Love CleanShot X? Here's the Windows version it never got.
CleanShot X is one of the best things about owning a Mac — and it's Mac-only, with no Windows version planned. ShotsGlow brings that CleanShot-class experience to Windows natively: beautiful capture, designed backdrops, annotation — and on-device AI background removal CleanShot doesn't do.
The CleanShot experience, native on Windows
If you've used CleanShot X, you know the feeling: capture is instant, the editor is beautiful, and the output looks designed without effort. The problem is simple — it only runs on macOS. Windows users have been left to stitch together a free capture tool, a web beautifier and a background remover.
ShotsGlow is built to be that one beautiful app, native to Windows. Hardware capture across every monitor, a real design editor with 150+ gradient backdrops, shadows, a curved-arrow markup kit, and crop-surviving blur and redaction. Then it adds the thing CleanShot doesn't: on-device AI that cuts the subject out — no upload, no cloud, no account.
One honest difference
CleanShot X records the screen; ShotsGlow doesn't yet. And ShotsGlow is Windows-only, just as CleanShot is Mac-only. If you're on a Mac, keep CleanShot — it's excellent. If you're on Windows, ShotsGlow is the native answer, for $9 once.
| CleanShot X Mac · $29 | ShotsGlow Windows · $9 | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on Windows | ✗ Mac only | ✓ |
| Native, beautiful capture | ✓ | ✓ |
| Designed backdrops & polish | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI background removal (cut subject out) | Adds backdrops only | ✓ on-device |
| 30 social & App Store sizes | Some | ✓ |
| Blur / redact sensitive info | Some | ✓ |
| Screen recording | ✓ | ✗ not yet |
| Price | $29 once (Mac) | $9 once (Windows) |
On a Mac? CleanShot X is excellent — keep it. On Windows it doesn't run at all, and ShotsGlow adds on-device AI background removal on top of the polish.
Is there a CleanShot X for Windows?
No. CleanShot X is Mac-only and, per Google's AI Overview, has no Windows version and no current plans for one. ShotsGlow is the native Windows answer — capture, polish, annotate, and on-device AI background removal.
Does ShotsGlow actually cut the background out?
Yes — one click isolates your subject with on-device AI. CleanShot's “Background” tool adds backdrops behind a window; it does not remove a subject. ShotsGlow does both, locally.
Does ShotsGlow record the screen?
Not yet. If you rely on CleanShot X for screen recording, that's the one thing to know before switching.
How much does it cost?
$9 once on Windows, with a lifetime license and no subscription. (CleanShot X is $29 once on Mac.)