Flameshot Alternatives: What to Use on Windows, Mac and Linux

The best Flameshot alternative depends on your system. On Windows, Sleekshot works the way Flameshot users like: press PrtSc, select an area and draw right on the screenshot. It adds what Flameshot lacks: screen recording, copying text from the screen without the internet, and a share link with one key. On a Mac, Shottr is the closest match if you need scrolling screenshots. The free Sleekshot for Mac works the Flameshot way (press a key, select, draw) and also records video. On Linux, Flameshot is still one of the best tools you can install.

Flameshot itself isn't going anywhere. Version 14.0 came out in June 2026 and a version 15 beta in September. But each release has moved it further from what many Windows and Mac users want. Version 13 removed the Imgur uploader from official builds. Version 14 asks which monitor you want before every screenshot. And it still can't record or copy text. Below: a quick verdict, a comparison of six tools, Flameshot vs Sleekshot in detail and step-by-step instructions for switching.

Quick verdict: stay with Flameshot or switch?

Stay with Flameshot if you're on Linux, you run screenshots from the terminal, you rely on pinned screenshots, or you need open source. It's free, light and works with no internet at all.

Switch if you're on Windows or a Mac and need more than screenshots. That means recording your screen, copying text out of images, or sending a screenshot as a link without opening another app. Those three gaps are why most people go looking for something else.

Flameshot alternatives compared

Prices and features as of October 2026, checked on each company's site.

For everything on one platform, see our roundups of the best screenshot apps for Windows and the best screenshot apps for Mac.

Why people look for a Flameshot alternative in 2026

Flameshot is still being developed, but four complaints come up again and again.

1. No more uploads. Flameshot 13 (August 2025) turned off the Imgur uploader in official builds. The developers cited privacy, since one wrong click could publish private data, and said uploading isn't a screenshot tool's job. That's a fair call. But if you used to press Enter to get a link, that's gone unless you build it from source.
2. A monitor picker before every screenshot. Flameshot 14 (June 2026) makes you choose a monitor first, instead of covering all of them at once. On X11 and Windows, you can skip it with Capture active monitor in Settings → General. On Wayland, you can't.
3. No video and no text recognition. Flameshot only takes screenshots. Pull requests that added Tesseract text recognition were closed without being merged, and requests for screen recording were closed without it being added.
4. Hassle on macOS. The DMG isn't notarized, so macOS 15 and later block the first launch until you click Open Anyway in System Settings → Privacy & Security. Homebrew's official flameshot cask has been disabled since September 1, 2026, because it fails Gatekeeper checks. The project now offers its own tap instead.

There's one more old gap: Flameshot can't screenshot a window with one click. That feature request has been open on GitHub since 2018.

Flameshot vs Sleekshot, side by side

Sleekshot is a free screenshot and screen recording app for Windows 10 and 11, with a separate free app for Mac. Like Flameshot, it takes a still picture of the screen when you press the shortcut, and you draw right on it, with no separate editor. The differences are in what happens before and after.

Taking the screenshot

Both apps take the picture first and let you select on a still image, so tooltips and menus don't vanish while you aim. Sleekshot also finds windows. Hover over a window, or even a button or panel inside it, and a dashed outline shows what one click will take. With several monitors, Sleekshot covers every screen at once, so there's no picker step. Flameshot lets you nudge the selection from the keyboard: arrow keys move it 1 px, and Shift + arrows resize it. In Sleekshot, you can type an exact width and height, or pick a ready-made size like 1280 × 720.

Drawing tools

The basic tools are the same: pen, line, arrow, rectangle, ellipse, highlighter, text, pixelation and numbered markers. Sleekshot adds seven arrow styles, dashed lines, filled shapes and 20 colors. Flameshot is more comfortable to edit in: it has redo, a grid with snapping and a color picker. In Sleekshot for Windows, arrows and shapes can't be moved once drawn (text can), so you undo and draw again. In the Mac app you can move, resize and rotate them.

Recording

This is the biggest difference. Flameshot doesn't record video at all. In Sleekshot, press V to switch the same selection to the screen recorder, and Ctrl + R to start. It records MP4 with your mic and computer sound, and it can show a webcam bubble and highlight your clicks. You can also draw arrows on screen while you record. There's no watermark and no time limit, and you can choose 20, 30 or 60 fps. Sleekshot for Mac records too, on macOS 13 or later: an area, a window or the full screen, with system audio, a mic and your webcam. Press ⌘ + R to start, pause when you need to, then save the clip as MP4 or GIF.

Sharing and privacy

Flameshot now never goes online. It copies, saves or opens the screenshot in another app (Ctrl + O), and that's it. Sleekshot also copies (Ctrl + C), saves (Ctrl + S) and saves to the last folder you used (Ctrl + Shift + S). A screenshot only leaves your PC when you press Ctrl + U. Sleekshot then uploads it and gives you a short link with a random 12-character code. Search engines are told not to index that page. The link has no password or expiry date, so blur private details first. Copying text (Ctrl + O) works on your PC with language files you download once. Nothing is sent to a server.

Price and platforms

Both are free. Flameshot is open source and runs on Linux, Windows and macOS. Sleekshot isn't open source and has no Linux version. It runs on Windows 10 and 11 (including ARM64 PCs) and comes from the Microsoft Store or a direct installer. The Mac version is a free menu bar app for screenshots and screen recording (Mac App Store; screenshots on macOS 12 or later, recording on macOS 13 Ventura or later). Press ⌘ + ⇧ + 2, select an area or click a window and draw right on the frozen screen, as in Flameshot. Arrows and shapes stay editable, recordings save as MP4 or GIF, and ⌘ + U uploads to Sleekshot or Imgur. Like Flameshot, it has no scrolling screenshots.

How to switch from Flameshot to Sleekshot on Windows

Both apps want the PrtSc key, so the main job is making sure only one of them gets it.

1. Close Flameshot. Right-click its tray icon and choose Quit. To stop it from starting with Windows, turn it off in Settings → Apps → Startup, or uninstall it in Settings → Apps → Installed apps.
2. Install Sleekshot from the download page or the Microsoft Store and start it. It sits in the tray, and PrtSc is its default shortcut.
3. Take the PrtSc key back from Snipping Tool. The quickest way: press Bind PrtSc to Sleekshot in Sleekshot's Settings → Screenshots. It hands the key over in one click, no admin rights needed. To do it by hand in Windows 11, go to Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Keyboard (on older builds, Settings → Accessibility → Keyboard). Turn off Use the Print screen key to open screen capture. If you can't find it, type "print screen" in the Settings search. Our guide on changing the Print Screen key covers other setups.
4. Keep saving the way you're used to. If Flameshot saved every screenshot to a folder, turn on Auto-save screenshots in Sleekshot's Settings → Screenshots and pick the same folder.
5. Take a test screenshot. Press PrtSc, drag over an area, press 1 and draw an arrow, then press Ctrl + C. If PrtSc still opens Snipping Tool, restart the PC or see Print Screen not working.

Flameshot keys and their Sleekshot equivalents

Most single-letter tools match. Watch out for three things: the arrow is on 1 in Sleekshot, not A. C is Color (the ellipse is E). And Ctrl + O copies text instead of opening another app.

What you'll give up: pinned screenshots, redo, the grid, the color picker, the delay timer and command-line scripts. If any of those is central to your work, try ShareX before you decide, or keep Flameshot for that one job.

Other alternatives in more detail

ShareX (free, open source, Windows) is the heavyweight. It takes areas, windows and scrolling pages, records video and GIFs, and copies text from images. It uploads to a long list of services and can run tasks after every screenshot. It's excellent once it's set up, but the settings take time. More in our ShareX alternative comparison.

Greenshot (free, open source, Windows) is the calm choice. Each screenshot opens in a separate editor with arrows, step labels, speech bubbles, highlighting and blur. Plugins send images to Imgur, Jira, Confluence, Dropbox, Box or Office apps. It doesn't record video. See the Greenshot alternative guide.

Windows Snipping Tool is already installed. Win + Shift + S takes an area, a window or the full screen, and the editor now has shapes and a pen. Text actions copies text, and Win + Shift + R records video on Windows 11. It has no blur tool and no step numbers.

On a Mac, Shottr feels closest to Flameshot. It's tiny and fast, with pinned screenshots, scrolling screenshots, text recognition and pixelation. It's free to use, with the occasional reminder to buy the $12 license after 30 days. The built-in ⌘ + ⇧ + 5 toolbar covers screenshots and recording. Sleekshot for Mac is free and also works the Flameshot way, with drawing right on the frozen screen. On top of that it records MP4 or GIF, pins screenshots and uploads them for a link, though it can't take scrolling screenshots. If you're also looking at the paid CleanShot X, see our CleanShot X alternatives comparison.

On Linux, stay with Flameshot unless it misbehaves on your desktop. KDE's Spectacle and the GNOME screenshot tool are built in and can also record the screen.

The bottom line

Flameshot is a good tool that chose to stay small: screenshots and drawing on them, with no internet involved. If that's all you need, especially on Linux, keep it. On Windows, you may want recording, copying text and links in the same app where you add your arrows. Then Sleekshot is the smallest step away from Flameshot, and it's free to try.