A Lightshot alternative for Mac that works the same way

People who like Lightshot like one thing about it: speed. Press a key, drag a box, draw an arrow, copy, done. Most lists of “Lightshot alternatives” ignore that and recommend big capture suites with recording, cloud libraries and subscriptions. This page is for people who want the Lightshot way of working on a Mac, and nothing more.

Why people look for an alternative

• Apple silicon. At the time of writing, Lightshot for Mac is listed as an Intel app, which means it runs on M-series Macs through Rosetta 2, Apple’s translation layer. Apple has said Rosetta 2 will stop being generally available in a future macOS release. You can check your own copy: select Lightshot in Applications, choose File, Get Info, and look at Kind. “Application (Intel)” means it runs through Rosetta.
• Uploads. Lightshot can upload a screenshot to its own website and give you a link. Anyone with that link can open the picture. That is convenient, and also easy to do by accident with something private on screen.
• No history. Once the clipboard changes, a Lightshot shot you did not save is gone.

What a true Lightshot replacement needs

1. The same hotkey. On a Mac, Lightshot uses Command-Shift-9. Changing muscle memory is the hardest part of switching.
2. A selection, not a window. Drag a region, or click a window to take all of it.
3. The toolbar right beside the selection, so marking up takes no extra step.
4. Copy as the default way out, with save as a choice, not a dialog every time.

The built-in option: macOS Screenshot

macOS has its own capture tool. Command-Shift-4 selects a region, Command-Shift-5 opens the full toolbar, and adding Control copies to the clipboard instead of saving a file. The markup happens in a separate window after the capture, though, which is the step Lightshot users miss. It is free and native, and a fine choice if you mark up rarely.

Snipkeep: built as a Lightshot replacement

We built Snipkeep for exactly this workflow.

• Command-Shift-9 starts a capture, like Lightshot. Every shortcut can be changed.
• Drag a region or click a window, on every display.
• Eight markup tools beside the selection: arrow, line, rectangle, pen, marker, text, blur and numbered steps. Blur is applied to the pixels, so it cannot be undone by the person you send it to.
• Three ways out: Copy, Copy and save, or Save as.
• A history you opt into. Command-Shift-V opens your recent shots, but only the ones you chose to save there. Copy-only shots are not kept anywhere.
• No uploads. There is no Snipkeep server, so there is no link we host and nowhere your screenshots can leak to.
• Native on Apple silicon and Intel, with no Rosetta needed.

What it deliberately does not do: video, GIFs, scrolling capture or screen recording. If you need those, a larger suite is the better tool.

Moving from Lightshot

1. Quit Lightshot from its menu bar icon.
2. Move it from Applications to the Trash, and remove it from System Settings, General, Login Items if it starts at login.
3. Install Snipkeep and grant Screen Recording permission when asked. macOS needs the app restarted once after granting it; Snipkeep offers to do that.
4. Press Command-Shift-9. Nothing else to relearn.

Quick comparison