PrintScreen.ly vs CleanShot X— honest comparison
Looking for a CleanShot X alternative that runs on more than just your Mac? Here's an honest PrintScreen.ly vs CleanShot X comparison — what each one does well, and where the other one wins. CleanShot is the polish leader on macOS; PrintScreen.ly is the only one that travels with you to Windows, iPhone, Android, and the web on a single license.
| At a glance | PrintScreen.ly | CleanShot X |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $3.99/mo | $8/mo (billed annually, Pro) |
| Most popular plan | $24.99/yr | $96/yr (Pro) |
| Lifetime license | $59.99 | $29 one-time (Basic, Mac app + 1 GB cloud, $19/yr for continued updates) |
| Platforms | Mac · Windows · iOS · Android · Web | Mac |
Pick CleanShot X if
- ·Native video and GIF recording with audio, plus screen-recording trim and conversion (PrintScreen.ly does not record video at all yet).
- ·More polished single-machine Mac experience: hide-desktop mode, custom backgrounds, scrolling-capture animations, and the cloud quick-access overlay are all genuinely nicer than what we ship today.
- ·Mature Mac-native quality of life — pinned floating screenshots, set-as-desktop-wallpaper, advanced annotation niceties (counters, step numbers, blur shapes), and a deeper power-user feature set polished over five-plus years.
- ·Bigger ecosystem: long-standing Setapp inclusion, established team plans with SSO, custom domain branding, and self-destruct links Pro buyers expect at the high end.
Pick PrintScreen.ly if
- +True cross-platform: native Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and a web dashboard — one account, one license. CleanShot X is Mac-only.
- +Cross-device clipboard: copy on Mac, paste on iPhone (or vice versa) without any export step. CleanShot has no equivalent because there is no CleanShot for iPhone, Android, or Windows.
- +Lifetime pricing that actually covers updates forever: $59.99 once and you keep every future release. CleanShot's $29 license only includes one year of updates; further updates cost $19/year.
- +Free tier is a complete standalone tool: capture (region/window/fullscreen/scroll), 8-tool markup editor with the full Apple-system color palette, OCR, save, and share — no nags, no watermarks, no time limit.
Full feature comparison
Verified 2026-05-02. Source linked at the bottom.
| Feature | PrintScreen.ly | CleanShot X |
|---|---|---|
| Price (entry) | $3.99/mo | $8/mo (Pro, billed annually) |
| Lifetime license | $59.99 — all future updates included | $29 one-time + $19/year for ongoing updates |
| Annual price for the cloud-sync tier | $24.99/yr | $96/yr |
| Platforms | Mac + Windows + iOS + Android + Web | Mac only |
| Region / window / fullscreen capture | Yes | Yes |
| Scroll capture | Yes | Yes |
| Video recording | No | Yes (MP4 + GIF, with audio) |
| Markup tools | 8-color Apple-system palette, 8 tools, non-destructive crop | Full markup suite including step counters, advanced shapes, and pinned floating screenshots |
| OCR | Yes (on-device, free for everyone) | Yes |
| Cloud sync | Yes (Pro) | Yes (1 GB on Basic, unlimited on Pro) |
| Web dashboard for your screenshot library | Yes (Pro) | Yes (Pro) |
| Cross-device clipboard (copy on one device, paste on another) | Yes (Pro) | No |
| Pinned floating screenshots / hide-desktop mode | No | Yes |
| Custom backgrounds and wallpaper styling | No | Yes |
| Free tier | Complete standalone tool — capture, mark up, OCR, save, share | 7-day trial, then paid |
From Jeff, founder
I bought CleanShot X years ago and still respect what it does on Mac. But I work on a Mac, a Windows desktop, and an iPhone every single day, and CleanShot only lives on one of those. PrintScreen.ly started as the version of that workflow that actually follows me around — capture anywhere, mark up anywhere, find it again from any device. We're not as polished on Mac yet, and we don't record video. We're working on both. — Jeff
— Jeff Schiesser · Bravely Studios
FAQ
Why no video recording yet?+
Honest answer: we haven't shipped it. Screen recording is the most-requested gap in the product, and it's on the roadmap for both Mac and Windows. Until it's live in a public build, we list it as missing on this page rather than dressing it up. If video is what you need today, CleanShot X is the better buy on Mac.
Is the free tier really complete?+
Yes. Free includes every capture mode (region, window, fullscreen, scrolling), the full 8-tool markup editor with the Apple-system color palette, on-device OCR, save to your local folder, copy to clipboard, and share via the system share sheet. Pro is only what you can't do on a single device — cloud sync, the web library, shareable links, and cross-device clipboard.
How does cross-device clipboard work?+
When you're signed into Pro on Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, or the web dashboard, copying a screenshot on one device makes it instantly pasteable on every other device on your account. No export, no AirDrop, no email-to-yourself — it just shows up in your clipboard. CleanShot has no equivalent because CleanShot only exists on Mac.
Will my CleanShot lifetime license keep getting updates?+
Per CleanShot's pricing page, the $29 Basic license includes one year of updates; after that, continued updates are $19/year. PrintScreen.ly's $59.99 lifetime includes every future update on every platform, no renewals. Verify the latest CleanShot terms at cleanshot.com/pricing.
More PrintScreen.ly comparisons
Pricing verified 2026-05-02. CleanShot X pricing source. Subject to change.