Windows has the Snipping Tool — Mac doesn't. Discover the best snipping tool alternatives for Mac and MacBook, and capture, annotate and share screenshots faster with Snappix.
Snip any part of your screen with pixel precision, or capture an entire window with one click — just like the Windows Snipping Tool, only faster.
Add arrows, text, shapes and highlights the moment you capture. No separate editor needed.
Capture full-length web pages and long conversations that the built-in Mac shortcuts simply can't handle.
Copy text straight out of any screenshot — turn images into editable text in one click.
Record your screen with system audio and webcam. A snipping tool and screen recorder in a single app.
Automatically detect and blur sensitive information like emails, phone numbers and credit cards before you share.
Press ⌘+Shift+4 to snip a selected area, or ⌘+Shift+5 to open the full screenshot toolbar. This is macOS's closest equivalent to the Windows Snipping Tool.
Click and drag across the area you want to capture. Release to take the screenshot — it lands on your Desktop as a PNG.
For scrolling screenshots, annotation, OCR and instant sharing, download Snappix — free to try, built for macOS.
Snappix opens your capture in a built-in editor so you can mark it up and share it to Slack, email or clipboard in seconds.
macOS covers the basics with keyboard shortcuts and the Screenshot app. Here's how Snappix compares.
| Feature | Snappix | macOS Screenshot App | Windows Snipping Tool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Region snip | |||
| Window capture | |||
| Scrolling screenshot | |||
| Built-in annotation & arrows | Basic | Basic | |
| OCR text extraction | Live Text only | ||
| Screen recording with audio | |||
| Smart blur for privacy | |||
| Beautification & backgrounds | |||
| Price | Free trial | Free | Free |
No — macOS has never shipped an app called Snipping Tool. The closest built-in equivalent is the Screenshot app (⌘+Shift+5) and keyboard shortcuts like ⌘+Shift+4 for a region capture. For features the built-in tools lack, such as scrolling screenshots, annotation and OCR, a third-party tool like Snappix is the standard replacement.
The macOS Screenshot app, launched with ⌘+Shift+5, is the direct equivalent. It offers full-screen, window and selected-portion captures. If you want the full Windows Snipping Tool experience — with markup tools, delay timers and instant sharing — Snappix provides all of that plus OCR, smart blur and beautification.
Press ⌘+Shift+4 and drag to select the area you want to snip. Add the Space bar after ⌘+Shift+4 to capture a specific window. The screenshot saves to your Desktop by default. Press ⌘+Shift+5 for more options, including screen recording.
Yes. Snappix offers a free trial download for macOS that includes region capture, scrolling screenshots, annotation, OCR and screen recording. Other well-known free options include Shottr and Lightshot, though they cover fewer features.
By default, screenshots are saved to your Desktop as 'Screenshot [date] at [time].png'. You can change the save location in the Screenshot app (⌘+Shift+5 → Options → Save to), or let Snappix organize captures automatically.
Snappix gives you region capture, scrolling screenshots, annotation, OCR and screen recording — one free app for everything the built-in tools can't do.
Download Snappix Free