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LightShot VS CodePen

Compare LightShot VS CodePen and see what are their differences

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LightShot logo LightShot

The fastest way to take a customizable screenshot.

CodePen logo CodePen

A front end web development playground.
  • LightShot Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-26
  • CodePen Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-30

LightShot features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    LightShot provides a user-friendly interface that allows users to take screenshots quickly with minimal effort.
  • Editing Tools
    The app includes built-in editing tools that allow users to annotate, highlight, and make quick adjustments to their screenshots immediately after capturing them.
  • Cloud Storage
    LightShot offers the option to upload screenshots to the cloud, making them accessible from any device and easy to share via a link.
  • Speed
    The application runs smoothly and captures screenshots very quickly, making it efficient for users who need rapid results.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    LightShot is available for both Windows and Mac, providing flexibility for users operating on different platforms.
  • Free to Use
    The application is free to download and use, making it accessible to users without any financial investment.

Possible disadvantages of LightShot

  • Limited Advanced Features
    While LightShot offers basic editing tools, it lacks more advanced features and options found in more comprehensive screenshot and image editing software.
  • Security Concerns
    Storing screenshots in the cloud can potentially raise security and privacy issues, as sensitive information could be exposed if the cloud storage is compromised.
  • Dependency on Internet
    The cloud upload feature depends on an internet connection, which can be inconvenient for users who need to share screenshots while offline.
  • Ads
    The free version of LightShot may contain ads, which can be distracting and detract from the user experience.
  • Lack of Integrations
    LightShot lacks integration with other productivity tools and services, limiting its utility for users who need seamless workflows with their existing software.
  • Platform Limitation
    LightShot does not support mobile platforms, so users cannot utilize the tool on smartphones or tablets.

CodePen features and specs

  • Real-time Collaboration
    Developers can collaborate with others in real-time, making it easy to work on projects with teammates or seek help from the community.
  • Immediate Visual Feedback
    CodePen allows you to see the results of your code as you write it, which is highly beneficial for learning and debugging.
  • Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
    CodePen provides a comfortable and feature-rich online IDE environment with syntax highlighting, autocomplete, and more.
  • Community-Driven
    Users can share their work with the CodePen community, receive feedback, and explore a wide range of projects created by others.
  • Extensive Resources
    CodePen offers a wealth of examples and templates for various web development tasks, making it a useful resource for learning and inspiration.
  • Cross-Device Accessibility
    Being an online platform, CodePen can be accessed from any device with an internet connection, making it convenient for developers on the move.

Possible disadvantages of CodePen

  • Limited Offline Functionality
    Since CodePen is primarily an online tool, it requires an internet connection for most of its features to work, limiting its usefulness in offline environments.
  • Performance Constraints
    Complex or resource-intensive projects may not perform as well on CodePen as they would in a full-fledged local development environment.
  • Subscription Costs
    While many features are free, advanced functionalities and additional storage options require a paid subscription, which may not be ideal for all users.
  • Limited Backend Capabilities
    CodePen is primarily designed for front-end development, so it offers limited support for backend technologies, making it less suitable for full-stack or server-side development.
  • Dependency Management
    Managing dependencies and libraries can be cumbersome compared to local development environments which have better tools for this purpose, like npm.
  • Security Concerns
    Sharing projects with the public can expose your code and assets to unauthorized use, posing potential intellectual property and security risks.

Analysis of LightShot

Overall verdict

  • Overall, LightShot is a reliable and effective screen capture tool that meets the needs of most users looking for a simple solution. However, some users may prefer more advanced features available in other applications if they have specific needs.

Why this product is good

  • LightShot is considered good because it is user-friendly and allows for quick screen captures with minimal effort. It offers different annotation tools, easy uploading options to share links quickly, and is compatible with multiple operating systems. Many users find it efficient for collaborative work or simply for personal use due to its straightforward interface and functionality.

Recommended for

  • Casual users looking for a quick and easy way to take screenshots.
  • Professionals who need to share visual information rapidly.
  • Teams that require a collaborative tool for quick feedback through annotated screenshots.

Analysis of CodePen

Overall verdict

  • Yes, CodePen is considered a good platform for web developers, both beginners and experienced. It offers a wide array of features that facilitate creative development and community engagement.

Why this product is good

  • CodePen is a popular online code editor and community platform for front-end developers to experiment with creating and sharing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript snippets. It provides an easy-to-use interface and real-time previews, making it a valuable tool for learning, prototyping, and sharing web development work. It also fosters a community where developers can showcase their projects, receive feedback, and learn from each other.

Recommended for

  • Front-end developers who want to quickly prototype and test web designs.
  • Beginners in web development looking to learn and receive feedback from the community.
  • Educators and students interested in a platform to showcase projects and collaborate.
  • Developers who want to explore creative coding and share their work with a community.

LightShot videos

How to Take Screenshots Fast with Lightshot on Windows & Mac

More videos:

  • Review - [HD] Google Chrome Extension Review : Lightshot
  • Tutorial - How to Take Screenshots Fast with Lightshot | lightshot review Hindi

CodePen videos

What Is Codepen?

More videos:

  • Review - Learn to use CodePen from a co-founder of CodePen
  • Review - Using CodePen For Inspiration & Learning

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to LightShot and CodePen)
Screenshot Annotation
100 100%
0% 0
Text Editors
0 0%
100% 100
Screenshots
100 100%
0% 0
Programming
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using LightShot and CodePen. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare LightShot and CodePen

LightShot Reviews

Keeping Mac Screenshots Simple and Helpful
Lightshot: Perfect if you want to share a link fast. It handles capturing and minimal edits, making it suitable for daily communication.
Source: medium.com
5 Best Screenshot Tools for Mac in 2024 (Free & Paid)
In conclusion, these five screenshot apps for Mac offer a range of features to cater to different user needs. Xnapper stands out as the best all-in-one screenshot tool with its automatic beautification and screen recording capabilities. CleanShot X and Snagit are feature-rich and ideal for professionals, while Lightshot is perfect for users who prefer a simple free...
Source: storychief.io
The best screenshot tools for Mac
Users can enjoy added convenience by setting a shortcut key for the tool to activate. Sharing is quite effortless — once you upload your capture on the LightShot server, you receive a direct link that you can share with others. The LightShot website also offers simple tutorials for users to get a grasp of the tool.
Top 13 Free Snagit Alternatives For 2021
Lightshot is yet another free software like Snagit (well, besides the ‘free’ part obviously). Lightshot, available in Google Chrome Web Store , is a browser extension app that not only allows you to easily take a screenshot, but allows you to upload it to the server and creates a short link, similar to Screenrec .
Source: screenrec.com
15 Best Snagit Alternatives in 2020
Lightshot is screen capture tool allows you to take a screenshot quickly. It allows the user to take a screenshot of a selected area which can be resized or moved without any hassle.
Source: www.guru99.com

CodePen Reviews

Best Forums for Developers to Join in 2025
Codepen is a social network for developers to show off their work, ask and answer questions, and exchange ideas. It's like a Reddit for coding and design, with a large community of talented web developers.
Source: www.notchup.com
Top 10 Developer Communities You Should Explore
Codepen is a social development environment that allows developers to showcase their work and experiment with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in a collaborative space. Codepen’s focus on visual and interactive development makes it an excellent community for front-end developers and designers.
Source: www.qodo.ai
8 Best Replit Alternatives & Competitors in 2022 (Free & Paid) - Software Discover
Codepen is a social development environment for front-end designers and developers. Build and deploy a website, show off your work, build test cases to learn.
Best Online Code Editors For Web Developers
Probably the most popular online code editor. CodePen is fast, easy to use, and allows a web developer to write and share HTML/CSS/JS code online.
Source: techarge.in
Top 25 websites for coding challenge and competition [Updated for 2021]
CodePen is a cool online IDE that allows you to write code in your browser and see the result just as you build it. CodePen challenges is a place for leveling up your skills by building things. Each week, new challenges appear for you to tackle, and the best “Pens” get picked.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, CodePen seems to be a lot more popular than LightShot. While we know about 503 links to CodePen, we've tracked only 48 mentions of LightShot. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

LightShot mentions (48)

  • Im curious
    Okay...from now on as soon as I see someone that takes hoi4 pics with PHONE I'm gonna give them this... https://app.prntscr.com/en/index.html download this shit and never use your phone to take pics of your monitor... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Crispy ship after being directly beside a reactor failure 🤌
    Https://app.prntscr.com/en/index.html Do yourself a favor and get a screenshot tool and display your freshly crisped ships in full quality. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • underrated internet “hacks”
    You can use Lightshot Screenshot in Mac and Windows. Https://app.prntscr.com/en/index.html. Source: about 2 years ago
  • If you use print screen for captures for any reason.
    I came across this tool a few days ago and its pretty awesome so I just wanted to share, im sure there are others out there but for thoes that don't have and could use it's called Farlight. It lets you take a customizable screenshot with a border drag feature and save just the area you want to capture. Before I was using print screen and had to load it in gimp to crop it and scale it to size. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Screenshots from phone cameras are now banned.
    I highly recommend LightShot for Mac and Windows. It lets you choose which part of the screen to capture and adjust if you messed up; save or clipboard it; and doodle, add arrows, highlight, and add text without having to bring it into Paint first! Source: over 2 years ago
View more

CodePen mentions (503)

View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing LightShot and CodePen, you can also consider the following products

ShareX - ShareX is a free and open source program that lets you capture or record any area of your screen...

JSFiddle - Test your JavaScript, CSS, HTML or CoffeeScript online with JSFiddle code editor.

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

CodeSandbox - Online playground for React

Snagit - Screen Capture Software for Windows and Mac

GitHub - Originally founded as a project to simplify sharing code, GitHub has grown into an application used by over a million people to store over two million code repositories, making GitHub the largest code host in the world.