# Best Mac notch apps for screenshots, from a tray to a full recorder

> Six Mac notch apps that handle screenshots: a tray for macOS shots, annotation, OCR and screen recording, with prices and limits, checked on 4 November 2026.

Canonical: https://www.notchstar.com/best/best-mac-notch-apps-for-screenshots/
Last updated: 2026-11-04

Published 2026-11-04.

## At a glance

| App | Price | Requirements | Good fit for |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [NotchStar](https://www.notchstar.com/features/screenshot-tray/) | $4 once for ten tools, up to 3 Macs, 7 day trial | macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon or Intel | A tray under the notch that catches the screenshots you take with macOS, holds the latest 12 for five minutes each and lets you drag them out. |
| [QuackScreen](https://quackscreen.com) | Lifetime license EUR 20, 2 Macs; free version has a watermark and a 3 minute recording cap | macOS 26 (Tahoe), Apple silicon only | Screenshots with an annotation editor and screen recording with cursor following zoom, from the notch. |
| [OneNotch](https://www.tryonenotch.com/) | Free; Pro $6.99 once | macOS 15 or later, Apple silicon | Markup, OCR including QR codes, scrolling capture up to 32,768 px tall and screen recording with an Auto Zoom editor. |
| [Brow](https://brow-app.com/) | Free; Pro $4.99 a month or $49 a year | macOS 14 or later | Area, window, scrolling and GIF capture with OCR, plus a screen recorder, in a free toolkit. |
| [NotchPop](https://notchpop.pages.dev) | Free, MIT license | macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon and Intel | Lists screenshots as a Quick Actions shortcut among clipboard, shelf, music and timer widgets. The page gives little detail. |
| [Notchy](https://notchy.dev/) | $24.99 once, 1 Mac, 7 day trial, 14 day refund | macOS 13 or later | A large toolkit that includes a screenshot shelf. |

Prices and availability were checked on 4 November 2026. Verify the linked product page before buying.

For screenshots in a notch app, NotchStar catches the shots you take with macOS and holds them for dragging. QuackScreen, OneNotch and Brow add their own capture, markup and recording. NotchStar costs $4 once. Checked 4 November 2026.

## How we checked

Each app's official page was read on 4 November 2026, and Notchy was taken from the existing NotchStar guides. This page covers notch apps with some screenshot feature. For menu bar and edge trays that are not notch apps, read the separate [screenshot tray comparison](https://www.notchstar.com/guides/mac-screenshot-tray-apps/). Nothing is ranked. Each label rests on the app's own feature list, and capture quality was not tested. Prices as of 4 November 2026.

## Two different jobs

A tray holds screenshots after you take them. A capture tool takes them, and may annotate them, read text from them or record the screen. Most apps here do one of the two well. NotchStar is only a tray. QuackScreen, OneNotch and Brow are capture tools that also put results in the notch.

## The entries

### NotchStar: best for a short stop between a screenshot and a chat

Take a screenshot with macOS and it hangs under the notch. Command click to pick several, or hold Option while you drag to send them all. The limits are plain: the tray holds the latest 12, a screenshot leaves after you use it or after five minutes, and it takes no screenshots itself. An optional setting turns off the corner preview so the shot arrives right away, and it restores your setting when NotchStar quits. It is $4 once for up to 3 Macs, macOS 14 or later.

### QuackScreen: best for screenshots and recordings you annotate

Screenshots have an annotation editor with pen, arrow, rectangle, highlight and blur, and recordings zoom to follow the cursor. You drag clips and screenshots from the notch into other apps. It needs macOS 26 and Apple silicon. The free version adds a watermark and caps recordings at 3 minutes. The lifetime license is shown in euros, EUR 20 at the time of reading, for two Macs.

### OneNotch: best for OCR and scrolling capture

OneNotch lists markup, OCR including QR codes, translation, scrolling capture up to 32,768 px tall and a video editor with Auto Zoom. The free tier exists, and Pro is $6.99 once, though another page lists $9.99. It needs macOS 15 and Apple silicon.

### Brow: best for a free capture suite

Brow lists area, window, scrolling and GIF capture, OCR, and a screen recorder, all free. It needs macOS 14 and every release is beta.

### NotchPop: best for a free option where screenshots are a side feature

NotchPop lists a screenshot shortcut under Quick Actions. The page does not describe a tray or editor, so treat it as a launcher for macOS capture rather than a capture suite. It is free under the MIT license.

### Notchy: best for people on macOS 13 who want a screenshot shelf

Notchy includes a screenshot shelf in a long tool list. It is $24.99 once for one Mac, with a 7 day trial and a 14 day refund, and it runs on macOS 13 or later. The details of its shelf were not read beyond the guide summary.

## What each one does with a screenshot

| App | Takes screenshots | Annotates | Reads text (OCR) | Records the screen | Holds them in the notch |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NotchStar | No, uses macOS | No | No | No | Yes, latest 12 for five minutes |
| QuackScreen | Yes | Yes, with blur | Not stated | Yes | Yes, drag out of the notch |
| OneNotch | Yes | Yes, markup | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| Brow | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| NotchPop | Shortcut only | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Notchy | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Yes, a screenshot shelf |

"Not stated" means the page read on 4 November 2026 did not say, not that the feature is missing.

## What to weigh

Three tradeoffs decide most of these choices. The first is the macOS floor: QuackScreen needs macOS 26 and OneNotch macOS 15, so an older Mac rules them out, while NotchStar and Brow run on macOS 14. The second is whether you want the app to capture at all. If you already like the macOS shortcuts, an app that adds its own capture mode is more to learn. The third is how long you need the file. A tray that forgets after five minutes suits sending a shot to a chat, and does not suit keeping an archive, so for that use the folder macOS saves to. Prices as of 4 November 2026.

## How to choose

- **You use the macOS screenshot shortcuts and just want to drag the result:** NotchStar.
- **You want to annotate and blur:** QuackScreen (macOS 26) or OneNotch (macOS 15).
- **You need OCR or scrolling capture:** OneNotch or Brow.
- **You record the screen:** QuackScreen, OneNotch or Brow.
- **You want the cheapest route:** Brow, NotchPop or OneNotch Free cost nothing.

Read the [Screenshot Tray feature page](https://www.notchstar.com/features/screenshot-tray/) for the exact limits, [how to share screenshots from the notch](https://www.notchstar.com/guides/share-screenshots-from-mac-notch/) for the workflow, and [NotchStar compared with OneNotch](https://www.notchstar.com/vs/onenotch/) for the full table.

## Sources

All read on 4 November 2026.

- [QuackScreen](https://quackscreen.com)
- [OneNotch](https://www.tryonenotch.com/)
- [Brow](https://brow-app.com/)
- [NotchPop](https://notchpop.pages.dev)
- [Notchy](https://notchy.dev/)
- [NotchStar Screenshot Tray](https://www.notchstar.com/features/screenshot-tray/)

## Quick answers.

### Does NotchStar take screenshots?

No. You take them with macOS. NotchStar's Screenshot Tray then holds the latest 12 for five minutes each so you can drag them into a chat, an email or a folder.

### Does the Screenshot Tray delete my files?

No. Leaving the tray never touches the file, which stays where macOS saved it. The one exception is a screenshot you drag onto the Trash.

## Keep reading.

- [Screenshot Tray: your screenshots wait under the notch](https://www.notchstar.com/features/screenshot-tray/): Every screenshot lands in a tray under your Mac notch. Drag it into a chat, an email or a folder, or send several at once.
- [Mac screenshot tray apps compared: keep screenshots handy, drag them out](https://www.notchstar.com/guides/mac-screenshot-tray-apps/): Compare Mac apps that hold screenshots in a tray so you can drag them into chats, email or folders: notch, menu bar and edge trays, checked 4 November 2026.
- [Share Mac screenshots from the notch without losing the file](https://www.notchstar.com/guides/share-screenshots-from-mac-notch/): Capture a screenshot, find its saved file and send it from the Mac notch. Understand tray expiry, multiple selections and what happens to the original.
- [Best Mac notch apps for creators: teleprompter, mirror and capture](https://www.notchstar.com/best/best-mac-notch-apps-for-creators/): Ten Mac notch apps for video creators and presenters: teleprompter, camera mirror, screenshots and recording, with prices and limits, checked 4 November 2026.
- [NotchStar vs OneNotch](https://www.notchstar.com/vs/onenotch/): OneNotch is a Mac notch app built around clipboard boards, screenshots and window snapping. Compare it with NotchStar on price, macOS support and features.

## More in Notch apps.

- [The best free Mac notch apps, and what free really means](https://www.notchstar.com/best/best-free-mac-notch-apps/): Ten free Mac notch apps, from fully free open source to free tiers with paid upgrades, with macOS versions and limits from official pages, 4 November 2026.
- [Open source Mac notch apps, with licenses and limits](https://www.notchstar.com/best/best-open-source-mac-notch-apps/): Ten Mac notch apps whose source you can read, with the license, macOS version, latest release and honest limits for each, checked 4 November 2026.
- [Best Mac notch apps for developers, and what each one adds](https://www.notchstar.com/best/best-mac-notch-apps-for-developers/): Nine Mac notch apps that suit developers: clipboard transforms, system stats, extension SDKs, agent status and more, with prices and limits, 4 November 2026.
- [Best Mac notch apps for Claude Code, Codex and other coding agents](https://www.notchstar.com/best/best-mac-notch-apps-for-ai-coding-agents/): Ten Mac notch apps that show or approve Claude Code and Codex activity: which approve, which only watch, with prices and limits, 4 November 2026.
- [Best Mac notch apps with a file shelf and AirDrop](https://www.notchstar.com/best/best-mac-notch-apps-with-a-file-shelf/): Ten Mac notch apps with a file shelf: how long files stay, AirDrop, actions on dropped files, prices and limits, checked from official pages on 4 November 2026.
- [Best Mac notch apps with clipboard history, compared](https://www.notchstar.com/best/best-mac-notch-apps-with-clipboard-history/): Ten Mac notch apps with clipboard history: how many items, search, password manager handling, prices and limits, checked on 4 November 2026.