ShareX is the best open-source screenshot tool for Windows. It is the only one of the three that lists screen and GIF recording and scrolling capture of any window, it has the most complete annotation and redaction tools, and it can upload to many destinations, including ones you define yourself.
If you only need to capture, mark up and save, Greenshot covers region, window and fullscreen capture with annotation and redaction, and it had the most recent release of the three. If you also work on macOS or Linux, Flameshot runs on all three systems with the same editor.
Our picks
Scores
1–5 per criterion · total is the weighted average · select a score to see its source| # | Product | Capture modes ×3 | Annotation and redaction ×3 | Saving and sharing ×2 | Active maintenance ×2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ShareX | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4.6 |
| 2 | Greenshot | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3.9 |
| 3 | Flameshot | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3.0 |
How each criterion is scored
Capture modes ×3
How many of five capture modes the tool documents: a selected region, a single window, the full screen, a scrolling capture of a long page, and screen recording (video or GIF).
- 5 All five
- 4 Four of the five
- 3 Three of the five
- 2 Two of the five
- 1 One of the five
Annotation and redaction ×3
How many of five markup tools the tool documents: arrows or shapes, text, a highlighter or marker, blur or pixelate for hiding private details, and numbered steps.
- 5 All five
- 4 Four of the five
- 3 Three of the five
- 2 Two of the five
- 1 None or one of the five
Saving and sharing ×2
Where a capture can go after it's taken, from saving a file to uploading it to services you choose.
- 5 Many upload destinations, plus custom destinations you can add yourself
- 4 Several built-in destinations, such as e-mail, printers, other apps or photo sites
- 3 File and clipboard, plus one built-in upload service
- 2 Save to a file and copy to the clipboard
- 1 Save to a file only
Active maintenance ×2
How recent the latest release is on GitHub, counted from the date of the evaluation.
- 5 Within the last month
- 4 Within the last 3 months
- 3 Within the last 6 months
- 2 Within the last 12 months
- 1 More than 12 months ago, or no releases
Greenshot describes itself as a light-weight screenshot tool for Windows, and it sticks to that. You capture a region, a window or the full screen, then annotate, highlight or obfuscate parts of it before exporting it to a file, the clipboard, e-mail, an Office program or a photo site.
It is also the most recently updated of the three: version 1.3.328 was released on 19 October 2026.
- Region, window and fullscreen capture
- Annotate, highlight and obfuscate parts of a screenshot
- Exports to file, printer, clipboard, e-mail and Office programs
- Scrolling capture works only for web pages in Internet Explorer
- No screen recording listed
Skip it if: Anyone who needs to record the screen or capture long pages.
Flameshot’s strength is that it is the same tool on every system you use. On Windows it captures with Print Screen, which the README notes is fixed, or Win + Shift + X, which you can change. The in-app editor has a keyboard shortcut for each tool, including arrows, rectangles, text and a pixelate tool for redaction.
It ranks third on Windows because the rest of the workflow is thin: sharing means the clipboard, a file or an Imgur upload. Its latest release, v14.0.0, came out on 19 June 2026.
- Runs on Windows, macOS and Linux
- In-app editor with arrows, shapes, text, a marker and pixelate
- Built-in upload to Imgur
- No scrolling capture or screen recording listed
- Imgur is the only upload destination listed
- On Windows, the Print Screen shortcut is fixed and can't be changed
Skip it if: Anyone who needs uploads to their own storage.
Questions
Which of these can record the screen?
ShareX. It is the only one of the three that lists screen recording and GIF recording.
Which can hide passwords or personal details in a screenshot?
All three. ShareX has blur, pixelate and a smart eraser, Greenshot can obfuscate parts of a screenshot, and Flameshot has a pixelate tool.
Method
Each tool was scored 1–5 on four weighted criteria, each with a published five-level scale: capture modes (×3), annotation and redaction (×3), saving and sharing (×2) and active maintenance (×2). The ranking is the weighted average. Every score cites quotes from the project’s README or GitHub release data, captured on 5 November 2026.
We scored from each project’s own documentation and did not install the tools. How our rankings work.