Greenshot vs Flameshot
Both are free screen capture & recording tools. Here is how they actually differ.
Greenshot and Flameshot at a glance
| Feature | Greenshot | Flameshot |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Greenshot | Flameshot |
| Licence | Open Source | Open Source |
| Cost | Free | Free |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | No | Yes |
| Linux | No | Yes |
| Mobile | No | No |
| Source code | Public | Public |
Greenshot: what it's good at
Greenshot is a lightweight screenshot tool focused on speed: capture a region or window, annotate and highlight it immediately, then export wherever needed. Ideal for documentation and bug reports.
- Region, window and full-screen capture
- Immediate annotation and highlighting
- Obfuscate sensitive information
- Very small and fast
Flameshot: what it's good at
Flameshot offers a clean capture experience with annotation tools that appear right at the selection — arrows, boxes, blur and text without opening a separate editor. Particularly popular on Linux.
- In-place annotation toolbar
- Blur tool for sensitive data
- Command-line interface
- Cross-platform
Which should you choose?
Both are free, so the honest answer is that you can install either and decide for yourself — that is the advantage of free software over a paid trial.
Both run on Windows. Only Flameshot supports macOS, Linux. Both are open source, so neither locks you in.
We deliberately do not publish a star rating for either. We have no way to verify a rating that would be honest at scale, and an invented one would be worse than none — so we give you the facts and let you decide.
Frequently asked questions
Is Greenshot better than Flameshot?
Neither is universally better. Greenshot quick, simple screenshots with fast annotation, while Flameshot cross-platform screenshot tool with in-place annotation. The right pick depends on your platform and workflow.
Are both really free?
Greenshot is open source and Flameshot is open source. Both can be downloaded without paying.
Can I install both?
Yes. Since neither costs anything, installing both and comparing them on your own files is usually the fastest way to decide.
