CleanShot X Mac App
CleanShot X provides users with a feature-rich way to capture screenshots. The app is easy to use and there are multiple pricing tiers. With CleanShot, you can end up replacing several utility apps since it has so many features available.
- DESIGN
- EASE OF USE
- PRICE
CleanShot X provides a smarter way to capture screenshots.
If someone was to ask me what function I use on my computer the most, I think it would have to be the screenshot function. While some people might just take a screenshot as a way to save an image for a later time, I will often take them to enhance note-taking or as a way to demonstrate how to complete a certain task.
No matter what the reason, screenshots or screen captures are an essential function of modern computer systems in my opinion. And while the screenshot is natively built into the operating system’s functionality, apps like CleanShot X take the function to the next level.
Overview
CleanShot X was created by MakeTheWeb, which is made up of two developers out of Poland – Pawet Magiera and Luke Oslizlo. There is very little information on MakeTheWeb available on cleanshot.com. I was able to find some information in an interview posted to nocsdegree.com about Oslizlo.
Oslizlo finished high school in 2018 and he and his friend (Magiera) started MakeTheWeb and released two Mac apps — PixelSnap and CleanShot. As of 2019, Oslizlo was only 20 years old and had no formal development training. He said that he began coding when he was 11 years old.
I was always fascinated with computers and how it all works and I guess it was a natural step for me to start with some simple HTML coding. So I started reading some online tutorials about it and I was just having fun while doing my first websites.
The pair of developers work easily together, which allows them to be more efficient and release many projects quickly. The two have known each other since they were 9 years old and they constantly motivate each other.
CleanShot X was originally launched in 2018 and is currently on version 4.4. The latest release took place in August 2022 and it included bug fixes and the following feature additions.
- Introducing Capture History – easily access and restore recent captures
- Added Auto-Scroll option to Scrolling Capture
- Added option to copy/paste objects in Annotate
- New OCR language support in macOS Ventura – Korean, Japanese, Russian, Ukrainian
- Improved Annotate compatibility with some trackpads
- Disabled cursor when capturing full screen with All-In-One
Privacy Policy
According to CleanShot’s privacy policy (found here), the data collected by the app includes e-mail addresses, first and last names, photos/avatars, and IP addresses.
We use personal data that we collected strictly for the purpose that we received it for or in our interest if it is necessary to maintain our relations or support service provided.
The purposes we can process your data are:
- providing services in application
- contact needs
- direct marketing of our services and products
- ordered newsletter
- resolving conflicts and complaints
Main Features
CleanShot X offers more than 50 features to users and here are some highlights of what the app can do. Visit cleanshot.com to see all the functions CleanShot X is capable of.
- CleanShot Cloud: You can instantly save your screen captures to CleanShot Cloud, dedicated screenshot hosting integrated with the app. Right from the quick menu, upload your screenshot to the cloud, and get a link to it in a click.
- Hide desktop icons: CleanShot hides desktop icons so that you can capture your Mac’s screen on the spot, without wasting time on cleanup. If you need a quick capture, toggle the icons and bring them back once you’re finished. You can even set custom wallpaper like an image or plain color for your screenshots.
- Record screen: CleanShots lets you choose between recording a video or a GIF, whether you capture a specific window, part of the screen, or fullscreen. Even set your custom dimensions before hitting the Record button. You can also disable desktop notifications when you’re recording.
- Quick Access Overlay: Right after taking a screenshot, you’ll see a small pop-up window appear on the screen. It’s the shortcut to viewing, annotating, or sharing whatever you’ve just captured. Essentially, Quick Access Overlay gives you an instant editing toolkit, plus saves you from searching and reopening screenshots.
- Simple yet powerful: CleanShot teaches you to use simple actions while capturing the screen – yet provides tons of options to do it. You can grab the area, fullscreen, window, or even a scrolling window. Set a timer if you need a few seconds to capture the right moment. In your hands, it caters to your needs.
- Annotate, highlight or blur: No screenshot is perfect. Using CleanShot’s built-in editor, you can highlight or hide specific parts of your screenshots as well as add annotations flexibly. Just click on the pencil icon in the Quick Access Overlay to edit screen captures in a flash.
Pricing and Availability
CleanShot X can be purchased through the developer’s website – cleanshot.com – for a one-time payment of $29. This is the App + Cloud Basic plan for an individual user. This plan includes one year of updates and 1GB of cloud storage.
There is also an App + Cloud Pro plan that is $8 per user per month, billed annually (or $10 per user per month, billed monthly). This version includes unlimited cloud storage, and updates for as long as you pay the subscription fees.
CleanShot offers a 30% discount to students who have an edu-issue email address. There is no trial version, but a 30-day money-back guarantee is included with any purchase. The app requires macOS 10.14 or newer for operation. There is no version for Windows.
CleanShot X can also be downloaded with a paid subscription to Setapp.
User Experience
CleanShot X is an app I use every single day. There are several features that set it apart from the native screenshot function on a Mac which caused me to choose it as my default application. To get started with the app, you must first download the app and purchase a license (unless you are using Setapp in which case you can simply install it on your system).
Once you have the app installed I would advise you to walk through all the preferences and carefully select the functionality that will work best for you. This is definitely one of those apps that benefits from a strong setup by the user. The app does a good job of walking the user through the essential set-up tools.
The first thing the app is going to ask is if you want CleanShot to be your default screenshot tool. If you choose to do so, which I would recommend, the app will provide the instructions for how you select it within the computer’s System Preferences panel. CleanShot will then ask if you want to share usage statistics anonymously. I chose not to, but that is up to the individual user.
The app will be installed as a menu bar utility. If you open the full window for it, you are essentially just opening the preferences menus. There is no other app functionality per se because the action of the app really takes place when you capture an image.
The preferences menu is broken down as follows → General • Wallpaper • Shortcuts • Quick Access • Recording • Screenshots • Annotate • Cloud • Advanced • About
I found the preferences menu options to be descriptive and easy to navigate. Features and functions were where I expected them to be found and because of that, set-up and future adjustments were very easy to make.
What happens when you take a screenshot?
The action that happens when you take a screenshot using CleanShot is a bit different than when you use Mac Screenshot. There is a Quick Access window that appears when you take the screenshot. You can designate where on the screen the window appears in preferences. I have mine appearing in the bottom left corner.
You have the option of having the window immediately save your screenshot, it can be on a delay, or the window can wait for your manual action before it disappears. I have it set to wait for my action. By doing this, I have the ability to review the screenshot before I save it.
The Quick Action window gives you the option to annotate your screenshot, save it, delete it, or save it to the cloud. It’s a very handy tool and one of the reasons that CleanShot is my default screenshot app now.
Daily Use & Why I Prefer CleanShot X
As I mentioned, screenshots are part of my daily routine. As useful as the tool is, I have still found myself getting frustrated with the function of it. Two of my biggest frustrations with taking standard screenshots are the location where they are saved and the format they are saved in. It is possible to change the format for a saved screenshot on a Mac, but you have to use Terminal to do it.
Users do have the option to change the location where their screenshots are saved on Mac’s Screenshot app, but it’s a little more cumbersome to use than CleanShot’s interface in my opinion. The option is hidden in the Options menu of the Screenshot app so you have open the floating control window in order to access that feature most of the time I will just use the shortcuts to capture an image and never option that control window.
On the very first page of CleanShot’s preferences — Under General — there is an Export Location option. Desktop is selected by default, but you can select anywhere to be that location. You also have the option to select your save location after your screenshot is taken.
Under the Quick Access preferences, there is a ‘save button behavior’ that gives you the option to set ‘save to export location’ or ‘ask for destination.’ This goes back to the action that happens when you take a screenshot with CleanShot.
That Quick Action window will provide a dialogue if you select ‘ask for a destination’ when you click on ‘save’ so you can designate where to save it. This is very handy when you are taking a bunch of screenshots for a single purpose.
Let’s say that you are watching a video presentation and you are taking screenshots of the slides being shown so that you can refer to them later. As you save the screenshots of that video presentation, you can save them all to the same folder so they don’t just pile up with other screenshots on your desktop or downloads folder.
Other features I enjoy
In addition to the features, I already mentioned I also really enjoy the customization options for screenshots that CleanShot X offers. For example, one of the preferences you can set allows you to hide desktop icons and use a transparent background instead of the wallpaper when you capture the screen. This is very useful for me since I take screenshots for app reviews like this one. I also really like that you can adjust design options like removing the drop shadow or the padding when a screenshot is captured.
The Text Recognition feature is incredibly impressive. I’ve been using TextSniper to copy text from images for quite some time, but CleanShot’s Text Recognition makes it possible for me to have the burden of one less app on my computer. The OCR technology is very accurate and the action is incredibly quick.
Conclusion
CleanShot X is 100% worth the investment in the cost of the application if you use screenshot functions as I do. It’s an incredibly powerful app that’s very easy to use. This will definitely be on my list of must-have apps from now on. The only thing I don’t like is that the individual pricing tier only includes one year of updates.
The developers do seem to be very attentive to this application and provide a lot of maintenance and upgrades to it, but I would prefer it if they would offer a subscription option other than the recurring monthly fee that included updates as long as you were a subscriber. Aside from that, CleanShot X is a great application that everyone should invest in.
For more information, visit cleanshot.com and Twitter.