ShareX vs Greenshot: Which Screenshot Tool Should You Choose?

ShareX is perhaps one of the popular open source screen capture tools out there, and it’s easy to see why. It lets you capture screenshots, but also lets you annotate and upload them with ease. The good thing is that once you learn to use the tool, it is simple and straightforward to use. Another popular tool is Greenshot. Similar to ShareX, it is also a free and open source screenshot tool.

So instead of Greenshot, would you consider feature-rich ShareX that offers enough?

Well, that’s what we’re going to find out in this post today. We’ll compare ShareX vs Greenshot to see which screenshot tool is the perfect choice for your Windows 10 computer.

Let’s dive.

Design and User Interface

Let’s start with ShareX first. One of the highlights of ShareX is that it gives you access to loads of tools and options. They are all in the left panel and you need to select one from the panel to get started. The open design means it’s easy to find the tool you need, eliminating the hassle of opening random menus.

You can experience the same thing when taking screenshots. With the right keyboard shortcuts, you can capture an image in a second or two. At the same time, all old screenshots are displayed on the right panel. Simply select one to edit further. This design also means you can keep a few screenshots open and navigate to them as needed.

This feature comes in handy when preparing documentation for tutorials and how-tos.

When you open an image for editing, you will see all the tools at the top. It is quite convenient to choose one for the job.

Unlike other Windows tools like ShareX, Snagit or Snip & Sketch, Greenshot has a slightly different approach. It does not stay open as a dedicated application in the Taskbar. Instead, you can launch the application from the Windows 10 system tray or using one of the many keyboard shortcuts.

The interface is intuitive and all the necessary tools will appear step by step. Whether you save it to the clipboard, attach the screenshot to a document, or save it directly as a document.

When you need to edit or annotate an image, the real interface comes much later to the image. The interface is as simple as can be and there is practically no learning curve as long as you can memorize the keyboard shortcuts.

Like ShareX, Greenshot gives you great tools to work with and can be accessed from the toolbar on the right.

Ease of Use

Both tools offer a similar user experience for taking or editing screenshots when it comes to ease of use. Simply press the correct key combination to open the editor. And needless to say, both tools allow you to capture the full screen or a specific region.

For the latter, drag your mouse to define the area and that’s it.

However, if we compare the two, we can say that ShareX’s menu options can seem a bit overwhelming at first. The open design isn’t a bad thing in itself, but it will take some getting used to. Long story short, with a variety of options and tools, you’re facing a steep learning curve. But once you know your way around, things get easier.

On the other hand, Greenshot has a pretty simple and straightforward user interface. This is mainly because it has a limited number of options. But the good news is that it serves these functions well. In short, each tool is easily accessible via menu options or keyboard shortcuts.

Speaking of the latter, both ShareX and Greenshot allow you to customize keyboard shortcuts, which is a huge plus. At the same time, Greenshot has keyboard shortcuts for almost all tools.

Features

No amount of clever design can make up for the lack of features. And you might have guessed by now, ShareX has a plethora of features. From uploading files to an online server to simple annotation tools, it has it all. It also has a number of user-defined post-capture tasks.

The file upload feature allows you to upload your document to an online server that you can access later. This comes in handy if you frequently switch between working offline and online, or collaborating with a colleague. But since it’s a public server, you have to look for what kind of documents you want to upload.

More importantly, you can save a screenshot. The best part is that you can save it as a GIF or video. You can also use the built-in OCR tool to read text from images. Again, it uploads images online, thus limiting its expectations a bit.

You also have access to a wealth of image editing tools, including a wide variety of emoticons and highlighter tools. However, the toolset is more or less similar in both Greenshot and ShareX, although ShareX allows you to customize them more.

One feature you may find very useful in Greenshot is Microsoft Office integration (via a plugin).

If you have Office Suite on your Windows 10 PC, you can insert annotated screenshots (or flat screenshots) directly into a Word document or PowerPoint presentation. It makes the job a lot easier, especially if you work on these tools frequently.

At the same time, Greenshot allows you to customize the menu options. You can choose to disable or enable some of the menu options according to your preferences.

ShareX or Greenshot

These were the major differences between ShareX and Greenshot. So which screenshot tool should you choose? Well, if you’re an advanced user and looking for more than a screenshot tool, then ShareX does the cut. Sure, the learning curve is a bit steep, but it does the job well.

On the other hand, if you want something simple yet feature-rich to meet your needs, Greenshot is the tool for you.

But at the end of the day, if you want a modern interface to accompany your screenshot tool, you can try tools like Snagit. You can process your screenshots in batches and it naturally helps you be more productive.