hypershot vs. ShareX
ShareX is the open-source Windows leviathan: capture, scroll, OCR, upload, auto-clipboard, a task region system, and a settings tree that could feed a small village. Power users build entire workflows in it and defend them fiercely. The cost is that the workflow is the tool — it is a machine you configure, not one you open. And it is a Windows-only machine: whatever you build there does not exist on a Mac.
The short answer
ShareX is a free, open-source Windows power tool with a very steep learning curve and no macOS version. If you want the same capture-and-edit workflow on Windows and macOS — with no configuration archaeology required — hypershot ships it finished on both.
hypershot
one-time purchase
7-day free trial · no subscription
macOS + Windows
Where hypershot is different
Burst capture
While you drag the selection, hypershot keeps a rolling clip of the last moment. Scrub the timeline to the exact frame — the hover state that closed when you blinked, the animation mid-motion.
The crop is never final
A region capture keeps the whole screen, so you can drag the crop back out later and everything you left out is still there, even after you reopen the file. Then add padding, swap the background, drop in window chrome.
Edits like a design app
A real canvas, not a markup sheet. Zoom and pan, marquee-select, move, resize and rotate with handles, bring to front or send to back, snap the crop to edges in the shot. Every change undoes, 500 steps deep by default.
Non-destructive, all the way down
Nothing gets burned in until you export. Every mark stays an object, the crop and background stay live, and the burst stays with the capture. Save a .hypercapture, reopen it next week, and move an arrow, re-crop, or pick a different frame.
Feature by feature
| Feature | hypershot | ShareX |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-platform | ✓ | — |
| Region / window / full screen | ✓ | ✓ |
| Burst capture: scrub to the perfect moment (multi-frame timeline) | ✓ | — |
| Re-crop any time: a region capture keeps the whole screen, so the crop drags back out | ✓ | — |
| Restyle after the shot: padding, background, window chrome | ✓ | via task workflows |
| Annotation toolkit (arrow, pen, highlight, text, counter, spotlight, redact, shapes) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sticky notes: comments on the shot that grow as you type, recolored to sort feedback | ✓ | — |
| Preview folder: recent captures with quick actions in a screen corner | ✓ | — |
| Share to any app (OS share panel, drag & drop, clipboard) | ✓ | auto-upload + clipboard actions |
| 8K output (up to 8192px per side) | ✓ | native screen resolution |
| Non-destructive: reopen later with every mark, the crop and the frames still editable | ✓ | — |
| Scrolling capture | ✓ | ✓ |
| OCR (on-device) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Composite capture (windows as layers, experimental) | ✓ | — |
| Video recording | Coming soon | ✓ |
| Pricing | one-time | free |
✓ supported · — not supported · other labels mean “with a catch”. We grade ourselves too: rows where sharex wins are unmarked, on purpose. ★ the things hypershot is built around.
Where ShareX is the right tool
- Free and open source
- Deep automation: auto-upload, clipboard actions, task regions
- Huge feature surface for Windows
Where it leaves you wanting
- Windows only: no macOS build, full stop
- The learning curve is the product: setup and configuration before your first clean capture
- No live editing or frame scrubbing
- No cross-platform handoff: .hypercapture-style editable files do not exist in this world
- The crop is final: a region capture keeps only the region, so a crop that came out too tight means taking the shot again
Switching from ShareX
Most of what you do in ShareX has a direct counterpart in hypershot, without the setup. Install hypershot (Windows asks for no permissions) and pick your keys: hypershot’s own, which stay off Print Screen, or ShareX’s Print Screen keys once ShareX is closed. Where ShareX uploaded, you now copy, drag or share. Your old ShareX captures are plain PNGs, so hypershot opens them as they are. Uploads, short links and ShareX’s task automation don’t come with you; screen recording and GIFs are coming to hypershot soon.
What maps to what
| ShareX | hypershot | Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Region capture (frozen)Like ShareX’s Region, the screen holds still while you select. | Ctrl+Shift+X |
| Region (Transparent) | Region captureLive screen; hold the mouse button to keep a burst of frames. | Ctrl+Shift+3 |
| Active window | Window captureHover any window, even one behind others, and click. | Ctrl+Shift+W |
| Fullscreen, Active monitor | Screen captureCaptures the screen your cursor is on. | Ctrl+Shift+1 |
| Scrolling capture | Scrolling captureYou scroll and hypershot stitches; it doesn’t scroll for you. | Ctrl+Shift+J |
| Screenshot delay | Delayed captureIts own keys: region, screen or window, 1–30 seconds. | Ctrl+Shift+7 |
| OCR | OCR captureOn-device; the text lands on your clipboard. | Ctrl+Shift+O |
| QR code (Scan screen) | Scan codesReads every QR code and barcode on screen at once. | Ctrl+Shift+B |
| Screen color picker | EyedropperIn the editor’s color selector; copies the hex. | |
| Pin to screen | Pin to screenOne pin at a time. | |
| Image editor | The editorArrow, pen, highlighter, text, spotlight, shapes, plus sticky notes. | |
| Step | CounterPress C; each click places the next number. | |
| Blur, Pixelate | RedactPixelate, blur, or a solid block. | |
| Image beautifier, background tools | ArtboardPress B: background, padding, shadow, window chrome, rounded corners. | |
| After capture tasks | After capture settingPreview, Edit or Only Copy; no chained tasks. | |
| History, Image history | Preview folderRecent captures in a screen corner, with quick actions. | Ctrl+Shift+H |
| Destinations (Imgur and others) | Share, drag, copyNo uploads or hosted links: share panel, drag and drop, clipboard. | |
| Screen recording, Screen recording (GIF) | Coming soon |
Making the move
- Install hypershot from the download page. Windows asks for no permissions; if SmartScreen stops the installer, click More info, then Run anyway. Every feature is free for 7 days, and hypershot’s default keys don’t touch ShareX’s, so you can run both side by side before you decide.
- Pick your keys. hypershot’s defaults are listed above and stay off Print Screen. If your hands know ShareX’s (PrtScn, Ctrl+PrtScn, Alt+PrtScn), close ShareX so it lets go of them, then set the same keys in hypershot’s Settings → Shortcuts. If PrtScn still opens the Snipping Tool, turn off Use the Print screen key to open screen capture in Windows’ keyboard settings. How shortcuts work.
- Your old captures are already images. ShareX saves flat PNGs to Documents\ShareX\Screenshots, with no project file, so there’s nothing to convert. To mark one up again, open it with Open… in hypershot’s tray menu. Anything you capture from now on stays editable in a .hypercapture.
- Set where captures go. hypershot saves every capture to Pictures\hypershot; change the folder under Settings → General → Save directory. ShareX’s default (copy to clipboard, save to file) is closest to Settings → Captures → After capture → Only Copy.
- Replace the upload step. Where ShareX put an Imgur link on your clipboard, copy the image or drag its card from the preview folder straight into the chat, ticket or upload field. The Share button opens the Windows share panel.
- When you’re sure, exit ShareX from its tray icon and turn it off in Windows Settings → Apps → Startup, so the two don’t compete for Print Screen. Keep it installed if you still need its recorder or uploaders.
What stays behind
- Uploads: Imgur and the other destinations, custom uploaders and URL shorteners. Links you already made stay on those services, and ShareX’s History keeps the list.
- Screen recording and GIFs: hypershot’s screen recording is coming soon.
- Automation: after-capture task chains, workflows, actions and per-hotkey task settings. hypershot has a single After capture setting.
- Auto-scroll: in hypershot you scroll the page yourself, and it stitches best scrolling down.
- The Tools menu extras (ruler, image combiner, hash checker, video converter and more) have no counterpart, and none of your settings import.
The verdict
ShareX is what happens when a tool becomes a toolbox becomes a home. If you would rather just take a picture, this is the wrong door — and the right one is on both your desktops.