Top 5 Snipping Tools for Mac to Take a Snip (Scrolling and Full Screen)

Top 5 Snipping Tools for Mac to Take a Snip (Scrolling and Full Screen)

Snipping Tool is the default Windows screenshot utility for Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista. You can take a screenshot on Windows for free with the Snipping Tool. Some Mac users also want to get a Snipping Tool on Mac. Though there is no official Snipping Tool for Mac version, you can get Snipping Tool alternatives instead. What programs for Mac you can use to take a snip? This article reviews 5 popular Mac screenshot tools alternative to Windows Snipping Tool. You can download and choose the best one to snip on Mac.

Snipping Tool Mac
Price Advanced Annotation Features Scrolling Screenshot Integrated Video Recording Built-in Editing Tools
Mac Built-in Screenshot Tool Free Not Support Not Support Support Not Support
AnyMP4 Screen Recorder Free and Paid Support Support Support Support
Grab Free Not Support Not Support Not Support Not Support
Lightshot Free Support Basic Not Support Not Support Not Support
Snagit Paid Support Support Support Support
Monosnap Free and Paid Support Limited Not Support Support Support

Part 1. Built-in Snipping Tool for Mac

macOS includes a built-in screenshot tool that works as the most basic alternative to the Windows Snipping Tool. With the Command + Shift + 4 shortcut, you can capture a selected area or window. Meanwhile, pressing the Command + Shift + 5 keys will open the Screenshot toolbar for full-screen capture, window capture, and simple screen recording. These shortcuts are free, fast, and require no installation, making them suitable for quick, one-off screenshots. However, it lacks advanced annotation tools and it does not support scrolling screenshots.

Part 2. Top 5 Snipping Tools for Mac (Third-party Tools)

What is the best snipping tool for Mac? If you don't know which Mac snipping tool to choose, you can continue reading to get more details. Here're the detailed pros and cons of each screen snipping tool for all Mac users.

Top 1: AnyMP4 Screen Recorder – Your Annotated Snipping Tool for Mac

AnyMP4 Screen Recorder is a complete screenshot, screen recording, and editing solution for Mac OS X 10.13 and later. This software solves all common pain points in one integrated workflow, from capturing to editing and exporting. It allows you to take high-resolution screenshots, scrolling captures, and window snips. Additionally, you can instantly annotate and edit them without switching to another app. It also includes professional screen recording features with advanced screenshot tools.

Like

  • Take a screenshot on Mac in scrolling screen, full screen, active window, and any other custom screen.
  • Edit a screenshot with annotations, including border, shape, line, text, callout, add element or image, blur image, and more
  • Save your captured Mac screenshot to JPG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, GIF, and many other formats.
  • Set custom screen snipping tool hotkeys to take a quick snip on Mac, and copy and paste freely.
  • Free to use and no watermark in free snipping tool Mac version.

Dislike

  • The free snip feaure is under Video Recorder, and you need to register it after 30 days.

Top 2: Grab – Former Default Mac Snipping Tool

Grab is pre-installed on macOS 101.3 (High Sierra) by default. There is no need to install extra snipping tool Mac software. Though Grab is replaced by the Screenshot utility since macOS 10.14 (Mojave) update, you can still take a screenshot on Mac with Grab for free.

Like

  • Capture Mac screen in the selection, window, screen, and timed screen mode.
  • Show or hide the cursor/pointer in Mac screenshots.
  • Save the Mac snips to JPEG, TIFF, GIF, or PDF format.

Dislike

  • Grab may fail to work after a macOS update.
  • The new Screenshot utility replaces Grab since macOS 10.14 update.
Grab

Top 3: Lightshot – Light Snipping Tool for Mac

Lightshot allows users to set the sniping area and take its screenshot in 2 clicks. Before exporting, you can use the online editor to edit the Mac screenshot instantly. Later, you can upload your screenshot and get a short link. Lightshot Mac snipping tool allows users to share a screenshot on Mac.

Like

  • Add text, rectangle, line, and arrow to your Mac screenshot picture.
  • Save, share, or upload screenshots to the cloud server.
  • Get Lightshot for Chrome extension to quickly screenshot on Chrome browsers.

Dislike

  • Sometimes it takes a lot of time to generate a screenshot sharing link.
  • There are only basic drawing tools in the Mac screen capture tool.
Lightshot

Top 4: Snagit – Professional Snipping Tool with Scrollable Screeshot

Snagit was initially designed for business visual instructions. You can take snapshots and screen videos with complex edits. Compared with other screen snipping tools for Mac, Snagit can snip a scrollable screenshot. Thus, you can screenshot an entire webpage on Mac.

Like

  • Capture a scrolling screen on your Mac computer with Snagit.
  • Add effects with the Mac screenshots within the Snagit editor.
  • Save the snipped Mac screenshot to JPG, BMP, GIF, and other popular formats

Dislike

  • The price of Snagit full version is expensive.
  • The Snagit font options are limited.
Snagit

Top 5: Monosnap – Enterprise-level Mac Snipping Tool

Monosnap allows users to capture full screen, part of the screen, and the selected window on Mac. Moreover, you can add annotation to your screen captured image. You can save the Mac screenshot, share it on social media, or send it to Photoshop for further editing.

Like

  • Capture screenshots on Mac with full screen, or record specific window based on
  • Use hotkeys to control Mac snipping and screen video recording.
  • Edit and blur on your Mac snapshot to highlight or hide details.

Dislike

  • Many users complain that Monosnap detects their screenshots for commercial use.
  • Monosnap free users cannot share a screenshot to Dropbox and Google Drive directly.
Monosnap

Part 3. How to Take a Snip on Mac Use Snipping Tool

Whether you want to take Mac screenshots for tutorials, businesses, educations, and more, you can use AnyMP4 Screen Recorder to solve the problem perfectly. You can capture any area on your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air screen clearly. Here're the detailed steps to use the snipping tool and do a screenshot on Mac.

1.Launch AnyMP4 Screen Recorder on your Mac computer. Choose Video Recorder, then locate the Screen Capture feature (A camera icon) from the right corner of the interface to access the Mac snipping tool. From the drop-down option to choose the snip mode from Screen Capture, Scrolling Window and Popup Menu Capture.

Select Screen Capture

2.Your cursor will turn into a crosshair, allowing you to select the area you want to capture. Click and drag to select a custom area or click once on a window to capture the active window. For Scrolling Window, move the cursor over the scrollable area and left-click to confirm.

Cross Shape

3.After capturing, a floating editing toolbar appears on the screen. Use the editor tools to add text, arrows, shapes, borders, and callouts. You can also blur or highlight sensitive areas, insert images or stickers, and adjust color, size, and opacity of annotations.

Draw After Capture

4.Click the Save option to export the screenshot in formats such as PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF, or GIF. You can also click Copy to paste the image directly into other applications.

Capture Save Path

Part 4. FAQs of Mac Snipping Tools

Where do Mac screenshots go?

The captured screenshots are saved in PNG format on Mac desktop by default. You can find the Mac screenshot with the file name like Screen Shot xxxxx.png.

Can I change the keyboard shortcuts for Mac screenshot?

Yes. Choose System Preferences from the Apple drop-down list. Go to Keyboard and select Keyboard Shortcuts. Choose Screen Shots from the list. Check the box before the screen capture shortcuts you want to edit.

How to take screenshots with Mac Screenshot?

Press Shift, Command, and 5 keys at the same time on the Mac keyboard. Choose a snipping tool from the bottom menu bar. Here you can capture entire screen, program window, or a portion of the Mac screen based on your need.

Conclusion

Those are highly reviewed Mac snipping tools. You can snip on Mac with any screen size with high resolution. Furthermore, you can add annotations and make other changes while taking Mac snips. If you want to capture and edit a Mac screen in one stop, AnyMP4 Screen Recorder can be your first choice. When you're free, you can try to learn how to record videos on mac with it. The intuitive interface and powerful functions are beginner-friendly. Just free download and have a try right now.

What do you think of this post?

Excellent

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (based on 677 ratings)

author Updated by Alice Thorne to Screenshot
February 25, 2026 15:00

More readings

CommentAdd your comments to join the discussion here