Annotate vs KeyCastr

Side-by-side comparison for macOS

Annotate

7.0

Utilities

Keyboard-driven screen annotation tool

KeyCastr

8.0

Utilities

Open-source keystroke visualiser

Metric	Annotate	KeyCastr
Category	Utilities	Utilities
AI Score	7.0	8.0
30-day Installs	59	990
90-day Installs	59	3.0K
365-day Installs	59	13.0K
Version	1.4.1	0.10.5
Auto-updates	Yes	Yes
Deprecated	No	No
GitHub Stars	2.0K	14.7K
GitHub Forks	150	559
Open Issues	6	92
License	MIT	BSD-3-Clause
Language	JavaScript	Objective-C
Last GitHub Commit	6y ago	6mo ago
First Seen	Jun 24, 2026	Aug 9, 2023

Reviews

Annotate

Annotate is a keyboard-driven screen annotation tool that allows users to add notes and highlights directly on their screen. It's designed for efficiency and is particularly useful for developers and power users who prefer keyboard shortcuts. The app offers a clean and intuitive interface for marking up screenshots or any on-screen content.

Enables users to annotate their screen using keyboard shortcuts.

Pros

+ Efficient keyboard-driven interface for quick annotations
+ Open-source and MIT licensed for transparency and flexibility
+ Customizable annotations with various styles and colors

Cons

- Inactive development with no updates since 2020
- Niche appeal may limit its user base

KeyCastr

KeyCastr is an open-source keystroke visualizer that displays your keyboard input in real-time, making it ideal for presentations, demos, and teaching. It offers customization options for appearance and functionality, appealing to educators, developers, and anyone needing to showcase keyboard actions.

Visually displays keystrokes on the screen in real-time.

Pros

+ Open-source with active community support
+ Customizable appearance and functionality
+ Useful for presentations and teaching
+ Real-time keystroke visualization
+ Cross-platform support

Cons

- Niche tool with limited appeal beyond specific use cases
- Requires some setup and customization

View Annotate details → View KeyCastr details →