TextSniper and Toolnotch both copy text you can't select: a slide in a video call, a paused video, a scanned PDF, an error dialog. Press a shortcut, drag a box around the text, paste. TextSniper is a dedicated app for that one job and adds QR and barcode reading and text to speech. Toolnotch does the same capture with ⇧⌘2 as part of its clipboard history, Pasteback, which also finds text inside screenshots you took weeks ago. And Toolnotch includes other tools for the same price: a window manager, eye breaks and keep-awake. If capture is all you need, TextSniper is cheaper. If you'd use more, Toolnotch covers it.
I make Toolnotch, so read with that in mind. TextSniper's details come from textsniper.app and its Mac App Store listing, checked on 20 October 2026.
What each app does
| TextSniper | Toolnotch (Pasteback) | |
|---|---|---|
| Drag a box, get the text on the clipboard | Yes | Yes |
| Default shortcut | ⇧⌘2 | ⇧⌘2 |
| Works on video, screen shares, PDFs, images, dialogs | Yes | Yes |
| Read QR codes and barcodes | Yes | No |
| Read the text aloud (text to speech) | Yes | No |
| Find text inside screenshots and images you copied earlier | No | Yes, search in the clipboard history |
| Clipboard history | No | Yes (⇧⌘C) |
| New screenshots kept on a shelf in the notch for 24 hours | No | Yes |
| Language support | Depends on your macOS version | Depends on your macOS version (Apple's text recognition) |
| Window manager, eye breaks, keep-awake | No | Yes (Wyndow, Bodybreak, Staywake) |
Price and licence
| TextSniper | Toolnotch | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $7.99 (1 Mac), $9.99 (3 Macs), $11.99 (unlimited) on its site; $9.99 on the Mac App Store | $19.99 ($4.99 for the first 10 buyers, then $9.99 for the next 100) |
| Model | One-time; major upgrades cost extra | One-time; every update included |
| Future tools | n/a | Every future Toolnotch tool included |
| Trial | Through Setapp's one-week trial | None; 14-day refund, no questions |
| Refund | 7-day money-back guarantee (site) | 14 days |
| macOS | 10.15 Catalina or later on its site; 12 or later on the App Store | 15 Sequoia or later |
Capture, side by side
The gesture is the same in both apps, and so is the default key. Press ⇧⌘2, the screen dims, you drag over the text and let go. The text is on your clipboard.
In Toolnotch, an island under the notch confirms « Text copied · 3 lines », or « No text found » if the box held nothing readable. No file is saved. The first time, Toolnotch shows a short demo and asks for Screen Recording access, which macOS requires for any app that reads other apps' windows. Only the area you select is read, on your Mac, with Apple's text recognition. TextSniper's languages also depend on your version of macOS. Its FAQ warns that text full of symbols, such as code, can come out with errors; that holds for any OCR, so check a long command before you run it.
TextSniper goes further on the capture itself: it reads QR codes and barcodes, and it can read the text aloud, which helps language learners and people with dyslexia. Toolnotch does neither.
Where Toolnotch goes further
Old screenshots become searchable. Pasteback reads every image you copy, in the background. Weeks later, press ⇧⌘C, type a word that was in the picture, and the screenshot comes up; choose Copy Text and its lines are copied. See search the text in your screenshots.
Everything lands in a history. Text you capture with ⇧⌘2 goes into the clipboard history like any copy, so it's still there tomorrow.
Screenshots wait under the notch. New screenshots stay on Pasteback's shelf for 24 hours. Drag one straight into a chat or an email without opening Finder.
Three more tools. Wyndow snaps windows with ⌃⌥ and the arrows and puts them back when you replug a display. Bodybreak gives eye breaks that wait for calls. Staywake keeps the Mac awake while a terminal job runs. One licence covers three Macs and every tool added later.
What TextSniper does better
It's cheaper, $7.99 for one Mac. It reads QR codes and barcodes, it reads text aloud, and it supports older Macs, back to macOS Catalina on its website version. It's a small menu bar app that does one job, an App Store Editors' Choice, and you can try it through Setapp. If you don't want a clipboard history in the notch, TextSniper is the lighter choice.
Can you run both?
Both want ⇧⌘2 by default, so change one of them. In Toolnotch, the shortcut is in Settings › Pasteback, where you can also turn screen text capture off and keep the rest.
Which one to choose
Choose TextSniper if you only need to grab text from the screen, or read QR codes and have text read aloud.
Choose Toolnotch if you'd also use a clipboard history that finds words in old screenshots, plus a window manager and eye breaks, for one price.
Before buying anything, macOS's built-in Live Text may be enough: see copy text from anywhere on the screen. Try ⇧⌘2 on a shared slide on toolnotch.app, or see pricing.
FAQ
Is there a free TextSniper alternative?
Live Text, built into macOS, copies text from images in Preview, Photos, Safari and paused videos. For text in other apps, take a screenshot and use Live Text on it. It's free, with a few more steps.
Does Toolnotch read QR codes?
No. TextSniper does.
Does the text leave my Mac?
Not with Toolnotch: it reads only the area you select, on your Mac, and nothing is sent anywhere.
Which languages does it recognise?
Toolnotch uses Apple's text recognition, which covers the languages your version of macOS supports and detects the language by itself. TextSniper lists its languages per macOS version on its site.