Screenshot tool
SnipVault vs CleanShot X for Mac
CleanShot X is the premium screenshot suite: capture, scrolling capture, recording, annotation, cloud sharing, and OCR as one feature among fifty. Its $35-plus-$19-a-year update model draws the most criticism.
Verified 2026-09-04.
CleanShot X pricing
$35 + $19/yr updates
$35 one-time includes one year of updates and 1 GB cloud; $19 per year optional renewal to keep updates. Cloud Pro $10/user/month billed annually. No trial, 30-day refund. Also on Setapp.
sourceSnipVault pricing
$29.99/yr or $79 once
Also $2.49/month. 7-day free trial, no card.
Platforms
CleanShot X: Mac (macOS 13+)
SnipVault: macOS 13+, Apple Silicon and Intel
Feature by feature
What you get with each
| Feature | SnipVault | CleanShot X |
|---|---|---|
Screenshot OCR (region → text) | ✓ | ✓ |
OCR captures kept searchable (text + image) CleanShot keeps images for a month; the recognised text is not searchable. | ✓ | Partial |
Annotation and scrolling capture | — | ✓ |
Screen recording (MP4/GIF) | — | ✓ |
Cloud sharing links | — | ✓ |
Clipboard history | ✓ | — |
Full-text search CleanShot: by image only. | ✓ | Partial |
Pinboards / collections + tags | ✓ | — |
Snippets with :keyword expansion | ✓ | — |
OTP / card-number auto-expiry | ✓ | — |
Works fully offline, on-device CleanShot OCR is on-device; cloud features are not. | ✓ | Partial |
One-time purchase available CleanShot's $35 includes only one year of updates. | ✓ | Partial |
Free tier / open source SnipVault: 7-day free trial, no card required. | — | — |
| Price | $29.99/yr or $79 once | $35 + $19/yr updates |
Strengths
Where CleanShot X is strong, and where SnipVault is
CleanShot X does well
- •Best-in-class annotation, scrolling capture, and screen recording
- •Cloud sharing links with expiry and passwords
- •Capture history of images for a month
- •Extremely polished
SnipVault does well
- •OCR captures are indexed as searchable text, not only kept as images
- •Clipboard history and snippets in the same app
- •One price with updates included; no renewal fine print
- •Lighter menu-bar app focused on text, not a 50-feature suite
What users say
Common complaints about CleanShot X
Quoted from public reviews and forums. Follow the links for full context.
“A so-called 'one-time' payment that halts updates after a year is called an ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION… have the guts to present it that way.”
“Forcing your own cloud should be illegal in this day and age. And for something the cost of clean shot x?”
“I got tired of paying for cleanshotx and missing features in shottr - and i've build my own.”
FAQ
Does SnipVault replace CleanShot X?+
Only for the text side. SnipVault does OCR capture with a searchable history, clipboard, and snippets. It does not annotate, record, or upload screenshots. Many people run SnipVault next to the free macOS screenshot tool or Shottr.
Does SnipVault charge for updates?+
No. Lifetime is $79 once with all updates included, or $29.99 a year while subscribed.
How much does CleanShot X cost?+
CleanShot X is $35 + $19/yr updates. $35 one-time includes one year of updates and 1 GB cloud; $19 per year optional renewal to keep updates. Cloud Pro $10/user/month billed annually. No trial, 30-day refund. Also on Setapp. SnipVault: $2.49/month, $29.99/year, or $79 once.
What platforms does CleanShot X run on?+
CleanShot X: Mac (macOS 13+). SnipVault: macOS 13 or later, Intel and Apple Silicon, three Macs per licence.
Point ⇧⌘2 at SnipVault for a week and see whether CleanShot X gets opened again.