Switch to OpenScreenShot if you want to annotate and blur full-page screenshots in the browser for free, on any operating system that runs Chrome or Firefox, with code you can read. Stay with FireShot if you need PDFs with working links, batch or automated captures, or the extras in FireShot Pro, such as advanced PDF export and a capture history. OpenScreenShot saves a PDF as an image, so its text is not searchable and its links do not work. It captures web pages only and does not capture desktop windows or the whole screen.
OpenScreenShot is our product. The facts about FireShot on this page are as of 9 October 2026 and come from its Chrome Web Store listing, its website, its purchase page, its Firefox add-on page, and the manifest of version 2.1.4.18 from Google’s update server.
FireShot and OpenScreenShot side by side
| FireShot | OpenScreenShot | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (Lite); Pro is $39.95 a year or $99.95 once for a lifetime license on two devices | Free, no paid tier |
| Open source | No (custom license) | Yes, MIT |
| Install-time site access | None in Chrome; access to all sites is optional. nativeMessaging is required |
None. Access to the current tab when you start a capture |
| Full-page capture | Yes | Yes |
| Annotation and blur | Listing mentions text, arrows, and blur; Pro lists “Editor & smart annotations (on Windows)” | Free, in the browser |
| PDF export | Yes, with links; advanced PDF is Pro | Yes, as an image: one page, or A4 or Letter pages with an overlap |
| Tab recording | No | Yes, in Chrome (the Firefox build captures screenshots only) |
| Account or cloud | Local capture; optional uploads and sharing | No account, no uploads |
What you keep
Captures stay local in both tools. FireShot’s site says “100% local captures keep your work private and offline-safe.” OpenScreenShot processes captures in your browser and does not upload them. Neither asks for access to all sites at install in Chrome.
You keep full-page capture of long pages and export to PNG, JPEG, and PDF. OpenScreenShot also saves WebP.
What changes
The editor runs in a browser tab, so it works the same on every operating system, and every tool is free. Use Arrow, Text, Step number, and Spotlight to point at details, and Blur (B) with the Solid fill to hide private data. Crop and Cut trim a long capture. The annotation reference lists the tools.
PDF works differently. Click Save image to open the Export dialog and choose PDF. Full makes one page sized to the image. A4 or Letter with Split across multiple pages divides a long capture with a 5 mm overlap. The PDF holds the screenshot as an image, so it has no clickable links or selectable text. If you send PDFs where readers follow links, FireShot fits that job better.
OpenScreenShot has no batch capture, no capture history, and no email or OneNote upload. It has Capture element, the Frame panel for a framed image, and tab recording in Chrome with zoom on clicks and MP4 export.
The FireShot Chrome manifest requires nativeMessaging, which lets the extension talk to a program installed on your computer. OpenScreenShot uses no native program. Chrome asks for its optional tab capture permission only the first time you click Record.
The FireShot Firefox add-on was last updated on 5 June 2023 and asks for access to your data on all websites. The OpenScreenShot Firefox build asks for no site access at install and captures screenshots only.
How to switch
- Install OpenScreenShot from the Chrome Web Store or from Firefox Add-ons.
- Pin the icon to the toolbar.
- Click the icon on a long page. With the default One-click Express mode, this starts a Full Page capture and opens the Editor.
- Set After capture in Settings. Choose Download to save each capture straight to your downloads folder as a PNG, or Clipboard to paste it at once.
- Set a Filename template with tokens such as
{date},{domain}, and{title}. A/saves into a folder inside Downloads.
If a keyboard shortcut does not start a capture, open chrome://extensions/shortcuts and check whether another extension uses the same keys.
For dated copies of pages, see saving a visual copy of a web page. For help pages with annotated captures, see screenshots for documentation. The export reference covers formats and scale. For other full-page tools, see the GoFullPage alternative and the FullPage Capture alternative.