project, and features such as cloud sharing have sat in development for a long time.

What to look for instead

For measurement and annotation, keep Shottr; it is free and excellent. If the missing piece is finding a capture later, pair it with an app whose job is keeping things. SnipVault stores every OCR capture with its image and makes the text searchable, and it adds clipboard history and snippets under the same kind of hotkey. The two coexist well on different shortcuts, which is how many people run them.

Our pick

1. SnipVault

Region OCR that keeps the text and the picture together, plus a clipboard vault and snippets.

Next to SnipVault, Shottr has no ocr captures kept searchable, clipboard history, full-text search, pinboards / collections + tags, or snippets with :keyword expansion. Full table.

  • ✓You want every OCR capture kept and searchable
  • ✓You want clipboard history and snippets from the same hotkey

Other options

Other screenshot tools worth a look

2. TextSniper

$7.99 once

SnipVault vs TextSniper →

3. CleanShot X

$35 + $19/yr updates

SnipVault vs CleanShot X →

Still with them?

When Shottr is still the right call

  • •You are a designer who needs measurement and annotation tools
  • •You want a free screenshot app that also does OCR

FAQ

Shottr alternatives: questions
What is the best Shottr alternative?+

If you want captures kept and searchable, SnipVault. It uses the same on-device Apple Vision engine as Shottr, stores every capture with its image, and adds clipboard history and snippets. For annotation-heavy work, CleanShot X is the closest screenshot-first option.

Is there a free Shottr alternative?+

macOS Live Text is free and reads text in Preview and Photos, and Shottr's OCR is free for personal use. Neither keeps a searchable capture history. SnipVault's 7-day trial is free and needs no card.

How do I switch from Shottr to SnipVault?+

Install SnipVault, grant the screen-capture permission it asks for, and press ⇧⌘2 where you used Shottr's hotkey. Earlier captures stay wherever Shottr left them; new ones go into the vault with their text indexed.