KeyCastr vs Annotate

Side-by-side comparison for macOS

KeyCastr

8.0

Utilities

Open-source keystroke visualiser

Annotate

7.0

Utilities

Keyboard-driven screen annotation tool

Metric	KeyCastr	Annotate
Category	Utilities	Utilities
AI Score	8.0	7.0
30-day Installs	1.4K	104
90-day Installs	3.8K	235
365-day Installs	13.5K	235
Version	0.11.0	1.5.0
Auto-updates	Yes	Yes
Deprecated	No	No
GitHub Stars	14.7K	2.0K
GitHub Forks	559	150
Open Issues	92	6
License	BSD-3-Clause	MIT
Language	Objective-C	JavaScript
Last GitHub Commit	8mo ago	6y ago
First Seen	Aug 9, 2023	Jun 24, 2026

Reviews

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

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

View KeyCastr details → View Annotate details →