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Clarus.dev VS Zight (formerly CloudApp)

Compare Clarus.dev VS Zight (formerly CloudApp) and see what are their differences

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Contents:
  1. ยป Base Details
  2. ยป Reviews
  3. ยป Alternatives

Clarus.dev logo Clarus.dev

Screenshots, scrolling capture and screen recording for Windows, with a real video timeline and annotation editor. Offline text recognition makes every capture searchable by the words inside it. Free tier is permanent, no account needed.

Zight (formerly CloudApp) logo Zight (formerly CloudApp)

Better Communication, Happier, More Productive People
  • Clarus.dev
    Image date //
    2026-08-22
  • Clarus.dev
    Image date //
    2026-08-22
  • Clarus.dev
    Image date //
    2026-08-22

Clarus is a Windows screenshot and screen-recording app built around one idea: a capture should still be useful a month later.

Take a shot with Win+Shift+S โ€” Clarus takes over the Snipping Tool's shortcut โ€” and a capture card appears in the corner. Drag it straight into any app, copy it, annotate it, or pin it on top of everything else.

Recordings open in an editor with a real timeline: trim, split, move clips, add zoom segments, blur anything sensitive, and export.

Everything is searchable by the text inside it. Text recognition runs entirely on your machine, so you can search "invoice" and get the screenshot of an invoice you took in March. Nothing is uploaded unless you choose to share it.

Free forever, no account: area, window and fullscreen screenshots, screen recording with audio, the annotation editor for both, pin on top, the screen colour picker, and capture history with search.

Pro adds: scrolling capture for whole pages, Copy Text extraction, webcam in recordings, backgrounds, capture folders and multi-drag, Instant Replay, and 5 GB of cloud storage with expiring, password-protected share links.

$5.99/month, $39/year or $99 once. 30-day trial, no card required.

  • Zight (formerly CloudApp) Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-18

Clarus.dev

Website
getclarus.dev
Pricing URL
Official Clarus.dev Pricing
$ Details
freemium $3.25 / Monthly (Pro, billed annually at $39)
Platforms
Windows
Release Date
2026 August
Startup details
Country
United Arab Emirates
State
Sharjah
City
Sharjah
Founder(s)
Tarik Al-Hadethi
Employees
1 - 9
Edit details

Zight (formerly CloudApp)

Website
zight.com
Pricing URL
Official Zight (formerly CloudApp) Pricing
$ Details
-
Platforms
-
Release Date
-
Edit details

Clarus.dev features and specs

  • Capture modes
    Area, window, fullscreen, and scrolling capture for whole pages
  • Screen Recording
    System and microphone audio, webcam, on a real video timeline
  • Search inside captures
    Every capture is indexed by the text in it and findable months later
  • Text Recognition
    Runs entirely on your machine โ€” nothing is sent to a server
  • Annotation editor
    Arrows, shapes, text, step numbers, highlighter, blur and pixelate
  • Video Editing
    Trim, split, move clips, zoom segments, redaction baked into the export
  • Instant Replay
    Rolling buffer โ€” save the last few minutes after something happens
  • Pin on top
    Keep a screenshot floating above every other window
  • Colour picker
    Screen-wide picker with HEX, RGB and HSL
  • Cloud sharing
    Expiring, password-protected links. 250 MB free, 5 GB on Pro
  • Shortcut takeover
    Replaces Win+Shift+S, so it's where your hand already goes
  • Free plan
    Permanent, no account required

Zight (formerly CloudApp) features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Zight offers an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface, which simplifies the process of capturing and sharing content, making it accessible even for users with minimal technical skills.
  • Versatile Sharing Options
    The platform provides a variety of sharing options, including links, embeds, and direct sharing to platforms like Slack and email, which enhances collaboration and communication efficiency.
  • Comprehensive Annotation Tools
    Zight includes robust annotation tools for images and videos, allowing users to highlight, comment, and add shapes, which is useful for providing clear feedback and instructions.
  • Integrations with Popular Tools
    It seamlessly integrates with popular productivity and communication tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Trello, enabling users to easily incorporate it into their existing workflows.
  • Cloud Storage and Access
    The service stores captured content in the cloud, ensuring that users can access their files from anywhere with an internet connection, enhancing flexibility and mobility.

Possible disadvantages of Zight (formerly CloudApp)

  • Subscription Cost
    Zight's premium features are available at a subscription cost, which might be a limitation for individuals or small businesses with budget constraints.
  • Limited Free Tier
    The free tier of Zight offers limited features and storage, which may not be sufficient for heavy users who require extensive usage and advanced functionalities.
  • Performance Issues
    Some users have reported performance issues, such as slow loading times or occasional glitches, which can disrupt the user experience.
  • Dependency on Internet Connection
    Since Zight is cloud-based, it requires a stable internet connection for optimal performance, which might be a drawback in areas with unreliable connectivity.
  • Privacy Concerns
    As with any cloud-based service, there may be concerns regarding data privacy and security, particularly for users handling sensitive or confidential information.

Analysis of Zight (formerly CloudApp)

Overall verdict

  • Zight is generally considered a good tool for enhancing productivity and improving communication through visual content. Users appreciate its intuitive interface and robust features that cater to both personal and professional needs. However, as with any tool, some users might encounter limitations based on their specific requirements, so it is advisable to evaluate its features to ensure they align with your needs.

Why this product is good

  • Zight, formerly known as CloudApp, is praised for its ability to capture and share screenshots, screen recordings, GIFs, and annotated images quickly and easily. It offers features such as seamless integration with multiple tools, efficient collaboration capabilities, and cloud storage for easy access and sharing. These functionalities can streamline workflows and enhance visual communication, making it a valuable tool for businesses and individuals alike.

Recommended for

    Zight is recommended for professionals and teams that require frequent screen capturing and communication through visuals. This includes designers, developers, customer support teams, marketers, and educators who benefit from visually rich content and need efficient ways to share and collaborate on information. It's also useful for remote teams that rely heavily on digital communication.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Clarus.dev and Zight (formerly CloudApp))

Clarus.dev

Zight (formerly CloudApp)

Screenshot Tools / Image Annotation
100 100%
Screenshot Tools / Image Annotation
0% 0
Screen Recording
9 9%
Screen Recording
91% 91
Screenshots
20 20%
Screenshots
80% 80
Productivity
11 11%
Productivity
89% 89

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Clarus.dev and Zight (formerly CloudApp).

What makes your product unique?

Clarus.dev's answer

Every capture is indexed by the text inside it. Text recognition runs locally the moment you take a screenshot or finish a recording, so months later you can search for a word you remember seeing and get the picture straight back. Most capture tools leave you with a folder of files named by timestamp; Clarus leaves you with something you can actually search.

It also takes over Win+Shift+S, so it lives where your hand already goes rather than asking you to learn a new shortcut.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

Clarus.dev's answer

Most Windows users are really choosing against the Snipping Tool, which they already have. Clarus does everything it does, then keeps the capture useful: a searchable history, screen recording on a real editing timeline, annotation for both screenshots and video, and share links you can expire or password-protect. The Snipping Tool captures and forgets.

Against a paid tool like Snagit, the differences are that text recognition runs entirely on your machine rather than in a cloud, the free tier is permanent and needs no account, and nothing leaves your computer unless you explicitly choose to share it.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Clarus.dev's answer

People on Windows who take a lot of screenshots as part of their work and keep losing them: developers filing bug reports, support and QA teams, designers collecting references, writers and teachers making documentation, and anyone who screenshots a receipt, a booking confirmation or an error message and needs it again weeks later.

It is built for individuals and small teams rather than large IT-managed rollouts.

What's the story behind your product?

Clarus.dev's answer

It started as a personal annoyance. I took screenshots constantly and never found them again โ€” a folder of thousands of files named by timestamp is not a record of anything. The obvious fix was to make the pictures searchable by what is written in them, which meant running text recognition locally on every capture instead of shipping them off to a server.

Everything else grew out of using it daily: the annotation editor, then screen recording, then a real video timeline, because trimming a recording in something else was slower than building the tool. Clarus is made by one person in the UAE.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

Clarus.dev's answer

Rust and Tauri 2 for the native Windows layer, React 19 with TypeScript for the interface, and Vite for the build.

Capture uses Windows Graphics Capture and DXGI Desktop Duplication; recording encodes through Media Foundation with hardware H.264 where the GPU supports it. Text recognition is PaddleOCR running locally through tract, a pure-Rust inference engine, with the Windows OCR API as a fast first pass.

The cloud side is Supabase with Cloudflare Pages.

User comments

Share your experience with using Clarus.dev and Zight (formerly CloudApp). For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Clarus.dev and Zight (formerly CloudApp), you can also consider the following products

Greenshot - Greenshot is a free and open source screenshot tool that allows annotation and highlighting using the built-in image editor.

Loom - Loom is a screen recording extension for Chrome that gives people the ability to create and share media. Create your own videos using your camera, screen view, and audio. Read more about Loom.

LightShot - The fastest way to take a customizable screenshot.

Tella - Capture your best work with video. Record in the browser, share instantly.

Snagit - Screen Capture Software for Windows and Mac

ScreenStudio - Streaming, made easy!

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