TextSniper made a simple idea popular: drag over any part of the screen and the text in it lands on your clipboard, even when it is inside an image, a video or an app that will not let you select it. It is a paid app, and it is no longer the only way to do this. We make Text Capture, one of the options below; the rest are described from their own documentation.
| Option | Price | Any region of the screen | QR codes | On-device OCR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live Text (Preview, Photos, Safari) | Built in | No, images and paused video in supporting apps | Not documented | Yes |
| Screenshot, then Live Text | Built in | Yes, in two or three steps | Not documented | Yes |
| TextSniper | $7.99 direct; $9.99 on the App Store | Yes | Yes | Not stated by the vendor |
| CleanShot X | $35 once, a year of updates | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Text Capture | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Live Text: free, but only where Apple put it
Since macOS Monterey, Photos, Preview, Quick Look and Safari let you select text inside a picture, and since Ventura inside a paused video frame, all recognised on your Mac. It works on the image in front of those apps, not on an arbitrary part of the screen: text in a video call, a remote desktop or an app that draws its own interface is out of reach.
The Screenshot tool: the free workaround
Press Shift-Command-4 to capture a region, open the screenshot, then select its text with Live Text in Preview or Quick Look. It works on anything visible, at the cost of a saved file and a few extra steps every time.
TextSniper
TextSniper lives in the menu bar: press its shortcut, drag over the text, and it is copied. It also reads QR codes and barcodes and can read text aloud. It is a one-time purchase, from $7.99 for one Mac on its website, and is also in Setapp. The vendor does not say whether recognition happens on your Mac; its supported languages depend on your macOS version.
CleanShot X
CleanShot X is a full screenshot and screen recording suite whose Capture Text tool recognises text on-device in more than 30 languages and reads QR codes. If you also want annotated screenshots and recordings, it is excellent value at $35 with a year of updates. If you only want text, you are paying for a lot you will not use.
Text Capture
Text Capture does the one job: press Command-Shift-2 (or use the menu bar icon), drag over any region, and the text is on the clipboard. A region holding only a QR code comes back as the text it encodes, the last 20 captures stay in a history, and recognition uses Apple's on-device OCR, so nothing leaves your Mac. It is free, with nothing to buy inside. It does not read text aloud or scan barcodes other than QR codes.
Which one to choose
- Text in a photo or PDF you already have open: Live Text, nothing to install.
- Screenshots and recordings as well as text: CleanShot X.
- Text read aloud or barcodes: TextSniper.
- Copying text from anywhere on screen, free: Text Capture.
FAQ
Is there a free alternative to TextSniper?
Yes. Text Capture is free and copies text from any region of the screen. Without installing anything, you can take a screenshot and use Live Text in Preview, in a couple more steps.
Does copying text from the screen send it to a server?
Not with Live Text, CleanShot X or Text Capture, which all recognise text on the Mac. TextSniper does not state where its recognition runs.
Why can I not select text in some apps with Live Text?
Live Text works in the apps Apple built it into, on images and paused video. For anything else, use a region-capture tool. Fix Live Text not working covers the other causes.
