Snagit vs Snipping Tool: 5 Reasons You Need To Switch

Since the Snipping Tool comes preloaded on Windows, it’s understandable to think it could replace Snagit or be “good enough” to get the job done. 

Here at TechSmith, we often hear from people who try out the built-in tool to cut costs, but they soon come to Snagit when they realize how much time and quality they were losing without using it. 

Most people waste valuable time and energy trying to explain things (even simple things) at work. And the Snipping Tool doesn’t help.

Snagit is much more than just a screenshot tool. It’s the perfect solution for anyone who wants to quickly capture a process and create visual how-to guides, tutorials, and documentation.

Snagit vs Snipping Tool Comparison

	Snagit	Snipping Tool
Capture Screenshots
Panoramic Capture
Basic Markup
Advanced Image Editing
Replace Text
Smart Move
Step Tool
Templates & Stamps
Capture Screen Recordings
Capture Webcam
Record Microphone & System Audio
Screen Draw
Trim Video Clips
Create Video from Images
Create Animated GIFs
Multiple Sharing Options

While we don’t offer a completely free option for Snagit, it does come with a free, full-featured trial to get you started.

Here are our top five reasons you want to choose Snagit over a free screen capture tool like the Snipping Tool.

1. You need more than basic screenshots

If you just need a basic screenshot every once in a while, the Snipping Tool will probably serve you just fine. However, if you use screenshots as part of your daily routine, it’s worth upgrading to a better tool.  

With Snagit, you’ll get advanced screen capture features like:

• Panoramic screen capture (for scrolling windows and long web pages)
• Screen recording (for quick and disposable how-to videos)
• Animated GIF from a video (for quickly showing a process)

Snagit is flexible enough to grow with you and your work. According to research from TechSmith, 79 percent of employees believe that using screenshots or video would improve their business and 48 percent of employees consider video the most engaging form of communication. 

The best part about Snagit is that it allows you to create both images and videos, while the Snipping Tool only allows for images.

You can grab pretty much any type of screenshot with Snagit – you can grab a region, window, and full-screen on Windows and Mac. But what really sets it apart is the markup and annotation functionality (more on that later).

2. You’re worried about wasting time

While the Snipping Tool seems like a quick option, it actually ends up wasting a lot of time. Sure, it’s a better option than not using screenshots at all, but the time it takes to create a decent looking image isn’t worth the trouble. 

After you take a screenshot you have to use another tool to do any serious modifications or explanations with it. The Snipping Tool only comes stock with a pen tool, highlighter, and eraser. This can make for a pretty sloppy result in the end. 

It also can be a pain to try and share that screenshot once you have it. Most of the time it gets buried in a folder on your computer with no great way to quickly add it to a document or email.

Snagit makes sharing simple since you can instantly send your images to destinations like email, Microsoft Word, and more with just one click.

3. You need image editing capabilities

Snagit comes with professional looking shapes, arrows, callouts and stamps to keep your markup looking professional.

With annotating tools and special effects, Snagit simplifies the editing process and makes it easy to enhance your images. And while it might not be as advanced as other image editors like Photoshop, the Snagit editor can definitely handle basic editing for your screenshots.

You can even blur out sensitive information, simplify your screenshots, and document steps.

4. You want to copy text from an image

One of the best features in Snagit is the ability to extract text out of an image. Let’s say you’ve got a screenshot or a PDF, and you need to copy the text from it. This might seem impossible with the Snipping Tool, but with Snagit, it’s quick and easy.

Snagit uses Optical Character Recognition software, or OCR, to recognize the text. So if you can see it on your screen, Snagit can capture it.

Pretty cool, huh?

5. You want to create quick (and professional-looking) training guides, user manuals, job aids, or other explanations

This is where things get pretty awesome if you use Snagit rather than the Snipping Tool. 

Snagit is essentially your one-stop-shop for creating quick how-to content. You can easily capture any process from your computer screen, mark up your screenshots with arrows, callouts, and numbers, and combine them all into one, organized piece of content.

It’s the perfect way to create visual step-by-step instructions, how-to guides, user documentation, and more.

There you go. Five reasons you should choose Snagit over the Snipping Tool. 

If all you need to do is take screenshots, the Snipping Tool might work out just fine for you.

But if you’re a busy professional who needs high-quality screenshots, recordings, or GIFs to explain a process, we’d love for you to give Snagit a try.

Frequently asked questions