CleanShot X vs Screen Studio
CleanShot X is the best screenshot tool on the Mac and now records with smart zooms. Screen Studio is a dedicated video app. Dolly is a dedicated video app with a free plan and no time limit. Here's how to choose.
| Dolly | CleanShot X | Screen Studio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free · Pro €59 a year · Lifetime €99 once | $35 once, 1 year of updates (then $19/yr) · Pro $10/user/mo | $29 a month or $108 a year |
| Made for | Screen video | Screenshots, plus recording | Screen video |
| Screenshots, OCR, scrolling capture | No | Yes | No |
| Automatic zoom on clicks | Yes | Studio Mode | Yes |
| Redrawn cursor styles | 25 sets | — | Yes |
| Timeline with several takes | Yes | No | — |
| Captions and transcript | Yes | — | Yes |
| Camera layouts | Yes | Webcam overlay | Yes |
| Cloud share links | 10 on Free, unlimited on Pro | Yes | Yes |
| Free version can export | Up to 1080p, small logo in the corner | No free plan | No |
Prices and features as listed on each product's own website in October 2026, before tax. Check them before you buy; they change often.
CleanShot X is a Swiss army knife: screenshots, scrolling capture, text recognition, annotations, a cloud for quick links, and screen recording. Since version 5.0 its Studio Mode adds animated zooms with motion blur to recordings. At $35 once (one year of updates, then $19 a year if you want more) it's great value if you take screenshots all day and record now and then.
Screen Studio is built only for screen video: auto zoom, cursor smoothing, camera layouts, captions, transcript editing, share links. It goes deeper than CleanShot's Studio Mode on every video feature, and costs $29 a month or $108 a year.
Plenty of people run CleanShot X for screenshots and a dedicated recorder for video. They don't conflict: Dolly records with ⇧⌘2, which CleanShot doesn't use by default.
For screenshots, yes. For video, Screen Studio goes much further: deeper zoom editing, cursor styles, camera layouts, captions and transcript editing.
Yes, Studio Mode (since CleanShot 5.0) adds animated zooms with motion blur to recordings.
Yes. Many people use CleanShot for screenshots and Dolly for screen video.
Screen Studio quality. Free. No 5-minute limit.
First time: open Dolly, click Done, then System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway (macOS 13–14: right-click Dolly → Open). Once only. Installation help
