By Sophia | Last Updated
Screenshots are the great media which can help us save the contents shown as images on our computers' screens conveniently as well as quickly. Furthermore, with the screenshots, the saved contents can be displayed vividly and clearly, which is good for sharing especially. Although there are hot keys for us to capture screenshots in Windows, it can't meet our needs in some ways. Therefore, it's necessary for us to choose the suitable screenshot tool so that we compare the 4 free screenshot software for Windows from four aspects here: using interface, capure methos, edit methods and share function.
| Size | Supported Platforms | |
|---|---|---|
| Lightshot | 2.6MB | Windows, Mac OS |
| ShareX(12.3.1) | 5.3MB | Windows 7, 8.1 and 10 |
| Snipping Tool | 1.24KB(Windows 7) | Windows 7 and later |
| PicPick | 14.7MB | Windows |
Note: The four software can be downloaded by clicking their names in the form above, except Snipping Tool which can be opened by searching in the start menu of Windows.
Actually, Snipping Tool, Lightshot, PicPick, and ShareX are far apart in the interface. Let's see which one fits you better.
When it comes to Snipping Tool, it is a familiar to us because it is a Windows built-in feature with a simple interface. It can satisfy the basic needs of ordinary users.
To my surprise, the Lightshot is simpler than Snipping Tool in that there is no interface before capturing. After launching the software, you can create a screenshot of the custom area.
ShareX's interface is complex in some way because of its left panel and I was confused about the panel at the first time. After using it a few times, I have to admit that it is a great piece of software.
I'm most impressed by the interface of PicPick which is like that of Microsoft Word and shows options clearly. It is one of the more advanced and feature rich screen capture programs.
The capture methods of Lightshot are the least among those of four software while ShareX has 13 capture methods, including some advanced options like scrolling capture, webpage capture, and etc. There are several methods in PicPick, which is three more than that of Snipping Tool.
At the same time, there are different ways to use the four software. When we want to capture screenshots by Snipping Tool or Lightshot, we can just click the icons of them to begin. If we capture screenshots by ShareX or PicPick, the first step is to open the interfaces of them. And I will prefer to the ways of Snipping Tool as well as Lightshot, which are convenient and direct.
| Capture Methods | |
|---|---|
| Lightshot | Rectangular, Full screen |
| ShareX(12.3.1) | Full screen, Window, Monitor, Region, Region(light), Region(transparent), Last region, Screen recording, Screen recording(gif), Scrolling capture, Webpage capture, Text capture, Auto capture |
| Snipping Tool | Rectangular, Free form, Window, Full screen |
| PicPick | Full screen, Active window, Window control, Scrolling window, Region, Fixed Region, Freehand |
It's available to edit the screenshot by pen, line, marks or other ways in Lightshot. The edit ways of Snipping Tool include pen and marks methods. There are various and advanced edit ways in ShareX, including stickers, watermark, blur, etc. And PicPick also has the advanced edit options like watermark, blur, but the options are less than those of ShareX.
The screenshot can be cropped in ShareX as well as PicPick, and PicPick can also cut the screenshot. It's a pity that there isn't the crop and cut option in the Snipping Tool as well as Lightshot.
There is a single way which is sending e-mails in Snipping Tool to share screenshots with others. And we can share our screenshots in Lightshot by four popular social platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, VK and Pinterest. The ways to share screenshots with others in PicPick are various, because we can not only share screenshots by e-mails, but also by social media like Facebook and Twitter. Sharing screenshots with others in ShareX is special, because we need to upload the screenshot first and then send the screenshot's URL to social platforms.
In my opinion, it's worth trying the PicPick, because it is easy to use with its clear as well as compact interface and it also has features which aren't limited to common capture and edit options. It can keep pace with our daily use. However, if you need a professional as well as multifunctional screenshot tool, I think that ShareX is a good option, though it might cost you some time to explore its features.
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