Switch to OpenScreenShot if you record browser tabs and also take full-page screenshots, and you want one open-source extension that does both with no access to all websites at install. Stay with Screenity if you record more than a tab: it records an area, the desktop, any app window, or the camera, and exports GIF or saves to Google Drive. OpenScreenShot records one browser tab and does not capture desktop windows or the whole screen. Screenity’s paid Pro plan also adds link sharing and cloud hosting, which OpenScreenShot does not offer.
OpenScreenShot is our product. The facts about Screenity on this page are as of 9 October 2026 and come from its GitHub repository and manifest, its Chrome Web Store listing, its Pro page, and Chrome’s permission warning list.
Screenity and OpenScreenShot side by side
| Screenity | OpenScreenShot | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free extension; Pro is $10 a month or $120 a year, with a 7-day trial | Free, no paid tier |
| Open source | Yes, GPL-3.0 | Yes, MIT |
| Install-time site access | All websites (required <all_urls>, plus tabs and tabCapture) |
None. Tab capture is optional and asked on first recording |
| Full-page capture | Not covered by the sources we checked | Yes |
| Annotation and blur | Draw, text, arrows, shapes; blur of page content | Shapes, arrows, text, step numbers, blur, spotlight, crop on screenshots |
| PDF export | Not covered by the sources we checked | Yes |
| Tab recording | Yes, plus area, desktop, app window, and camera | Yes, tab only, in Chrome (the Firefox build captures screenshots only) |
| Video export | MP4, GIF, WebM, or Google Drive | MP4 or WebM |
| Account or cloud | No sign-in for the free extension; Pro uses an account and EU-hosted cloud | No account, no uploads |
What you keep
Both extensions are open source, and both keep free recordings on your device without a sign-in. In OpenScreenShot, click Record in the popup and choose Mic, Tab audio, or Webcam. Keep Whole tab or drag across the preview to record part of the page. The recording tab holds the timer and the Pause, Stop, and Cancel buttons, so no controls appear in the video. Press Alt+Shift+X to stop from any tab.
What changes
The recording editor adds a 2x zoom at each click your cursor made. You can move or delete those zooms, add manual zooms at 1.5x, 2x, or 3x, and trim each segment. The webcam joins the export as a round bubble that you place, and the Frame panel adds padding and a background. Export renders an MP4 (H.264 and AAC) by default, or WebM. The recording reference covers each control.
Screenshots are part of the same extension. A click on the toolbar icon starts a Full Page capture with the default One-click Express mode. The screenshot editor has Blur with a Solid fill for redaction, and Save image opens the Export dialog for PNG, JPEG, WebP, or PDF. OpenScreenShot adds nothing to the page during a recording, so you cannot draw on the page while you record. Annotation works on screenshots.
Install-time access is smaller. Screenity’s manifest requires <all_urls>, and Chrome’s list shows “Read and change all your data on all websites” for tabCapture and “Read your browsing history” for tabs. OpenScreenShot installs with activeTab and asks for tab capture only the first time you click Record. It asks for access to all sites only if you turn on Record across sites, which lets click tracking follow a tab to another site.
How to switch
- Install OpenScreenShot from the Chrome Web Store. The Firefox build captures screenshots only.
- Pin the icon to the toolbar.
- Take a first screenshot: click the icon on a page and check the result in the Editor.
- Click Record in the popup and accept Chrome’s tab capture prompt. Record a short take and export it.
- Set After capture in Settings for screenshots: Editor, Clipboard, or Download.
- Export any Screenity recordings you want to keep before you remove it.
For feature walkthroughs, see product demo videos. To show a bug in an issue, see screenshots for bug reports. If you share videos by link with a team, compare the Loom alternative. For a recorder with cloud upload, see the Nimbus alternative.