OS X already offers a means of capturing screenshots with a few keyboard shortcuts, but if you want to do a little more you have to grab a third-party tool. Of the many available, Skitch is our favorite for its many annotation tools and instant-sharing options.

• Best Screenshot App For Android Free
• Anki Download Mac
• App For Screenshots
• Best Screenshot App For Windows 10 Free

If you're not familiar with screenshots, read our beginner's guide.

How to Take a Screenshot or Picture of What's On Your Computer Screen

There are a couple of reasons you might want to take a screenshot (a.k.a., screen capture or screen …

Super Screenshot is one of the best screenshot apps for Android to capture and edit screenshots after capturing. You can use the traditional method to method the screenshot on your Android. However, after capturing, you can find some options to add text, blur text or image, add shape, and much more.

1. For Mac: to take screenshots of your entire screen and save it to the clipboard, hold “Command ⌘” + “control” + “shift,” then press “3“. You will hear the sound of a camera shutter. Then simply hit “Command ⌘” + “V” to paste it to your Anki “add card” fields.
2. Ulysses is the best writing app on the Mac (and iOS), bar none. It’s the app I’m writing this article in. It’s great for longform writing, but also works for notes, blog posts, articles, or whatever.As long as you don’t have someone forcing you to use another app, it’s the one we recommend without hesitation.

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Skitch

Platform: OS X, Windows, iOS, Android
Price: Free (or $10 for Pro)
Download Page

Features

• Take screenshots of specific areas or the entire screen.
• Annotate your screenshots/images.
• Draw on your screenshots/images.
• Resize, crop, flip, and rotate screenshots/images.
• Automatic archival of your screenshots/images for later use.
• Take photos with your built-in webcam.
• Open and save images in many different formats.
• Easily share screenshots/images to Facebook and Twitter.
• Automatically upload your screenshots to the skitch.com web site or to a location of your choice (e.g. Flickr, an FTP server, etc.).

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Where It Excels

Skitch is pretty great. We take a lot of screenshots at Lifehacker, so a good screen capture tool can be invaluable to us. To others it might be less relevant, but seeing as Skitch is free it's a good app to have around even if you only share what's on your screen from time to time. If you need to show tech support a problem on your screen, or your mother where to look for a certain feature in an app, you can take a quick screenshot with Skitch, annotate if necessary, have it automatically upload that screenshot, and leave you with a URL in your clipboard. It's also really handy for designers, because you can make quick notes on images without actually making any destructive edits to that image. You can also use Skitch to mock up changes to live web sites. There are plenty of great uses for the app, and seeing as it costs you nothing it's worth having around even if it is only a semi-regular convenience.

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Where It Falls Short

Skitch initially had issues with a somewhat confusing interface due to the many tools it offered, but recent updates have mostly solved that problem. Sharing tools have improved as well. While we appreciate the changes, some users do not. Reviews on the Mac App Store criticize Skitch for becoming too bloated like it's big brother Evernote. Because Evernote owns Skitch, the it favors the notebook app over everything else. While you can export your creations, Skitch makes it easier to work with the Evernote and that can be a little annoying if you don't want to use them together.

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The Competition

Grab, the built-in Mac OS X service that captures screenshots, might be sufficient for most people. If you're looking to pair an upload service to it, you can just add the great and free Cloud App. It can automatically upload your screenshots after you taking them. You won't get to annotate, draw on, or do anything fancy to them, but you it's a quick and easy way to share everything on your screen without any features you (potentially) don't need.

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Captur (Free) isn't really a full-fledge screenshot tool but adds some extra functionality to the one built-in to Mac OS X. Instead of relying on keyboard shortcuts, you can use Captur to initiate common screenshot tasks from the menubar.

Snagit ($50) was initially only for Windows, and a Lifehacker reader favorite, but now it is available for Mac. It offers a lot of the same functionality as Skitch, yet it costs $50. Why would you pay $50 when you've got an app that does the same thing for free? I don't know.

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Hive Five Winner for Best Screen Capture Tool: Snagit

Screen capture applications are handy tools to have around. Sure a simple Print Screen and paste…

Best Screenshot App For Android Free

Jing (Free) comes from the same people who make Snagit. It's similar, but with fewer features, and focuses on the online and social aspects of sharing your screen. One big advantage it offers is video capture. If you want images and video and don't want to pay for them, plus some pretty good online sharing options, you'll want to give Jing a look.

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LittleSnapper ($40) is a favorite among some, but I've never been able to see how anyone can justify paying $40 for a screenshot tool. To Little Snapper's advantage, it offers a very nice image management tool and integrated web site clipping option. It used to include use of the web app Ember, allowing you to upload anything you snapped or stored in LittleSnapper, but the developers sold Ember to the developers of Cloud App in early 2011. What LittleSnapper offers is, essentially, a pretty good app for organization. Why you'd want to pay $40 to better-organize your screenshots, however, is something I don't entirely understand. (And I say this having used the app for about a month.) Nonetheless, some people do and some people love it. It is a good app, and definitely more attractive. Skitch is just better at the important stuff.

Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.

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Note taking apps are more useful than you might think. Taking notes the traditional way with pen and paper works just fine for some, but if you have a smartphone or tablet, using an app specifically designed for note taking can truly change the way you get things done.

Whether your note taking style demands minimal design and slick gesture-based functions, or advanced organization and cataloging of various forms of media, chances are there's a notes app out there that's right for you.

Here are 10 of the absolute best you should consider trying out.

Evernote: Organize All Your Notes Into Categorized Notebooks

What We Like

• Available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices.

• Use on the web; browser extensions available.

• Excellent search function for notes.

What We Don't Like

• Free basic plan is limited in features.

• Monthly cost for premium plan is pricey.

Practically everyone who has ever looked into trying a note-taking app has almost certainly come across Evernote—the app that comes in right at the top of the note-taking world. This incredibly powerful tool is built for creating notes and organizing them into notebooks, which can be synced across as many as two devices. All free users also get 60 MB of space for uploading files to the cloud.

A few of the most unique features of Evernote include the ability to clip web pages and images, search for text inside images and use it as a collaborative tool to share and work on notes with other users. Plus or Premium subscriptions will get you more storage, the opportunity to use more than two devices and access to more advanced features.

• iOS
• Android
• Mac
• Windows
• Web

Simplenote: Note Taking for the Minimalist

What We Like

• Design is minimalist and simple.

• Syncs to all your devices.

• Works with most popular platforms and devices.

What We Don't Like

• May be too simple for some users.

• Text notes only; no images or other media.

• No text formatting.

Evernote is great for note takers who need all the extra storage and fancier features, but if you're looking for a stripped down notes app with a clean and minimal interface, Simplenote could be the app for you. Built for speed and efficiency, you can create as many notes as you like and keep them all organized with just the basic organizational features you really need–like tags and search.

Simplenote can be used to collaborate with others and all notes are automatically synced across your account whenever changes are made to them. There's also a nifty slider feature that allows you to go back in time to previous versions of your notes, which are always automatically saved before you make any changes to them.

• iOS
• Android
• Mac
• Windows
• Linux
• Web

Google Keep: Use Cards to Make Note Taking Fun and Colorful

What We Like

• Organize with customizable labels.

• Set time and location-based reminders.

• Free and well-integrated with the Google tech ecosystem.

What We Don't Like

• No desktop app; notes are available on the web.

• Maximum of 50 labels; no hierarchical label organization.

• Web clipper only saves URLs.

• No text formatting.

For a note-taking app that takes a more visual approach, Google Keep's card-based notes are perfect for people who want to see all their ideas, lists, images and audio clips in one place. You can color-code your notes or add other attributes to them so that they're easy to find and share your notes with others who need to access and edit them. Like Evernote and Simplenote, any changes made by you or other users you share your notes are automatically synced across all platforms.

To help you remember when you need to refer to your notes, you can set up time-based or location-based reminders so that you remember to do something at a specific place or at a specific time. And as an added bonus for when typing is too inconvenient, the app's voice memo feature lets you record yourself a message for a quick note in audio format.

• iOS
• Android
• Google Chrome Web Browser
• Web

OneNote: Combine the Power of Microsoft With Your Notes

What We Like

• Compatible with Google Chrome, Apple Watch, and web browsers.

• Syncs well across all your devices.

• Lots of options for note formatting and design.

What We Don't Like

• No quick customizable tagging for simple organization.

• Notebook, section, and page structure is inefficient to navigate.

• Search functionality isn't as slick as Evernote or Google Keep.

Owned by Microsoft, OneNote is a note-taking app you'll definitely want to consider diving into if you regularly use the suite of Microsoft Office apps like Word, Excel and PowerPoint since the app is fully integrated with them. You can type, write, or draw using the free form of a pen and use powerful organization tools like pinning to easily find what you're looking for later.

Use OneNote to collaborate with others and access your most updated versions of your notes from any device. Perhaps two of its most unique features is the ability to capture an image of a whiteboard or slideshow presentation with automatic cropping and built-in audio recording so you don't have use an entirely different recording app.

• iOS
• Apple Watch
• Mac
• Android
• Windows Phone
• Windows
• Google Chrome Web Browser
• Web

Notebook: A Stunningly Visual Note Taking Experience

What We Like

• Design is bright and appealing.

• Text, checklist, photo, audio, sketch, and file cards.

• Supports Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and web access.

• Customize notebook covers, use your own images.

What We Don't Like

• Needs more art for notebook covers.

• Not geared toward collaborative note-taking.

If you like the idea of Google Keep's card-like interface, then maybe you'll like Zoho's Notebook app too. Create a checklist card for your grocery items, a card for a story you're working on with inline images included throughout the text, a sketch card for some doodling or even an audio card of your voice.

Featuring some of the smoothest and most intuitive gesture-based functions, you can organize your notes into notebooks, reorder them, copy them, group them together or flick through them to easily find what you're looking for. Notebook is totally free and syncs everything across your account automatically so you always have your notes no matter which device you're using.

• iOS
• Mac
• Android
• Windows
• Web

Dropbox Paper: A Collaborate Note Taking App for Your Whole Team

Anki Download Mac

What We Like

• Strong features for collaboration.

• Clean and uncluttered look.

• Add a variety of media; not just links.

What We Don't Like

• More complex than a simple note-taking app.

• Paper documents are separate from Dropbox folders.

• Takes time to get used to.

If you already use Dropbox to store files in the cloud, you'll probably want to check out Dropbox Paper. It's a note-taking app that acts as a 'flexible workspace' built to prevent distraction while helping people work together. This app was built for collaboration, allowing users to chat with each other in real time while editing any document.

Don't be fooled by its minimal design–Dropbox Paper has lots of advanced features tucked away that are easy to access and intuitive to use once you're familiar with the app. Use it to create new documents, edit existing ones, see all your team activity in one organized list, post and reply to comments, prioritize documents and so much more.

• iOS
• Android
• Web

Squid: The Best App for Taking Digital Handwritten Notes

What We Like

• Designed for handwritten notes; use your finger or a stylus.

• PDF markup is easy.

What We Don't Like

• Not available for Mac or iOS devices.

• Not easy to sync with other devices.

Squid takes the old-fashioned pen and paper and modernizes it with digital features designed to enhance the note-taking experience. Just use your finger or stylus to handwrite notes just like you would on paper. Similar to Google Keep and Notebook, all your most recent notes will be displayed in a card-like interface for easy access.

Every note will have a toolbar at the top, which allows you to customize your ink, duplicate what you've written, resize it, erase mistakes, zoom in or out and so much more. The notes app also allows you to insert PDF files for markup so you can highlight text and insert new pages wherever you want.

• Android
• Chromebook
• Kindle Fire
• Windows
• Windows Phone

Bear: The Most Flexible Note Taking App

What We Like

• Import notes from other apps.

• Simple, easy-to-use design.

• Export to a variety of formats, including PDF and JPEG.

• Supports Markdown.

What We Don't Like

• Only available for Mac and iOS devices.

• Requires a paid plan to sync devices.

Bear is one of the most beautifully designed and flexible note taking apps currently available for Apple devices. Made for both quick notes and in-depth essays with advanced markup for options to insert images, links and more, you can enable the app's 'focus mode' to help you concentrate during longer periods of writing or note taking.

You can customize the theme and typography to fit your style, use a wide variety of editing tools to optimize your notes, quickly add to-dos to any individual note, tag any note with a specific hashtag and so much more. The core version of this notes app is free, but pro subscriptions are available if you'd like to take your writing or note taking to the next level with Bear.

• iOS
• Mac

Notability: Creative Note Taking for the Apple Fan

What We Like

• Good text formatting options.

• Text wrapping with images.

• Works well with Apple Pencil.

What We Don't Like

• Only for iOS devices.

• No free version available.

For the Apple fanboy or fangirl who loves to write by hand, draw, sketch or doodle, Notability is a must-have notes app for its incredible suite of advanced note taking tools. Combine your handwritten or drawn work with typed text, photos and videos and zoom in anywhere on your note when you need a closer look.

Notability also lets you do some pretty amazing things with PDF files, allowing you to add annotations on them anywhere, fill them out, sign them and send them off. Unlike many of the other apps in this list, Notability isn't free, but it's at least affordable.

• iOS

Notes: Basic, Minimal and Possibly All You Need As an Apple User

What We Like

• Handwrite notes and sketch with Apple Pencil.

• Organize notes with folders.

• Pin notes to the top of the list.

• Scan documents using device camera.

What We Don't Like

App For Screenshots

• Only on iOS devices and Macs.

• Basic note-taking features.

• Only simple text formatting.

Apple's very own Notes app is uncomplicated and super intuitive to use, yet still just as powerful as you need it to be for all your note-taking needs. The app's features include just the minimum essentials and all the notes you create within the app are neatly organized in the left sidebar. Although you can't organize your notes with hashtags, notebooks or categories, you can easily search through them by using the handy search field at the top to help you quickly find whatever you need.

Create a checklist, insert photos, customize your text's formatting or even add another Notes user to share your list with so they can view and add information to it. Although it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that many other competing note-taking apps bring to the table, Notes is one of the few that really stands out for getting the job done in the simplest and quickest way possible.

Best Screenshot App For Windows 10 Free

• iOS
• Mac