Who does what
| Tool | AI features its maker lists | Where your screenshot goes | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glintshot | Copy text, Auto-redact (emails, cards, API keys), Smart snap, smart file names, Ask, alt text, Send to AI apps | Reading text stays on your computer; Ask goes to the model you choose, local or with your key | Free with no daily limit; Pro $29/yr (coming soon) |
| Snagit | Smart Redact, Grab Text, step recorder, Smart Move, Simplify, background remover | Smart Redact doesn’t upload the image, per TechSmith | $39/yr |
| Windows Snipping Tool | Text actions, quick redact of emails and phone numbers; Perfect screenshot on Copilot+ PCs | Text recognition runs on your PC, per Microsoft | Built in |
| ShareX | Text recognition; Analyze image with your own OpenAI, Gemini or OpenRouter key | Text stays on your PC; Analyze image goes to the provider you set | Free |
| CleanShot X | Text recognition in 30+ languages, Smart Highlighter; none called AI | Text recognition stays on your Mac | $35 once |
As of October 2026, from each maker’s site: Snagit, Snipping Tool, ShareX, CleanShot X.
What “AI” means on a screenshot tool
- Reading text (OCR). Turns pixels into text you can copy. Mature, fast, and usually done on your computer.
- Finding secrets. Uses that text to spot emails, card numbers and keys, and blurs them. Snagit, the Snipping Tool and Glintshot do this; how much each finds differs.
- Understanding the screen. A vision model explains an error, writes a bug report or pulls out a table. This needs a model, so the question is whose and where.
Questions to ask before you pick
- Does it run where I work? Only Glintshot here runs on Mac, Windows and Linux.
- Who runs the model? A tool’s own cloud, your own key, or a model on your computer. Each has a different privacy and cost story.
- Do I pay per use? Credits add up. With your own key you pay the provider’s price; with a local model, nothing.
- Can it clean the screenshot first? Redacting before you ask keeps secrets out of the model. See how to share screenshots with AI safely.
Questions
Do AI screenshot tools upload my screenshots?
It depends on the feature, not the tool. Text recognition usually runs on your computer in the tools on this page. Asking a model about a screenshot sends it to that model’s provider unless the model runs locally. Check each tool’s privacy page, and redact before you ask.
Can I use my own AI model?
Glintshot works with local models through Ollama or LM Studio, with Claude or any OpenAI-compatible service through your own key, or with a command-line tool. ShareX’s Analyze image also takes your own key.