PrintScreen.ly vs Zight — honest comparison
Looking for a Zight alternative? Here's an honest PrintScreen.ly vs Zight comparison — including the part most pages skip: these are not the same category of product. Zight (formerly CloudApp) is a team-oriented capture-and-share platform with screen recording, async video, AI titles, and dozens of workspace integrations. PrintScreen.ly is a personal, buy-once, cross-device still-screenshot tool. If you need Zight's recording and team workflow, this page will tell you to keep Zight. If you're a solo user who wants to own a screenshot tool outright, read on.
| At a glance | PrintScreen.ly | Zight |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $9.99/mo | Free tier (cloud, capped — ~25 captures, 1 user) |
| Most popular plan | $95.99/yr | Paid subscription ~$8–$11/user/mo |
| Lifetime license | $399 | Not available — subscription only, no one-time license |
| Platforms | Mac · Windows · Web · iOS (companion) · Android (companion) | Mac · Windows · Web · Chrome extension |
Pick Zight if
- ·Cloud-hosted screen video, GIF, and async walkthrough recording with instant share links — Zight's core. PrintScreen.ly records screen video to MP4 on Mac and Windows too, but it stays local: no cloud hosting, no GIF, no async video, no share link.
- ·A real team toolchain: 50+ integrations (Slack, Jira, Zendesk, GitHub, Notion), shared workspaces, view analytics, and AI-generated titles/summaries. PrintScreen.ly has none of that — it's a personal tool.
- ·A browser extension and instant team share links as the default workflow.
- ·A free cloud tier out of the box — Zight's free plan includes cloud sharing (capped at roughly 25 captures). PrintScreen.ly has no free tier at all (paid app, 7-day trial).
Pick PrintScreen.ly if
- +Buy it once: $399 lifetime versus an ongoing per-user subscription. For a solo user, that math is the entire pitch.
- +Full local capture, the complete 8-tool markup editor, and local MP4 screen recording on Mac and Windows — with a 7-day free trial to start (no free tier after).
- +A private personal library, not a team SaaS — no seats, no admin, no workspace; it's just yours.
- +One license across Mac, Windows, and web with cross-device clipboard, with no per-seat pricing.
Full feature comparison
Verified 2026-05-16. Source linked at the bottom.
| Feature | PrintScreen.ly | Zight |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | $399 one-time lifetime | Subscription (free tier + per-user paid plans) |
| Region / window / fullscreen capture | Yes | Yes |
| Scrolling capture | Yes (Mac + Windows) | Limited |
| Markup editor | Yes (8 tools) | Yes |
| Screen recording | Yes — local MP4 on Mac + Windows (no GIF, no async video, no cloud/share link) | Yes — cloud-hosted video, GIF, async, share links |
| OCR / grab text | Yes (on-device) | Some plans |
| Instant share link | Yes (Pro) | Yes |
| 50+ integrations | No | Yes |
| Team workspace / analytics | No | Yes |
| AI titles / summaries | No | Yes |
| Personal private library | Yes (Pro, 2 GB) | Team-centric |
| Cross-device clipboard | Yes (Pro) | No |
| Chrome extension | No | Yes |
| Free tier | None — paid app (7-day trial, then $9.99/mo / $95.99/yr / $399 lifetime) | Yes (cloud, ~25-capture cap) |
| One-time lifetime | Yes ($399) | No (subscription) |
Bottom line
Zight is a team capture-and-collaboration platform and it's good at that — cloud-hosted recording, async video, integrations, analytics, AI. If your team shares walkthroughs all day, Zight earns its subscription. PrintScreen.ly isn't trying to be that. It's a personal capture tool you buy once for $399 and own across Mac, Windows, and web; it does record screen video to MP4 on Mac and Windows, but recordings stay local — no cloud, no GIF, no async, no share links. There's no free tier (a paid app with a 7-day trial), and the library is private — no seats, no admin, no workspace. The buyer we win is the solo person or privacy-minded individual who got priced out of — or never wanted — a team SaaS, and just wants screenshots that follow them across their own devices. If that's not you, Zight is the right call.
FAQ
CloudApp shut down — is Zight the same thing?+
Zight is the rebrand of CloudApp. PrintScreen.ly is an unrelated, buy-once personal alternative — not a CloudApp successor.
Does PrintScreen.ly record screen video?+
Yes — region or fullscreen screen recording to MP4 on Mac and Windows, with system audio and microphone. Recordings save locally and stay on your machine: no cloud hosting, no GIF, no async video, no share link. If cloud-hosted or async walkthrough video is core to your work, Zight is the better fit.
Is PrintScreen.ly a team tool?+
No. It's personal cross-device sync — no workspaces, seats, or admin. Zight is the team product here.
More PrintScreen.ly comparisons
Pricing verified 2026-05-16. Zight pricing source. Subject to change.