Snipping Tool for Mac: Alternatives that work on macOS
Snipping Tool is the Windows screenshot app, and there is no Mac version. But everything it does is already built into the Mac: here are the shortcuts, the Screenshot app, and alternatives with markup and scrolling capture.
Snipping Tool
- Windows only
- macOS has its own tool
macOS has its own Screenshot app: part of the screen, a window, the whole screen and screen recording, with Shift-Command-5.
Snipping Tool alternatives for Mac
ScreenshotAlready on your Mac
Captures part of the screen, a window or the whole screen, records video, has a timer. Opens with Shift-Command-5 or from Applications › Utilities.
- Built into macOS
- Screenshots and screen recording
- Free
PreviewTo annotate and highlight
Marks up a screenshot: arrows, boxes, text, cropping. Click the screenshot’s thumbnail in the corner of the screen, or open the file in Preview.
- Built into macOS
- Markup and cropping
- Free
ShottrMore features for free
Scrolling screenshots, text recognition on the capture, a ruler and color picker, quick markup. The basics are free.
- Scrolling screenshots
- Text from a capture
brew install --cask shottr
| Screenshot | Preview | Shottr | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the screen | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Markup | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Screen recording | ✓ | — | — |
| Scrolling screenshot | — | — | ✓ |
Screenshot shortcuts on Mac
- Shift-Command-3: the whole screen.
- Shift-Command-4: part of the screen, drag to select it. Press Space to capture one window.
- Shift-Command-5: the Screenshot toolbar with captures, recording, a timer and where to save.
Add Control to any shortcut and the capture goes to the clipboard instead of a file, ready to paste into a mail or chat.
How to capture part of the screen and annotate it
- Press Shift-Command-4 and select the area.
- Click the thumbnail that appears in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
- Add arrows, boxes or text from the markup toolbar, and crop if needed.
- Click Done to save it. Screenshots go to the desktop by default.
Where to keep screenshots
To keep the desktop free of screenshots, press Shift-Command-5, click Options and pick another folder under Save to, such as Documents or Downloads.
Keep your Mac tidy
Screenshots and screen recordings pile up on the desktop and take space. System Junk in MacWashing finds app caches and old installers and shows how much space they take.
Free trial · macOS 14 or later
Questions and answers
Is there a Snipping Tool for Mac?
No, Snipping Tool is Windows only. On a Mac the built-in Screenshot app does the same: Shift-Command-5, or Shift-Command-4 for part of the screen.
How do I take a screenshot on a Mac and paste it right away?
Press Control-Shift-Command-4, select the area, then paste it where you need it with Command-V.
How do I take a full scrolling screenshot?
With built-in tools, only a whole web page in Safari, with File › Export as PDF. Shottr takes scrolling screenshots of any window.