ShareX
Hacker ApprovedRanked 3 of 8 screenshot tools by recommenders
Free Windows tool for screenshots and screen recordings, with annotation and upload built in. Critics say its video capture trails rivals like CleanShot and that upload features have quirks.
Free Windows tool for screenshots and screen recordings, with annotation and upload built in. Critics say its video capture trails rivals like CleanShot and that upload features have quirks.
12 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 83%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Solid Windows screenshot and video capture
“I do use ShareX on Windows for video recordings but Spectacle is better.”
Comment from 29 Jan 2026 in “Flameshot” “ShareX for Windows is flawless in my opinion.”
Comment from 29 Jan 2026 in “Flameshot”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Video capture weaker than rival tools
“just video is waaay better in cleanshot than it is in shareX”
Comment from 30 Jan 2026 in “Flameshot” “I do use ShareX on Windows for video recordings but Spectacle is better.”
Comment from 29 Jan 2026 in “Flameshot” Upload features show warnings or break
“ShareX pops up a big red warning telling you that you're about to upload”
Comment from 30 Jan 2026 in “Flameshot” “the youtube uploader my ShareX client had was broken”
Comment from 9 Oct 2026 in “Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?”
Other screenshot tools people recommend
The four most recommended other screenshot tools, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flameshot | 44 | 19 | 70% | 4 | 5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| KDE Spectacle | 21 | 7 | 75% | 8 | — | Approved |
| ShareXThis page | 10 | 2 | 83% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Windows Snipping Tool | 7 | 13 | 35% | 5 | — | — |
| CleanShot X | 6 | 2 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 12 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“now super easy to do capture work with annotations and cam output”
“the youtube uploader my ShareX client had was broken”
“they've all been around for over a decade”
“Really wish I just had sharex on Linux”
“ShareX screensaver I think is 1 developer in Turkey.”
“ShareX pops up a big red warning telling you that you're about to upload”
“there are many tools like ShareX where uploading the screenshot is a feature”
“just video is waaay better in cleanshot than it is in shareX”
“ShareX for Windows is flawless in my opinion.”
“I do use ShareX on Windows for video recordings but Spectacle is better.”
“Apps like ShareX still only capture SDR.”
“I've been using the open source ShareX screenshot tool”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.