11 Best Screenshot Tools for Windows Laptop and PC

Taking screenshots is one of the most common tasks, whether on a PC or phone. That's why all operating systems offer multiple ways to take screenshots.

In the workplace, you need to take screenshots to share ideas with colleagues, get help from others by sharing an error screen, or quickly share your progress on a project. Some tasks also require you to take screenshots. For example, as a writer, I have to take screenshots so that readers can imagine what I'm talking about.

Even during your personal screen time, in many cases you need to take screenshots. For example, when buying something on Facebook, you might have to take a screenshot to talk to the seller, you might want to take a screenshot of a financial transaction to have proof, or even save an awesome home decor idea you found online.

While it's easy to take screenshots in Windows (just press the Windows+PrtScn buttons), the default functionality is minimal. There is no reliable editing tool, it lacks many automation features, and taking screenshots in various ways can be problematic.

If you need to take screenshots frequently, be sure to purchase a third-party screenshot software that will meet all your needs. These tools can help you take screenshots in multiple ways, automatically save them to the right place (online/offline) and annotate them with powerful editing tools.

To help you find the right screen capture software for Windows, I will list some of the best Windows screen capture tools.

Greenshot

If you want a simple, free yet powerful screenshot tool, then Greenshot is the best choice in my opinion. This is an open source application that works from the taskbar and allows you to quickly take screenshots in several ways. You can take region, active window, full screen, last region and many screenshots using the user interface and keyboard shortcuts.

You can set it up so that screenshots are saved directly to a specific folder or even sent to the program. It's also possible to upload screenshots to Imgur once you've taken them. It's also very low on resources and runs from the taskbar to keep your work as minimal as possible.

PikPik

I used PickPick for almost 2 years before switching to Greenshot as I needed something simpler. However, if you want a screenshot tool that also has a powerful editor, then PicPick beats other screenshot tools by a mile. It offers 8 ways to take a screenshot and then open it in its editor.

The editor offers all the standard image editing features, including effects, annotations, pixel ruler, resizing/cropping, drawing, and more. All the screenshots taken are listed in the PicPick interface for managing and editing, and you can share them anywhere on the web using the Share tab.

PicPick is completely free for personal use, but without any customer support. You need to buy the paid version for commercial use.

Get stronger

Snagit is a premium screen capture and recording tool with a 15-day free trial to test the tool. This is very handy when you need to take screenshots, edit them and share them. It offers up to 12 ways to take screenshots, each with additional settings to customize the behavior.

The screenshots you take open in the Snagit editor, which offers all the editing features you need, as well as a gallery to view all your screenshots in one place. It also has a list of image and cloud storage websites where you can share your screenshots right away.

After the 15-day free trial, you can purchase the latest version of Snagit for a one-time payment of $49.99.

ShareX

If sharing screenshots with other people or websites is important to you, then ShareX is the screenshot software you want. It has 7 ways to take a screenshot, and you can also record videos and GIFs. There's also a handy auto-capture feature that automatically takes screenshots at a set interval.

ShareX offers dedicated menus for uploading your screenshots to many different online services, and you can manage their accounts right from the ShareX interface. You can also get shared short links for easy sharing.

Overall, the app is highly customizable to the point where it can be a bit complex, and there are some additional tools as well, such as a built-in OCR tool.

Lightshot

As the name suggests, this is a very minimalist screenshot program that is very lightweight and easy to use. Lightshot works from the taskbar in the same way as Greenshot, but with it you can only take screenshots of an area or full screen.

In addition to being easy to use resources, it also allows you to upload screenshots to your website to share with anyone online without having to log in. You can also register to save and manage your screenshots online.

Even though it's a lightweight screenshot tool, it still offers a basic editor for annotating images and posting them online.

Screen recording

It's actually both a screenshot tool and a screen recorder, but mostly I'll be talking about a screenshot tool. Screen Recording is located on the right side of the screen and allows you to quickly take a screenshot. Although you will have to manually select a region in order to take a screenshot.

The screenshot you took will open in the minimal editor, where you can add arrows and text to the image, and then save it. The tool has its own gallery where you can view and manage all your screenshots and recordings. If you sign up for a free account, you can also get private screenshot sharing links and 2GB of free cloud storage.

It's free to use, but it comes with limited cloud storage and you'll need to register to use the online features.

Gyazo

Gyazo works as a screenshot tool and an online photo manager. The screenshots you take are immediately uploaded to the Gyazo website using a special link. You can share this link with anyone to share a screenshot or collaborate.

Its free version is only good for taking screenshots and easily sharing them online. If you want to manage everything online, you need to get the Gyazo Pro version ($3.99/month) which offers unlimited access to saved screenshots and editing features. You can also record videos and game replays and manage them online.

Powersoft

I should note that this tool very often prompts you to upgrade to a paid version. The paid version of Apowersoft Screen Capture has some unique features that make it worth the money.

You can take screenshots in 12 different ways, including various forms for taking screenshots. Screenshots open in its editor, which is very similar to the MS Paint app on Windows, but has some cool annotation features.

A more interesting feature is the task scheduler, which allows you to schedule when the app will automatically take screenshots. You can even set it to repeat to constantly take screenshots over time.

Awesome screenshot

If you mainly take screenshots in your browser and apps, or don't want to set a screenshot in Windows itself, then a Chrome extension might be for you. Awesome Screenshot is a Chrome extension for screenshots that runs from your browser to take screenshots of Chrome and other active apps.

You can use multiple ways to take screenshots and then edit them in a new tab with some basic editing tools. Once edited, screenshots can be shared online using the built-in website links, or you can upload them to the Awesome Screenshot cloud storage. Uploading to Awesome Screenshot cloud storage allows you to share screenshots privately and manage images online.

Awesome Screenshot also allows you to take full page screenshots of web pages without scrolling down.

You will need to get the Pro version to access additional editing tools and use the cloud storage features.

Nimbus Capture

Halo Capture is a screen capture, video recording and GIF maker that is easy to use and gets the job done quickly. Even though its video recording and GIF making features are limited to the Pro subscription , its screenshot feature is actually free.

You can take regional or full screen screenshots. I personally really liked its behavior after taking a screenshot, where it immediately opens a small widget that allows you to annotate the screenshot in place and upload/share it. Screenshots can also be uploaded to your Nimbus Capture online account, where you can add and manage notes.

Screenpresso

Screenpresso adds a tiny widget at the top of the screen that can be called up by hovering over the mouse. You can use this widget to take normal screenshots and even delayed or scrolling screenshots. You can also use the color picker tool from the same widget and use OCR on any of the screenshots.

If you go to Screenpresso's settings, there's a really cool feature to automatically add preset effects, watermarks, and resize screenshots as soon as they're taken. You can even change the desktop background only when a screenshot is taken.

Most of the screenshot-related features are free, but OCR and watermark-free video recording are available in the Pro version.

Final words 👨‍🏫

I have a dedicated photo editing tool that I really like, so I use Greenshot for all my screenshot needs as it's easier to use and automatically saves screenshots as I take them. If I didn't have a dedicated image editor, I would definitely use PicPick, as I find its screenshot and editing tool to be one of the best free screenshot programs out there.

Looking for built-in tools only? Here are 6 ways to take screenshots in Windows 11.