Take vs CleanShot X: which one are you actually missing?
By the makers of Take · updated 6 October 2026 · full disclosure
| Take | CleanShot X | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $24.99 one-time | $35 one-time, or $10 per user per month |
| Updates included | Through Crest 7 if you buy once; every update while you subscribe | One year, then $19 a year to keep getting them |
| Screenshots | Not what it is for | The best on the Mac |
| Scrolling capture and OCR | ||
| Screen recording | ||
| Automatic staging | Zooms from your clicks, smoothed cursor, backdrop, idle skips | Since 5.0 (1 September 2026): Studio Mode adds automatic zooms, a smoothed cursor and backgrounds |
| Timeline editing | One strip, live: the preview IS the export | Trimming, and since 5.0 a video editor for zooms, cursor and camera |
| Camera bubble | ||
| Cloud sharing | You keep the file | CleanShot Cloud, 1 GB on Basic |
| Licence | 2 Macs, updates through Crest 7, or every update on a subscription | 1 Mac, transferable |
| macOS requirement | macOS 14+ | macOS 13+ |
Why Take is better
- The recording arrives finished. Zooms where you clicked, a gliding cursor, dead air sped up, a real backdrop.
- Editing is live. The preview and the export run the same compositor: no render step.
- More years of updates. Updates through Crest 7. CleanShot X Basic includes one year, then $19 a year.
- Two Macs. One purchase covers a laptop and a desktop. CleanShot X Basic is one Mac.
Download Take freeGet all three apps, $24.99
macOS 14 or later · 7-day refund
Full comparison and details
These two get compared because they are both one-time Mac purchases at almost the same price, and both can record your screen. In practice they overlap far less than the price suggests: CleanShot X is the finest screenshot tool on the Mac that also records, and Take is a recorder that finishes the recording for you.
Last updated: 6 October 2026
Full disclosure: this page is published by the makers of Take. CleanShot X's prices and limits below are taken from CleanShot X's own pages, checked again on 6 October 2026.
The short version
Pick Take if most of what you send is video, and you are tired of raw captures where the cursor jitters, nothing is zoomed, and half of it is you finding the right window.
Pick CleanShot X if most of what you send is a still: a screenshot with an arrow on it, a scrolling capture, some text pulled out of an image. It records video too.
Side by side
The comparison table is at the top of this page.
Where Take is better
- The recording arrives finished. Zooms land where you clicked, the cursor is redrawn so it glides, dead air is sped up rather than cut, and the frame sits on a real backdrop. CleanShot X 5.0 (1 September 2026) added Studio Mode, with automatic zooms, a smoothed cursor and backgrounds, so the gap is smaller than it was; its release notes do not mention speeding up dead air.
- Editing is live. Move a zoom and the canvas updates immediately, because the preview and the export run the same compositor. There is no render step in the middle of thinking.
- More years of updates. CleanShot X Basic includes one year of updates, then $19 a year if you want more. A one-time Take licence includes updates through Crest 7, and a subscription includes every update.
- Two Macs. One purchase covers a laptop and a desktop. CleanShot X Basic is a single Mac, transferable.
Where CleanShot X fits
- Screenshots, properly. Annotation, scrolling capture, pinning a shot to the desktop, and OCR. Take does no screenshots.
- It runs older Macs. macOS 13 and up, against Take's macOS 14.
- Cloud links. A shareable link back after capture, with your own domain on the paid tier.
- A lot for the price. Around fifty features for $35, from a team that has shipped it for years.
The pricing math
CleanShot X is $35 once for the app with a year of updates and 1 GB of cloud, then optionally $19 a year to keep updating, or $10 per user per month billed annually on the Pro plan. Take comes with Crest: $24.99 once buys Crest Pro, Take and Minutes, two Macs each, updates through Crest 7.
They are close enough in price that cost should not decide it. Buy the one that matches what you send most days, and if that is genuinely both, they sit beside each other without conflict.
They work well together
This is one of the few comparisons where the honest recommendation is often both. CleanShot X takes the screenshot and the quick clip; Take takes the demo, the tutorial and the walkthrough that somebody is going to watch to the end. They do not compete for the same shortcut and neither one gets in the other's way.
FAQ
How much is CleanShot X?
$35 once for the app with one year of updates and 1 GB of cloud storage. It keeps working after that year, and further updates are an optional $19 a year. Teams can pick Pro at $10 per user per month billed annually, with unlimited storage. There is no free trial, but there is a 30-day money-back guarantee. Prices from cleanshot.com/pricing, checked 6 October 2026.
Is CleanShot X a yearly subscription or yours for life? Does it renew automatically?
CleanShot X Basic, $35, is paid once and the app is yours for life: its pricing page says “Pay once, use forever.” What lasts one year is updates. After that year the app keeps working, and further updates are an “optional renewal at $19 per year”. The page calls that renewal optional and does not describe it as automatic. The plan that is a subscription is CleanShot Pro, $10 per user per month billed annually, which adds unlimited cloud storage and team features. Read on cleanshot.com/pricing, 6 October 2026.
Is CleanShot X worth it?
For screenshots, yes. Annotation, scrolling capture, OCR and a decent recorder for $35 once is good value, and the 30-day money-back guarantee makes it low risk. Weigh two things: updates stop after a year unless you pay $19 a year, and it needs macOS 13 or later. Since 5.0 (1 September 2026) its Studio Mode also adds automatic zooms, a smoothed cursor and backgrounds. If most of what you send is demo video, Take is built for that job: the take arrives edited the moment you stop, with dead air sped up, and one licence covers two Macs for less.
Does CleanShot X record video?
Yes, including a camera bubble, and it trims. Since CleanShot X 5.0 (1 September 2026) its Studio Mode also stages a recording: automatic zooms that follow your cursor, a smoothed cursor and backgrounds.
Does Take take screenshots?
No. It is a recorder. If screenshots are most of your day, CleanShot X is the better buy.
Do Take's updates expire?
A one-time licence includes updates through Crest 7, and it keeps working after that. A subscription includes every update while it runs. If you bought before subscriptions launched, your updates stay free for life. One purchase covers two Macs.
Can I use both?
Yes, and many people should. They cover different halves of the same job.
For the ones people watch to the end
Stop the capture and it is already staged: zooms where you clicked, dead air sped up, a real backdrop, and a plain .mov you own. Comes with Crest: $24.99 once for Crest Pro, Take and Minutes.
Get all three apps, $24.99 Try free for 7 daysmacOS 14 or later · Universal · no watermark, ever · 7-day trial, no card up front
More comparisons: Best Mac screen recorders in 2026 · vs Screen Studio · vs Loom · vs Descript · vs Camtasia · vs ScreenFlow · Loom alternatives for Mac · No watermark, no time limit · Record a demo that looks edited · Take overview