Best Open-Source Screen Capture Tools 2026: 6 Options Compared
Best open-source Screen Capture Tools compared: Flameshot, Greenshot, ShareX, ScreenToGif and 2 more, with licenses, platforms and prices from official pages checked October 23, 2026.
•3 min read•Video Editing & AI Video
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flameshot | Free | Linux, Windows, macOS | Annotated screenshots on any desktop | Docs only |
| Greenshot | Free | Windows | Windows screenshots with markup | Docs only |
| ShareX | Free | Windows | Capture workflows and automation | Docs only |
| ScreenToGif | Free | Windows | Short animated captures | Docs only |
| OBS Studio | Free (open source, with no paid tier listed on its site) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Long recordings with several sources | Docs only |
| Cap | Free (local recordings with no time limit; shareable cloud links up to 5 minutes); paid from $8.16 per user/month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly, Cap Pro) | macOS, Windows, Self-hosted | Quick recordings you may share | Docs only |
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See the tools in action
Images from the linked documentation. Versions and features may differ from current plans.
Good fit if
- You need an arrow or blur on a screenshot, any OS (Flameshot is the pick)
- You are on Windows and want light markup (Greenshot is the pick)
- You want capture plus automatic uploads (ShareX is the pick)
- You want a short GIF (ScreenToGif is the pick)
- You record long sessions (OBS Studio is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You cannot host, patch and back up a server yourself and want a vendor to run it
Screen capture covers both still screenshots and short recordings, and the open-source field has a specialist for each. Flameshot is the favourite for stills: draw an arrow or blur on the selection before you save it, on Linux, Windows or macOS. Greenshot offers a similar capture-and-annotate flow for Windows and keeps its footprint small. ShareX is the Swiss army knife for Windows, adding screen recording, image editing and automatic uploads to many destinations, which is more than most people need but useful if you capture all day. For motion, ScreenToGif records a region straight to GIF or video, OBS Studio handles long sessions with multiple sources, and Cap offers quick local recordings with an optional share link. Operating system decides most of the choice, because ShareX and Greenshot are Windows-only and ScreenToGif appears to be as well. After that, decide whether you need annotation (Flameshot, Greenshot) or automation (ShareX). The trade-off is that annotation tools stay light and easy while the automation-heavy ones present a wall of settings the first time you open them. All six are free and open source, and none adds watermarks to what you capture, so a screenshot is yours to publish or file as you like.
Flameshot
GPL-3.0 screenshot tool for Linux, Windows and macOS. You annotate the selected area before saving, which makes it quick for bug reports and docs.
Price: Free (Flameshot pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Linux, Windows, macOS. GPL-3.0 (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 31.3k GitHub stars · latest release v14.0.0 (Jun 19, 2026) · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Best for: Annotated screenshots on any desktop.
Greenshot
GPL-3.0 lightweight screenshot tool for Windows with annotation built in. Windows only, so Mac and Linux users should choose Flameshot.
Price: Free (Greenshot pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows. GPL-3.0 (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 5.2k GitHub stars · latest release v1.3.328 (Oct 19, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Windows screenshots with markup.
ShareX
GPL-3.0 Windows tool covering capture, recording, image editing and uploads to many destinations. Powerful, but a large settings surface for a simple screenshot.
Price: Free (ShareX pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows. GPL-3.0 (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 40.5k GitHub stars · latest release v21.0.0 (Jul 3, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Capture workflows and automation.
ScreenToGif
MS-PL tool that records a selected area and saves it as a GIF or video. Appears Windows only, needing the .NET 9 Desktop Runtime.
Price: Free (ScreenToGif pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows. MS-PL (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 27.9k GitHub stars · latest release 2.43.2 (Jul 28, 2026) · last commit Oct 14, 2026
Best for: Short animated captures.
OBS Studio
GPL-2.0-or-later recorder for Windows, macOS and Linux with no paid tier. Overkill for stills, but the right tool when a capture runs long or mixes sources.
Price: Free (open source, with no paid tier listed on its site) (OBS Studio pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. GPL-2.0-or-later (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 78.4k GitHub stars · latest release 33.0.0 (Oct 23, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Long recordings with several sources.
Worth knowing: OBS records on your machine; it has no remote guest recording.
Compare: OBS Studio alternatives
Cap
AGPL-3.0 recorder for macOS and Windows, self-hostable. Local recordings are unlimited in length; shareable cloud links stop at 5 minutes on the free plan.
Price: Free (local recordings with no time limit; shareable cloud links up to 5 minutes); paid from $8.16 per user/month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly, Cap Pro) (Cap pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: macOS, Windows, Self-hosted. AGPL-3.0 (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 23.9k GitHub stars · latest release cap-v0.6.1 (Oct 20, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Quick recordings you may share.
Which one to pick
- You need an arrow or blur on a screenshot, any OS: Flameshot
- You are on Windows and want light markup: Greenshot
- You want capture plus automatic uploads: ShareX
- You want a short GIF: ScreenToGif
- You record long sessions: OBS Studio
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Flameshot, Greenshot, ShareX, ScreenToGif, OBS Studio, Cap: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you commit.
Related guides
Sources
Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing, license and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-23: Flameshot, Greenshot, ShareX, ScreenToGif, OBS Studio, Cap. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.