OBS Studio
Open Sourceby OBS Project
The standard software for live streaming and screen recording.
- Unlimited scenes and sources
- Live compositing with overlays
- Streams direct to major platforms
Free alternatives to Flameshot
3 screen capture & recording programs worth considering instead of — or alongside — Flameshot.
Alternatives to Flameshot
ShareX
Open Sourceby ShareX Team
The most capable free screenshot and capture tool.
- Region, window and scrolling capture
- Screen recording to video or GIF
- Automated post-capture workflows
Greenshot
Open Sourceby Greenshot
Quick, simple screenshots with fast annotation.
- Region, window and full-screen capture
- Immediate annotation and highlighting
- Obfuscate sensitive information
About Flameshot
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.
It is open source and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Below are 3 screen capture & recording programs that cover the same ground — some open-source, some cross-platform, each free to use.
Flameshot alternatives compared
| Program | Licence | Platforms | Best known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| OBS Studio | Open Source | Windows, macOS, Linux | Unlimited scenes and sources |
| ShareX | Open Source | Windows | Region, window and scrolling capture |
| Greenshot | Open Source | Windows | Region, window and full-screen capture |
The alternatives in detail
OBS Studio Open Source
OBS Studio is the tool essentially every streamer and course creator uses: unlimited scenes and sources, live compositing of cameras, screens and overlays, and direct streaming to YouTube, Twitch and other platforms. Notable for unlimited scenes and sources and live compositing with overlays. Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
ShareX Open Source
ShareX captures any region, window, scrolling page or screen recording, then runs it through a configurable pipeline — annotate, watermark, save, upload and copy the link automatically. Notable for region, window and scrolling capture and screen recording to video or gif. Runs on Windows.
Greenshot Open Source
Greenshot is a lightweight screenshot tool focused on speed: capture a region or window, annotate and highlight it immediately, then export wherever needed. Notable for region, window and full-screen capture and immediate annotation and highlighting. Runs on Windows.
How to choose
3 are fully open source (OBS Studio, ShareX, Greenshot) — pick one of these if you value auditable code you can self-host. For the widest platform coverage, OBS Studio run on three or more operating systems. On a Mac, OBS Studio support macOS natively.
All 3 are free to download from the publisher's own website, so installing two or three and testing them on your own files is the fastest way to decide — it costs nothing but a few minutes.