ScreenMate vs Scribe
For freelancers, small agencies and virtual assistants deciding between a simple browser recorder and Scribe. Facts checked on 2026-10-16; Scribe may have changed since.
Independent comparison
Who this comparison is for
Someone creating screenshot guides for clients or colleagues who wants to know whether a smaller, cheaper, browser-only tool is enough, or whether Scribe’s broader feature set is worth paying for.
Where ScreenMate fits
If you are a freelancer or a two-person agency who mostly needs branded, screenshot-based guides for clients and can live without desktop capture, ScreenMate’s Solo plan costs a fraction of Scribe Pro Personal and includes logo, colour, PDF/Markdown export and client folders.
Our limitation, stated plainly: ScreenMate records only web pages in desktop Chrome. No desktop apps, no mobile capture, no video.
Where Scribe is stronger
- Desktop (Windows/Mac) and mobile capture on paid plans — ScreenMate is browser-only.
- Word and HTML exports in addition to PDF and Markdown.
- Enterprise governance: SSO, SCIM, enforced automatic redaction, analytics.
- Integrations (Confluence, Slack bot, API) and a template library, per its homepage and pricing matrix.
Pricing and seats
Scribe prices are per seat; ScreenMate prices are per workspace. Annual prices are shown as the yearly total with the per-month equivalent in brackets, for both products.
| Plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing | Unit | Seat minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ScreenMate Free | Free | — | per workspace | 1 creator |
| ScreenMate Solo | $7/month | $70/year ($5.83/month) | per workspace | 1 creator |
| ScreenMate Team | $15/month | $150/year ($12.50/month) | per workspace | 3 creators included |
| Scribe Basic | Free | — | per seat | 1 |
| Scribe Pro Personal | $35/month | $300/year ($25/month) | per seat | 1 |
| Scribe Pro Team | $29/month | $276/year ($23/month) | per seat | 5 |
| Scribe Enterprise | Custom / not shown | — | unknown | not stated |
Things we could not confirm about Scribe
- Pro Team price appears twice with different figures ($29/$23 vs $17/$13 per seat per month); page gives no explanation
- Basic plan guide cap: not stated in text; matrix icon unreadable
- Tier mapping of Autocapture, 'share as video', version history (1 week vs unlimited) and insights rows could not be read from text
- 'Great value for teams of 3+' badge appears on every card including Basic and Enterprise
- Edu/nonprofit discount amounts not stated
- Direct curl to scribe.com was blocked by the proxy (403); all reads were via WebFetch summaries
Feature comparison
| Area | ScreenMate (implemented today) | Scribe (from official pages) |
|---|---|---|
| Capture | Chrome extension, web pages only | Browser extension (Chrome, Edge) on all plans; desktop app (Windows and Mac) and mobile capture on Pro and Enterprise. Feature matrix lists 'share as video' but its tier mapping is unclear; GIF output not stated on pricing page. |
| Free plan | 3 stored guides · 25 steps · PDF with ScreenMate footer · unlisted links · 100 MB | Browser capture (Chrome/Edge extension) of web apps · Basic editing · Link and embed sharing · No desktop capture · No custom branding · No PDF/HTML/Markdown export · No screenshot redaction · Guide count limit not clearly stated on pricing page |
| Paid entry price | $7/month (Solo) or $70/year — per workspace, 1 creator | Pro Personal: $35/month, or $300/year ($25/month equivalent) — per seat |
| Team price | $15/month or $150/year — per workspace, 3 creators | Pro Team: $29/month, or $23/month billed yearly — per seat, minimum 5 seats (the page also shows $17/$13; see the unconfirmed items above) |
| Branding | Logo + brand colour, attribution removed (Solo, Team) | Company branding on guides — Pro Personal and up; not on Basic |
| Exports | PDF; Markdown + images (Solo, Team) | PDF, HTML and Markdown — Pro Personal and up; not on Basic. Word export is mentioned on the homepage |
| Redaction | Manual, permanent (pixels rewritten) | Edit and redact screenshots — Pro Personal and up. Automatic PII/PHI redaction — Enterprise |
| Sharing | Private / unlisted (revocable) / public with separate indexing consent | Share by link and embed on every plan, including Basic |
| Folders & templates | Solo, Team | Not stated on pricing page (the homepage mentions a template library) |
| Video / GIF | Not available (roadmap) | A 'share as video' row exists in the feature matrix, but which tiers include it could not be read. GIF not stated |
| Desktop app | Not available | Windows and Mac desktop capture, plus mobile capture — Pro Personal and up |
| SSO / SCIM | Not available | SAML SSO and SCIM provisioning — Enterprise |
| AI | Limited monthly rewrite/translate actions, never automatic | AI auto-capture is advertised on every plan card (inclusion on Basic not confirmed); language translations — Enterprise |
“Not stated on pricing page” means exactly that — it may still exist. Capture scope for Scribe: Browser extension (Chrome, Edge) on all plans; desktop app (Windows and Mac) and mobile capture on Pro and Enterprise. Feature matrix lists 'share as video' but its tier mapping is unclear; GIF output not stated on pricing page.
A real example of ScreenMate’s output
This is a complete guide recorded with ScreenMate on our fictional practice shop: How to update the homepage headline (7 steps, with annotations and a brand colour). Open it on your phone to see the responsive reader.
Sources
Last checked: 2026-10-16. If you spot an error, tell us and we’ll fix it.