head to head · open source
ShareX vs Kap
ShareX has 39,618 GitHub stars, 3,916 forks, 646 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Kap has 19,355 stars, 894 forks, 256 open issues and last shipped 1.8 years ago. ShareX leads on adoption by 105% (39,618 vs 19,355 stars). ShareX is written in C# under GPL-3.0; Kap is written in TypeScript under MIT. ShareX has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Kap 5%. ShareX was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (capture), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| ShareX | Kap | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 40K | ★ 19K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C# | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-16 | 2024-11-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.9K | ⑂ 894 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ShareX if
- You weight community size — 40K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Kap if
- You want the Kap feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Kap fits your workflow better
About ShareX
ShareX is a free and open source Windows application written in C that combines screen capture, screen recording, image annotation, file uploading, and productivity utilities into a single lightweight tool. It lives in the Windows desktop productivity ecosystem and is distributed under the GPL 3.0 license with over 39,000 GitHub stars.
read the full ShareX overview →
About Kap
Kap is an open source screen recorder for macOS, built with web technology and distributed as a native desktop application under the MIT license. The project is written in TypeScript and uses Electron and Next.js components in its stack, placing it within the macOS productivity and screen capture ecosystem rather than a browser extension or command line utility. Its public repository also identifies a related project named Aperture and a separate website repository, indicating that the recording application is part of a broader open source project structure.
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Frequently asked questions
Is ShareX or Kap more popular?
ShareX has 39,618 GitHub stars and Kap has 19,355. ShareX has the larger community by that measure.
Are ShareX and Kap free?
Both are open source. ShareX is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Kap under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ShareX and Kap?
ShareX is written in C# and Kap in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, ShareX or Kap?
Choose ShareX if you want the larger community (39,618 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Kap if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.