The best screenshot extensions for Chrome, and how to choose one

Start with what you actually capture

Most people search for the best screenshot tool when they are annoyed by one specific thing. The page is longer than the screen. The editor is locked behind an upgrade. The screenshot ended up on a sharing site they did not expect. Naming that job first narrows the choice quickly.

Screenshot extensions for Chrome fall into a few types. Many do more than one of these, but each has a centre of gravity, and that tells you what it does best.

The main types of Chrome screenshot extension

• Full page capture: scrolls and stitches the whole page into one image. GoFullPage and FireShot are long-standing examples, and NeoReader Full Page Screenshot is in this group too. Best for articles, receipts, landing pages and design reviews.
• Area snip and share: drag a box, mark it up, then save or upload for a link. Lightshot is the best-known example, with a desktop app as well as an extension. Best for quick answers in chat.
• Capture and recording suites: screenshots plus screen video recording, usually with a cloud account for storage and sharing. Awesome Screenshot, Nimbus Screenshot and Screen Video Recorder, and Scrnli are in this group. Best for teams that record tutorials and bug reports.
• Built-in browser tools: Chrome's DevTools screenshot command, Edge's Web capture and Firefox's Take Screenshot. No install, fewer features.

What to check before you install

An extension that takes screenshots can see the pages you visit, so a few minutes of checking is worth it. Look at the listing and the permissions prompt, not just the star rating.

• Permissions: many screenshot extensions ask to read and change data on all websites. Some need that for full page capture, but the request should match what the extension does.
• Where screenshots go: kept in your browser, or uploaded to a server or cloud account. Uploads are convenient for sharing, but anything behind a public link can be seen by whoever has that link.
• Account: whether you must sign in before you can save or edit.
• The paywall: whether the editor, blur, PDF export or high-resolution saves are free or part of a paid plan. Check the current plans, because they change.
• Sticky headers and lazy images: how it copes with headers that follow you down the page and images that only load as you scroll.
• Browsers: whether the same tool exists for Edge and Firefox if you use more than one.
• Updates and publisher: a recent update date and a named developer with a privacy policy are good signs.

How to test a screenshot extension in five minutes

1. Install it and read the permissions prompt before you accept.
2. Open a long page with a sticky header, such as a news article or a shop product page.
3. Take a full page capture and check the header appears once and images further down have loaded.
4. Open the editor and try to crop, add an arrow and blur an email address.
5. Save as PNG and as PDF, and note which steps asked you to sign in or upgrade.
6. Repeat with a second extension on the same page, then remove the one you like less.

Best free screenshot extension for full pages

For full page capture, the established extensions all do the basic job. The differences are in the extras: the editor, blur, PDF export and whether those are free.

NeoReader Full Page Screenshot is our own extension, so weigh this accordingly. It captures the whole scrolling page, the visible part or a dragged area, handles sticky headers so they appear once, and includes an editor for crop, arrows, boxes, highlighter, text and emoji. It has a pixel blur for private details and saves PNG, JPG or PDF. It is free, needs no account, and screenshots stay on your device. It does not record video and does not create share links, so if you need those, a suite or a snip-and-share tool will suit you better.

When you do not need an extension at all

Your computer already has a capable snipping tool. For screenshots of desktop apps, or a single visible screen, it is often the best screenshot app you can use, because it is already installed.

• Windows 10 and 11: press Windows + Shift + S to open the Snipping Tool's capture bar, then drag an area, pick a window or take the full screen. On Windows 11 the Snipping Tool app can also record the screen.
• Mac: press Cmd + Shift + 5 for the screenshot toolbar, Cmd + Shift + 4 to drag an area, or Cmd + Shift + 3 for the full screen. Screenshots save to the desktop by default.
• Chrome: DevTools has a Capture full size screenshot command for whole pages. Our guide on taking a full page screenshot in Chrome walks through it.
• Firefox: right-click a page and choose Take Screenshot, then Save full page or Save visible. Ctrl + Shift + S opens it too.

Best screenshot tool for Mac and Windows users of Chrome

A common setup that works well: keep your system's own tool for anything outside the browser, and add one screenshot extension for web pages. On a Mac, the built-in toolbar handles windows and areas, and an extension adds full page capture and PDF. On Windows, the Snipping Tool covers the desktop, and the extension covers long pages.

Desktop screenshot apps such as Greenshot on Windows are another option if you want more control over desktop capture. They cannot see below the fold of a web page, so pair them with a full page extension if you capture long pages.

For Firefox, the built-in screenshot tool is better than most browsers' defaults. An extension is still worth it for editing, blur and PDF, and for having the same tool in Chrome and Edge.

Useful extras after the screenshot

Some jobs start with a screenshot but need something else. To combine several screenshots into one document, use our free screenshot to PDF tool. To copy words out of an image, the screenshot to text tool reads them in your browser. To save a still from a video file, the video screenshot tool grabs any frame at full resolution. All three run in the browser and keep your files on your device.