A CleanShot X alternative
Cropped captures areas and windows to the pixel, marks them up and records your screen on Mac, Windows and Linux. Then it finishes the job: shrinks the file, sizes it for every network and edits the video.
Try everything free for 14 days
Core: $24.99 once, yours for life
Mac, Windows and Linux (Beta)
Every Core update included
The short answer
Is there a CleanShot X for Windows?
CleanShot X is Mac only, and its makers say there are no plans for Windows. Cropped is a capture and markup app that runs on Mac, Windows and Linux under one license, with screen recording, a video editor and image and PDF shrinking built in. Core is $24.99 once, with every Core update included.
capture
01
Capture
Capture
Drag an area on a frozen screen with a magnifier, or click a window. Smart Crop Snapping lands the edges on buttons and panels, and on Mac, Webpage only leaves out the browser’s tabs and address bar.
Window capture: hover, click, done
One license, three systems
Use the same app on a Mac at home and a Windows laptop at work, on up to five computers.
Your shortcuts
Every shortcut is editable, and on Mac Cropped can take over the screenshot keys.
Repeat last area
Capture the same spot again in one keystroke, with a 3, 5 or 10-second timer on Mac.
annotate
02
Annotate
Annotate
Arrows, boxes, circles, text, numbered steps, a focus mask and blur, then the file is optimized, copied to the clipboard and ready to drag into Slack, a doc or an email.
A box, an arrow and a hidden email address
Auto-optimized
Every capture is saved as a smaller file, so a Retina screenshot doesn’t weigh 5 MB.
Accessibility check
See low-contrast and small text, and how it looks with color blindness.
Arrange
Put several screenshots side by side in one image, evenly spaced.
video
03
Video
Video
Recordings zoom in on each click. Trim them in the Drop Zone, or open them in the Studio to cut, join and export as MP4, WebM or GIF. Pro adds Jump Cuts, captions and the full timeline.
Video, Audio, Music and Voiceover lanes
Zoom on clicks
Smooth zooms you can move, change or turn off.
Hit a file size
Aim for a size like 10 MB and Cropped works out the bitrate.
GIFs with control
Loop, colors and dithering, and GIF to MP4 and back.
compare
Cropped and CleanShot X
Where the two overlap, and where they don’t, as of November 2026.
CleanShot X
Capture
Mac
Yes
Yes
Capture
Windows and Linux
Yes, Linux in Beta
No, Mac only
Capture
Area, window and full-screen capture
Yes
Yes
Capture
Scrolling capture
Smooth Scroll, on Mac
Yes
Capture
Text recognition (OCR)
No
Yes
Edit
Arrows, steps, blur and focus
Yes
Yes
Edit
Screen recording with sound
Yes
Yes
Edit
Zoom on clicks
Yes
No
Edit
Timeline, captions and Jump Cuts
Yes
Trim and basic edits
Edit
Shrink and convert images, videos and PDFs
Yes
No
Share
Share links with comments
Yes, with 20 GB of storage
Yes, with cloud plans
Price
Updates
Every Core update included
1 year, then $19 a year
https://cleanshot.com/pricing
2026-11-01
What it costs
CleanShot Basic is a one-time purchase with a year of updates, then $19 a year to keep updating. Cropped Core includes every Core update, and Pro is optional.
CleanShot X
Basic
35
19
$35 once, updates $19 a year after the first
Pro
0
120
$10 a person a month, billed yearly
https://cleanshot.com/pricing
2026-11-01
Fair is fair
You only use a Mac and only take screenshots.
CleanShot is a polished, mature Mac app, and it’s very good at that job.
You need text recognition.
CleanShot copies text out of any screenshot. Cropped doesn’t do OCR.
You want unlimited cloud storage.
CleanShot Pro has unlimited storage under a fair use policy. Cropped Pro includes 20 GB per person.
Switching
Is there a CleanShot X for Windows?
No. CleanShot X runs only on macOS. Cropped has the same kind of capture and markup tools on Mac, Windows and Linux under one license.
Can Cropped take over the Mac screenshot shortcuts?
Yes. Every Cropped shortcut is editable, and you can turn on the Mac screenshot keys in Preferences so they open Cropped instead.
Do I have to pay for updates?
Not for Core. Cropped Core is $24.99 once and includes every Core update for life. Pro is a separate add-on at $24.99 a year.
Does Cropped work on Linux?
Cropped runs on Mac (Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14 or later), 64-bit Windows 11 and Ubuntu 24.04 or later with GNOME (Linux is in Beta). One license covers all three. A few things are Mac only for now, like the camera bubble, Webpage only and Smooth Scroll. See every difference.
Every Core and Pro tool, with no signup or card. Then keep Cropped Core for $24.99 once, and add Pro whenever you want it.
CleanShot X is a trademark of its owner. Cropped isn’t affiliated with CleanShot X, and we use the name only to compare the two products. Facts about CleanShot X were checked on its own site on November 1, 2026; tell us at support if something has changed.