A Silverstack alternative for when all you need is the offload.
Silverstack XT is a full on-set data suite. If you only want the card copied, verified and filed, ShotGrab does that on its own, starts as soon as the card goes in, and costs nothing up to 128GB every two weeks.
Why people look for a Silverstack alternative
Silverstack is the industry's media-management suite. That is exactly why some people look for something smaller.
It is a suite, and you wanted the copy step
Silverstack XT covers offload and backup, a clip library, playback, QC tools, reports and scripting. For a DIT building a library across a production that is the point. For one person who just needs cards on disk, it is a lot of application around one task.
Licences run on a clock
Pomfort sells temporary licences for 10 days, 1 month or 2 months, or a yearly subscription that renews automatically. When a licence runs out, projects become read-only. Pomfort's product page doesn't list prices, so check its store for the current figures.
You may not need the DIT deliverables
ASC MHL, report templates and ALE or XML metadata exports matter when you hand a drive to post. If you are the shooter and the editor, you are paying a licence for output nobody will ask for.
ShotGrab vs Silverstack, side by side
They overlap on the copy-and-verify core and part ways everywhere after it.
| ShotGrab | Silverstack | |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing | Yes: Free up to 128GB every 14 days, then €5 Pass (30 days), €29 Yearly or €39 Lifetime until 30 Nov 2026 (then €69) | Temporary licences (10 days, 1 or 2 months) or an auto-renewing yearly subscription; projects go read-only after it ends |
| Platform | No: Mac only, macOS 13+ | Mac; Pomfort's requirements page lists no Windows version |
| Starts when a card is inserted | Yes: Yes, once a project is armed | Workflow automation chains tasks such as backups and reports |
| Checksum verification | Yes: SHA-256 while copying, always on | Yes: Checksum-verified offload |
| Several destinations | Yes: Any number, in a cascade starting from the fast disk | Yes: Cascading copy starting with the fastest drive |
| Two cards at once | Yes: Parallel lanes when the second card comes from a different reader | Not stated on its product page |
| Folders sorted from metadata | Yes: Date, camera and your own input from one template | Organizes through its clip library |
| Clip library, playback, QC | No: No, ShotGrab is an offload tool only | Yes: Clip library, native playback, scopes and frame-level checks |
| ASC MHL and PDF reports | No: No | Yes: ASC MHL support and PDF reports from templates |
| Hand-off to post | Yes: Optional automations hand the new folder to DaVinci Resolve, Lightroom Classic or Photo Mechanic | Yes: Metadata export as CSV, ALE or XML |
| Cloud backup | No: No, local and network volumes only | Not listed on its product page |
Competitor details from Pomfort's Silverstack XT product page (pomfort.com/silverstack) and licensing FAQ, checked October 2026. No prices are shown on the product page, so none are quoted here.
Where Silverstack wins: everything after the copy. Library, QC, playback, reports and MHL are things ShotGrab doesn't do and doesn't plan to pretend to do. If you work as or with a DIT, Silverstack is the right tool and this page is not trying to talk you out of it.
What switching looks like
- Install ShotGrab and create a project
Point it at your archive disk, set the folder template and add a second or third destination if you want the cascade.
- Arm it, plug in cards
Each card is copied, hashed with SHA-256 while it copies, re-read to confirm, and ejected. Duplicates already in the project are skipped.
- Hand the folder to your editor
Turn on the DaVinci Resolve, Lightroom Classic or Photo Mechanic automation in Settings and the finished folder opens there. If a job needs MHL or QC, run Silverstack on that job.
Questions
Is there a simpler alternative to Silverstack for copying SD cards on Mac?
ShotGrab does one thing: it copies cards to disk, verifies each file with SHA-256, sorts it into folders and ejects the card, with no clicks after you arm a project.
Is ShotGrab free compared with Silverstack?
ShotGrab is free up to 128GB of copied files every 14 days, with every feature on and no account. Silverstack is sold as temporary licences or a yearly subscription.
Can ShotGrab replace Silverstack on a DIT job?
Not if the job needs ASC MHL, reports, a clip library or QC. ShotGrab has none of those. It fits solo shooters and small crews who need the data safe and organized.
Does ShotGrab copy to more than one drive?
Yes. It verifies the primary copy, releases the card, then copies disk to disk to each secondary destination and verifies those copies as well.
Does ShotGrab need a recent macOS?
It needs macOS 13 or later. It is a Mac-only app and has no Windows version.
Keep reading
- Best SD card offload apps for Mac · ShotGrab vs OffShoot · Pricing · Features · Compare table · Other alternatives
Just need the offload? Start free.
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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