Switching from Snagit? Start with free screenshots.
Snagit is being folded into the Camtasia suite, and its last perpetual versions lose support on December 31, 2026 for owners without a Legacy subscription. SnapMatrix is the Mac capture tool built for exactly the job Snagit did: capture, annotate, record, explain. Screenshots are free forever. The full plan is $34.99/year — and every capture stays on your Mac, never on our servers.
Why Mac users are switching now
- The perpetual era is ending. After December 31, 2026, staying on Snagit means a subscription (owners with a Legacy subscription keep support through October 2, 2027).
- It's a suite now. Snagit is sold as "Camtasia Snagit" inside the Camtasia suite; the Camtasia Editor Business license runs $198 per user per year. The cheapest entry is $39/year.
- Capture is a daily job, not a suite job. Arrows, boxes, a quick recording, a full-page capture — that's the work. SnapMatrix is priced and built for that work alone.
Honest note: Snagit is a capable, established tool and it runs on Windows. SnapMatrix is Mac-only today (Windows is planned for June 2027). If your team is on Windows, this page is not for you yet.
Read the full comparison: Snagit alternative for Mac.
What you get with SnapMatrix
- Floating capture bar — Display, Region, Window, and Full-page stitched scrolling capture; mic and camera toggles; hotkeys (Print Screen / F13, Alt+Shift+W, Alt+Shift+H); capture delays of 3/5/10 seconds.
- Annotation editor (paid plan) — arrows, rectangles, ellipses, text, freehand draw, highlighter, numbered steps, redact/blur, callouts, crop, and layers. Export PNG, JPG, or WebP, including custom aspect ratios and custom resolution editing for images and recordings.
- Screen recording (paid plan) — display or window, mic, webcam bubble, pause/stop/timer; review panel with trim and zoom, plus a GIF of the first ~8 seconds.
- Grab Text OCR (paid plan) — capture a region and get editable text, processed on-device with Apple Vision. Nothing is uploaded.
- Citations built in — MLA, APA, and Chicago, with a Guide and Bibliography in the Library.
- On-Mac Library — grid view, search by title or project, tags and collections. Delete oldest 10 or wipe all, locally, any time.
- Private by design — no user data on Chilview's servers. Organizations can point backup at their own HTTPS API or Supabase, and licenses transfer easily between employees.
- Organization seats — $37.99/user/year for 1–100 users, dropping to $34.99/user/year at 101+. Per-person recording toggle included.
Honest comparison
| SnapMatrix | Snagit (in the Camtasia suite) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price, individual | $34.99/year; screenshots free forever | $39/year (Camtasia Starter) |
| Price, business | $37.99/user/year (1–100 seats) | $198/user/year (Camtasia Editor Business) |
| Platforms | Mac (Windows planned June 2027) | Mac and Windows |
| Where captures live | On your Mac; optional backup to your own backend | Vendor ecosystem |
| Perpetual license | Not offered — simple yearly plan | Last perpetual versions lose support Dec 31, 2026* |
| Annotation + recording | Paid plan | Paid plans |
| OCR text grab | Grab Text, on-device (paid plan) | Included in Snagit |
*For owners without a Legacy subscription; with one, support runs through October 2, 2027. Prices verified from TechSmith's own pages, November 1, 2026.
Your 1-week switch checklist
- Audit your real jobs (15 min): the 3–4 captures you do daily. For most people: region screenshots, annotated how-tos, short recordings, full-page captures.
- Install SnapMatrix free and set the capture bar and hotkeys the way your hands already expect.
- Run both side by side for a week. Keep your existing Snagit library where it is — SnapMatrix starts fresh in its on-Mac Library; no import is promised.
- Test the paid tools — annotation, recording, Grab Text — on real work, then decide.
- Cancel last. Only let the old subscription go once the new routine covers your week.
FAQ
FAQ
Is SnapMatrix really free?
Screenshots are free forever — capture, view, copy, and save. Annotation, recording, Grab Text, and the Library unlock with the yearly plan ($34.99 individual).
Does SnapMatrix work on Windows?
Not yet. SnapMatrix is Mac-only today; a Windows version is planned for June 2027.
Where do my captures go?
Nowhere. Captures stay on your Mac. Chilview runs no storage for your images. Organizations can optionally back up to their own HTTPS API or Supabase.
Can I import my Snagit library?
No — and we won't pretend otherwise. Keep your existing captures in place and start new work in SnapMatrix's Library.
What happens to Snagit support on December 31, 2026?
Support for the last perpetual Snagit versions ends on that date for owners without a Legacy subscription; with a Legacy subscription, support runs through October 2, 2027. After that, Snagit continues only as a subscription inside the Camtasia suite.