FTPie vs Gyazo

Updated July 2026

Gyazo nailed the instant-capture experience: grab a region, and a link to the image is on your clipboard a second later. It is fast and frictionless, which is exactly why people love it. The same model powers Zight (formerly CloudApp), Droplr and similar tools.

The trade-off is custody and cost. With Gyazo, your captures live on Gyazo's servers, and the genuinely useful parts - history, search, longer retention - sit behind a subscription. FTPie offers the same one-second capture-to-link flow, but the link points at a cloud account you own, for a one-time price.

Where Gyazo has the edge

Gyazo is honestly very good at its one thing. Its capture-to-link flow is instant, it works across Windows and Mac, and its hosted nature means a recipient just clicks a link - no thinking about where the file lives. The paid tiers add a searchable history, GIF capture and longer retention. If you want a zero-setup hosted service and do not mind the subscription, Gyazo is a fine choice.

Where FTPie has the edge

FTPie's screenshot tool captures and annotates, then Quick Share returns a link from a cloud account you control - and the screen recorder works the same way for video. Because the file lives on your storage, you keep it, you can delete it, and there is no third party retaining your captures or expiring them when a plan lapses. And it is one feature of a full file manager - the same app handles your cloud, FTP, backups and transfers - for a one-time price rather than a recurring fee.

Since FTPie 2026.11.1 there is a Gyazo-style option as well: Get link in the screenshot tool puts the capture itself on ftpie.link, FTPie's own link service, so a quick link needs no cloud account at all. It can carry a password, checked in the viewer's browser, and it is deleted after 30 days without a visit or as soon as you revoke it. So you choose per capture: a quick link that tidies itself away, or a lasting one on your own storage.

Side-by-side comparison

Pricing compared (2026)

Gyazo's free tier keeps only your most recent captures; the searchable history, GIF capture and longer retention require Gyazo Pro on subscription. FTPie's model:

• FTPie Free - up to 3 FTP/FTPS/SFTP connections, free forever
• FTPie Pro - $9/month or $59/year - cloud accounts, capture tools and the rest of the app
• Lifetime - a one-time license ($99, one-time), no recurring cost

The practical difference: with Gyazo you rent access to your own screenshot history; with FTPie the captures sit in your cloud account and the license can be one-time - see the plan comparison.

Switching from Gyazo to FTPie

• Connect a cloud account (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive...) - that becomes where your captures live. Or skip it and use Get link, which needs no cloud.
• Same one-second flow. Hotkey, capture, annotate if you like - the share link is on your clipboard, pointing at your storage.
• Your history is your folder. Captures accumulate in a normal cloud folder you can browse, organize, back up or delete - no retention limits, no plan-lapse expiry.

Try it with the free version or the 30-day Pro trial.

So which should you pick?

If you want the simplest possible hosted capture service, with a searchable history and nothing to manage, Gyazo (or Zight/Droplr) is purpose-built for that. Pick it if hosted convenience matters more than ownership.

If you would rather your captures live on storage you control, pay once instead of monthly, and have screenshots and recordings inside the same app you use for your cloud and FTP files, FTPie is the better fit. As a Gyazo alternative it puts ownership and a one-time price first.

Common questions

Related comparisons

Comparing capture tools? See how FTPie stacks up against ShareX and Loom - or take a look at FTPie's screenshot tool and screen recorder.