ShareX (Windows) Review 2026: Pros, Cons & A More Complete, User-Friendly Alternative
If you’re looking for a free, open-source screen recording tool, ShareX is definitely worth considering. It packs all the basics – screen recording, audio capture, webcam overlay, and screenshot tools – making it a rather good option if budget and convenience are your top priorities.
In this review, we’ll cover:
- What ShareX is and how it works
- Key advantages
- Common drawbacks users run into
- Who ShareX is best suited for
- A more complete and easier alternative to ShareX — ActivePresenter
Let’s dive into the full breakdown below!
What Is ShareX?
ShareX is a free, open-source tool for capturing and recording your screen on Windows. First released in 2007, the software is developed by the “ShareX Team,” with its entire codebase publicly available on GitHub. The project originally began as an app called ZScreen before being rebuilt into ShareX around 2012–2013.
ShareX is a handy utility for anyone who needs to quickly record or capture their screen and share the results. However, like many open-source tools, it comes with a learning curve. The interface can feel technical, and relying on community support can be inconvenient if you run into urgent issues.
“ShareX screen region selection interface”
ShareX Pros
The biggest appeal of ShareX is simple: it’s free — with no watermarks on output files. You can download it, use it as much as you want, and never worry about licensing fees like with many commercial recorders.
ShareX Cons
1. A Complicated, Technical Interface
Although ShareX still receives updates, its interface has barely changed in years. When you open it, you’re greeted with a long list of tabs, settings, and technical terms. Sections like Task Settings, After Capture Tasks, and Destination Settings are powerful but overwhelming for beginners.
New users often feel lost at first, and it takes time to figure out how everything works.
“ShareX’s technical menu layout, can bbe overwhelming for beginners”
2. No Built-in Video or Audio Editing Tools
This is arguably ShareX’s biggest limitation. Once you finish recording, ShareX immediately outputs a finalized video file. If you want to trim, cut, merge, add annotations, or adjust audio, you’ll need to import that file into a separate video editing tool.
This disrupts the workflow and adds extra time, especially annoying for people who need quick edits.
3. No Official Support Team
Because ShareX is open-source, there’s no dedicated support line. If something breaks, your only options are:
- Searching GitHub issues
- Browsing community forums
- Googling for answers
- Troubleshooting on your own
This isn’t a big deal for experienced users, but beginners may find it frustrating.
4. No Mouse Cursor Highlight / Click Effects
If you create tutorial videos, cursor effects can make your content much clearer. Unfortunately, ShareX doesn’t support cursor highlights or click animations — a common limitation among free screen recorders.
Who Should Use ShareX?
ShareX is a great fit for users who want something lightweight, fast, and free. If you only need simple screen recordings, quick screenshots, or technical capture tasks, ShareX gets the job done.
It works well for:
- Quick tutorial clips
- Simple bug reports
- Basic technical documentation
But if you need polished videos or built-in editing, ShareX will feel limited.
📌 A More Complete Alternative to ShareX: ActivePresenter
While ShareX handles basic capture tasks well, it falls short when it comes to post-production – no video editing tools and no cursor effects. These limitations make it difficult to produce professional-quality videos.
To fill that gap, ActivePresenter stands out as the most complete and user-friendly alternative.
Unlike standard screen recorders, ActivePresenter is an all-in-one software that combines:
- Screen recording
- Video editing
- Effects and enhancements
- eLearning features
- Multiple export formats (including SCORM)
Everything happens in one place – no need for extra software.
This makes ActivePresenter particularly great for teachers, content creators, and professionals working on tutorial-style videos.
Why ActivePresenter Outperforms ShareX
1. A Clean, Beginner-Friendly Interface
One of the first things users love about ActivePresenter is its intuitive interface. For instance, the layout is clean, the toolbar is well-organized, and the “Record” button is placed prominently. You can start recording from the Start Page or directly from the workspace.
If ShareX makes you hunt for basic buttons, ActivePresenter puts everything right where you expect it.
“ActivePresenter 10 toolbar and screen-region picker”
2. Edit Your Video Directly in the Same Software
Many users love ActivePresenter because it offers a solid set of built-in video and audio editing tools. You can start editing your footage immediately after recording without needing any additional software. Once you finish a screen capture, ActivePresenter automatically generates a new project where your video and audio are placed on separate tracks, allowing you to trim clips, add effects, or adjust sound right within the same workspace. This setup makes it easy to refine your content without affecting the rest of the video.
The software also supports voice recording, voice-over, and automatic noise reduction. Audio sync is smooth and reliable, helping you save time while still producing clean, professional-looking videos.
3. Smart Screen Capture
What sets ActivePresenter apart is that, in addition to standard screen recording, it also offers an intelligent capture mode that automatically detects your actions—like mouse clicks, keystrokes, and drag-and-drop movements. It then converts those actions into editable slides, where each step is displayed clearly and can be customized with annotations or additional notes. And the entire process happens seamlessly within a single application.
“Interactive simulation recording”
4. Full eLearning & Interactive Course Authoring Tools
ActivePresenter isn’t just a screen recording tool—it’s a complete solution for creating interactive eLearning content. After recording, the software lets you turn your video into an interactive lesson by adding quizzes, creating assessments, and inserting feedback directly within the course. With built-in support for SCORM and xAPI, your content can be exported to popular LMS platforms like Moodle or Canva. In particular, you can publish your lessons straight to uPresenter.ai – a smart LMS that makes storing, managing, and sharing courses incredibly convenient.
ActivePresenter also lets you design slides much like PowerPoint, but with far more flexibility thanks to its support for audio, effects, and interactive actions. With just a few clicks, you can save or export your work as a video, an eLearning course, or a presentation in formats like MP4, WebM, HTML5, PowerPoint, or PDF—all within one single application, without needing any extra tools.
5. Detailed Documentation & Responsive Support
One thing that makes ActivePresenter especially approachable is its rich library of documentation and its YouTube channel, which features clear, easy-to-follow tutorial videos. Thanks to these guides, beginners can get comfortable with the software and start using it efficiently within just a few hours.
If you ever run into a problem, you can simply send an email to the support team at support@atomisystems.com. They respond quickly and provide thorough assistance—something that open-source tools like ShareX often can’t offer.
ActivePresenter also has an active user community, where teachers, eLearning designers, and content creators regularly share tips, lesson templates, and real project examples. It’s a valuable resource that helps new users learn faster and make the most out of the software.
Conclusion
Overall, ShareX is a useful tool if all you need is a quick screenshot or screen recording that you can share right away.
However, if you want to edit your footage, polish your content, and take the final quality to a more professional level, ActivePresenter is the ideal all-in-one solution—easy to use yet powerful enough for almost any type of user:
- An intuitive interface with fast, simple operations that don’t require much technical skill.
- Screen recording with smart interactive simulation, plus a full-featured built-in video editor.
- Extensive documentation, tutorials, and a large user community.
- A complete eLearning and interactive course-authoring toolkit that lets you create quizzes, build interactive lessons, and publish to uPresenter.ai or other LMS platforms.
Give it a try with a small project—you may be surprised at how much easier content creation, screen recording, and instructional video production can become. ActivePresenter is definitely a tool worth exploring in 2026.