A ShotPut Pro alternative for people who don't want a preset per card.
ShotPut Pro is the long-time standard for offloading on set. ShotGrab is narrower: a Mac app that, once you arm a project, copies, verifies and sorts every card you plug in, and costs nothing until you pass 128GB in two weeks.
Why people look for a ShotPut Pro alternative
ShotPut Pro earned its reputation. Here is what pushes people to look elsewhere.
Perpetual, but updates are a second bill
The Mac license is $169 and includes 12 months of updates. After that, extended update coverage is $59 a year on auto-renewal ($70 pay-as-you-go). There is also a $60 30-day rental. If you run it for a single project, that is a lot of up-front cost.
The trial is a counter, not a free plan
The free demo is limited to 10 offloads within 30 days and needs an Imagine Products account and web access to activate. Paid activation needs internet as well, and a license covers one computer at a time.
It is built for reports, renaming and MHL
PDF reports with thumbnails, ASC MHL seals and token-based renaming presets are real strengths. If you never hand a report to anyone, you are carrying a setup you do not use, and you still choose a preset for each offload.
ShotGrab vs ShotPut Pro, side by side
Both verify every copy. They differ on how much you set up, what you can hand over, and what it costs to start.
| ShotGrab | ShotPut Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Yes: Free up to 128GB every 14 days, then €5 Pass (30 days), €29 Yearly or €39 Lifetime until 30 Nov 2026 (then €69) | $169 perpetual (12 months of updates), then $59/year for updates; 30-day rental $60 |
| Free option | Yes: Real free plan, every feature on, no time limit, no account | Demo limited to 10 offloads in 30 days, account required |
| Platform | No: Mac only, macOS 13+ | Yes: macOS and Windows; current versions run on macOS 13 and later |
| Starts when a card is inserted | Yes: Yes, once a project is armed | You set up the offload and choose a preset each time |
| Checksums | Yes: SHA-256, always on, can't be turned off | xxHash64 by default; XXHashH3, C4 and CRC-32C also listed |
| Several destinations | Yes: Any number, in an ordered cascade; the card is released after the first verified copy | Yes: Multiple verified copies from one source |
| Two cards at once | Yes: Parallel lanes for a second card from a different reader | Not stated on its Mac page |
| Folders sorted from metadata | Yes: Date, camera and your own input from one template | Yes: Sub-folder nesting and renaming in presets |
| Renaming files | No: No, original file names stay untouched | Yes: Dynamic renaming with tokens and auto-numbering |
| PDF reports | No: No | Yes: PDF with thumbnails, plus TXT and CSV |
| ASC MHL | No: No | Yes: MHL / ASC MHL seals |
| Hand-off to editing tools | Yes: Optional automations hand the new folder to DaVinci Resolve, Lightroom Classic or Photo Mechanic | Not listed on its Mac page |
Competitor details from Imagine Products' ShotPut Pro for Mac page (imagineproducts.com/product/shotput-pro/mac), checked October 2026. Prices in USD as listed there.
Where ShotPut Pro wins: Windows, reports, MHL seals and a renaming system ShotGrab doesn't attempt. If your job is delivering a sealed, reported offload to a post house, it is the right tool and ShotGrab is not.
What switching looks like
- Create a project in ShotGrab
Choose where the footage goes and how it should be foldered. Renaming stays out of it, so your camera file names arrive as they were.
- Arm the project and keep shooting
Plug in the first card. ShotGrab asks only the {INPUT} question your template needs, copies, verifies with SHA-256 and ejects.
- Run it beside ShotPut Pro for a week
ShotGrab's free tier covers 128GB every 14 days with everything on. Use it on a real job before you retire anything.
Questions
What is the best free alternative to ShotPut Pro on Mac?
ShotGrab: it is free up to 128GB of copied files every 14 days with every feature on, including SHA-256 verification and duplicate skipping. ShotPut Pro's demo is capped at 10 offloads in 30 days.
Does ShotGrab do MHL or PDF reports?
No. If you need ASC MHL seals or a PDF report with thumbnails for a client or post house, ShotPut Pro is the better tool for that job.
Can ShotGrab rename my files like ShotPut Pro presets?
No. ShotGrab never renames files; it sorts them into folders using date, camera and your own input, and leaves the original names alone.
Does ShotGrab run on Windows?
No. ShotGrab is a Mac app and needs macOS 13 or later. ShotPut Pro runs on both Mac and Windows.
Is the verification as strong as ShotPut Pro's?
ShotGrab hashes with SHA-256 while it copies, then re-reads the written file to confirm it, and this is always on. ShotPut Pro's default algorithm is xxHash64, which is built for speed; the choice matters mostly if a downstream tool expects a particular hash.
Keep reading
- ShotGrab vs ShotPut Pro in depth · Pricing · Features · Best SD card offload apps for Mac · Compare table · Other alternatives
Run your next card through ShotGrab.
Free is 128GB every 14 days with every feature unlocked. If you outgrow it: Pass €5 for 30 days, Yearly €29, or Lifetime €39 until 30 November 2026, then €69.
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