Both can share to storage you own. One is a deep capture toolkit; the other folds capture into a full file manager.
FTPie - File manager with built-in capture & sharing
vs
ShareX - Free, powerful capture & upload tool
Updated July 2026
ShareX is a beloved, free, open-source Windows tool, and it deserves the praise: it captures anything, automates workflows, and can upload to dozens of destinations - including your own FTP server or cloud. If you want maximum control over a capture-and-upload pipeline, ShareX is hard to beat.
So this is not an "own storage vs their servers" story - ShareX can absolutely use your storage. The honest difference is scope and simplicity: ShareX is a dedicated, deeply configurable capture toolkit; FTPie is a full file manager that happens to include capture and one-click sharing, so the screenshots and recordings you take live in the same app where you manage all your files.
Where ShareX shines
ShareX has more capture power than FTPie, full stop: scrolling capture, OCR, GIF recording, a workflow/automation engine, hotkey customization for everything, and a huge list of upload destinations. It is free and open source. For a power user who lives in screenshots and wants to script every step, ShareX is the better dedicated tool - and the price is unbeatable.
The cost of that power is complexity. ShareX's settings are famously deep, configuring a custom uploader can take real effort, and it is purely a capture/upload utility - it does not browse, transfer, or manage the files afterwards.
Where FTPie fits
FTPie's capture tools are simpler by design: capture a region, annotate, or record your screen, and Quick Share returns a link from a cloud account you own. The advantage is that it is one feature of a real file manager - the same app where you browse cloud and FTP storage, transfer between them, edit files and run backups. Capture is part of your file workflow, not a separate utility to wire up.
And when you don't want a cloud involved at all, FTPie 2026.11.1 added Get link: the screenshot itself goes to ftpie.link, FTPie's own link service, with nothing to configure. 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.
ShareX can upload anywhere too - the difference is that this is the default, not a custom destination you configure.
Side-by-side comparison
Feature
FTPie
ShareX
Share to storage you own
Screenshot & screen recording
Advanced capture (scrolling, OCR, workflows)
Simple setup (no uploader config)
Partial
Full file manager (browse / transfer / edit)
Cloud + FTP/SFTP/WebDAV management
Free & open source
Partial
Pricing compared (2026)
ShareX is completely free and open source. FTPie's model:
FTPie Free - up to 3 FTP/FTPS/SFTP connections, free forever
FTPie Pro - $9/month or $59/year - cloud services and the full tool set
Lifetime - a one-time license ($99, one-time), no recurring cost
On price ShareX wins outright. What FTPie's tiers buy is everything around capture: the file manager, cloud accounts, transfers, backups and the zero-config sharing - see the plan comparison.
So which should you pick?
If capture is the job and you want the most powerful, scriptable, free tool for it - and you do not mind configuring it - pick ShareX. It is excellent and we will not pretend otherwise.
If you would rather capture and share as part of a tool you already use to manage your cloud and FTP files - with a far simpler path to a link on storage you own - FTPie is the more convenient home for it. As a ShareX alternative it trades capture depth for an all-in-one file workflow. Many people happily use both.
Common questions
Is FTPie a good ShareX alternative?
If what you want from ShareX is screenshots and recordings shared from storage you own, yes - FTPie does that with far less configuration, inside the app you also use to manage cloud and FTP files. If you need scrolling capture, OCR or scripted capture workflows, ShareX remains the deeper dedicated tool.
Can ShareX upload to my own FTP server or cloud?
Yes - that's one of ShareX's strengths, with dozens of destinations. The difference is setup: configuring ShareX custom uploaders takes real effort, while FTPie shares through the storage accounts you've already connected, with no uploader configuration.
Is ShareX really free?
Yes - completely free and open source, no tiers or catches. FTPie's capture tools are part of the broader app, which has a free plan and paid tiers.
Can I use ShareX and FTPie together?
Absolutely - a common combo is ShareX for advanced captures and FTPie for file management, with both uploading to the same storage you own.
