The best screen drawing apps for Mac in 2026
Seven apps for circling, underlining and sketching over anything on your Mac's screen during demos, calls, lessons and recordings, compared side by side.
JellyDraw is the best choice for most Mac users who present, teach or record. It's the only screen annotation app we've found whose drawings stay attached to the window they mark up, so moving the window or switching apps never leaves your circles pointing at the wrong thing. The core tools are free, and Pro is a one-time $9.99.
- Need zoom, a cursor spotlight or a Windows version? Look at ZoomIt for Mac (free) or Presentify ($14.99).
- On an Intel Mac or a macOS version older than Tahoe 26.2? JellyDraw won't run there; try Annotate or Scribbble.
The problem with drawing on your screen
Every screen drawing app works the same basic way: press a shortcut, and a transparent sheet appears over your screen to draw on. The trouble is that the sheet is glued to the screen, not to what you drew on.
So you circle a button in Safari, drag Safari aside to show something else, and the circle is now floating over your desktop. Press ⌘Tab to answer a question in Slack and your Safari notes are now scribbled across Slack. Most apps deal with this by making you erase and start again, or by fading your ink away after a few seconds.
Drawings stay at a fixed spot on the screen. Move the window or switch apps and they point at nothing.
Each drawing belongs to the window under it. It moves with the window, hides with it, and comes back with it.
What Smart Window Anchoring does
JellyDraw's Smart Window Anchoring attaches each drawing to the app window you drew it on. In practice that means:
Drag a window and its drawings come along, at 60 frames per second, staying exactly on the thing you circled.
Switch apps freely. Your Safari notes stay on Safari, your Xcode notes stay on Xcode, and each set is still there when you switch back.
Windows stack the way you'd expect. If another window slides over an annotated one, it covers that window's drawings too, instead of the ink floating on top of everything.
Minimize a window or move it to another Space and its drawings go with it. Close the window and they're cleared.
Need the whole screen? Press Tab to draw anywhere across every display, or switch to a whiteboard or blackboard.
JellyDraw only needs macOS Accessibility access to do this, which it uses to read where your windows are. It never reads what's inside them and never records your screen.
At a glance
| App | Drawings stay on their window | Price | Free to keep using | Shapes & text | Zoom / spotlight | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JellyDraw | Yes, moves and switches with it | Free · Pro $9.99 once | Yes | Pro | No | macOS 26.2+, Apple Silicon |
| Presentify | No, fixed to the screen | $14.99 | No | Yes | Yes | macOS 13+ |
| ZoomIt for Mac | No, fixed to the screen | Free, open source | Yes | Yes | Yes | macOS 14+ |
| Overlaid | Per Space, not per window | $4.99 once | 7-day trial | Yes | Yes | macOS 14+ |
| Annotate | No, fixed to the screen | $29 once | No | Yes | Spotlight | macOS 12+, Windows |
| Scribbble | No, fixed to the screen | One-time license | Free to try | Yes | Yes | macOS 14+ |
| DrawPen | No, fixed to the screen | Free, open source | Yes | Yes | No | macOS, Windows, Linux |
From each developer's own website or App Store listing on October 22, 2026. "Fixed to the screen" means the app draws on a screen-wide overlay and doesn't describe attaching drawings to windows. Spotted something out of date? Email support@jellydraw.app and we'll fix it.
The apps, one by one
1. JellyDraw: best overall, and the only one that follows your windows
JellyDraw lives in your menu bar. Press ⌃⌥⌘Space from any app, draw, and press Esc to get your Mac back. Your drawings stay put on their windows until you clear them.
It's deliberately simple: one small palette, single-letter tool shortcuts, smooth vector ink, and everything you draw can be selected, moved or undone. The free version isn't a trial. Window anchoring, the pen, highlighter, eraser, whiteboard and blackboard, and drawing on every display are free for good. Pro adds rectangles, ovals, lines, text, PNG/SVG export and accent colors for a one-time $9.99, on up to 5 of your Macs.
- Best for
- Live demos, screen-shared calls, teaching and tutorials, where you move between windows while you talk
- Stands out
- Drawings that follow their window; generous free tier; no analytics, no account, no screen recording permission
- Missing
- No zoom, cursor spotlight or auto-fading ink; no Intel or Windows version
2. Presentify: the most presentation features
Presentify is a long-running menu bar app with shapes, text, a highlighter, auto-erasing ink, a whiteboard, and cursor highlight, spotlight and zoom. It's a strong pick if you want lots of presenter effects. Its drawings sit on the screen rather than on a window, so moving or switching windows means redrawing.
- Best for
- Presenters who want cursor effects and zoom
- vs JellyDraw
- More effects, but costs more up front, has no free tier, and your ink doesn't follow your windows. Full JellyDraw vs Presentify comparison
3. ZoomIt for Mac: best free zoom tool
The classic Windows presenter tool now has an official Mac version. It's built around zooming into part of the screen, with drawing, typing, screenshots, a break timer and screen recording on top. Install it with Homebrew. Drawings are made over a still or live zoomed view of the screen, not attached to windows.
- Best for
- Technical presenters who mainly need zoom
- vs JellyDraw
- Free with more utilities, but drawing is a side feature and it feels like a Windows tool
4. Overlaid: most tools for the price
Overlaid packs in a lot: shapes, a ruler, blur for hiding private info, zoom, cursor effects and an on-screen keystroke display. It's the closest to JellyDraw on context: each Space keeps its own drawings. But apps that share a Space also share drawings, so moving a window or switching between apps on one desktop still leaves your ink behind.
- Best for
- Screencasters who want keystrokes and blur
- vs JellyDraw
- More tools, but drawings are tied to the desktop Space, not to the window you drew on
5. Annotate: for mixed Mac and Windows teams
Annotate draws across all your displays with a pen, shapes, text and a cursor spotlight, and can hide ink from screen captures. Its team and classroom pack makes sense if some of your people are on Windows.
- Best for
- Teams that need one tool on Mac and Windows
- vs JellyDraw
- Cross-platform and runs on older Macs, but about three times the price and drawings stay on the screen
6. Scribbble: a good all-rounder for older Macs
Scribbble covers the usual tools plus a spotlight, magnifier, pixel ruler, auto-fading ink and snapshots. A solid choice if your Mac can't run macOS Tahoe.
- Best for
- Intel Macs and older macOS versions
- vs JellyDraw
- More utilities, but drawings don't follow windows
7. DrawPen: free and cross-platform
DrawPen is a simple overlay with a pen, shapes, text, highlighter, laser pointer and whiteboard. It's a fine no-cost option, especially if you also use Linux.
- Best for
- Free, basic drawing on any OS
- vs JellyDraw
- Free across platforms, but a basic overlay that isn't built for the Mac
Which one should you pick?
Questions
Is there a Mac app that keeps screen drawings attached to a window?
Yes: JellyDraw. Its Smart Window Anchoring attaches each drawing to the window under it, so the drawing moves with the window and hides and reappears with it when you switch apps. As of October 2026 we haven't found another Mac annotation app that does this; the others draw on a transparent layer fixed to the screen.
What's the best free app for drawing on the screen on a Mac?
JellyDraw's free version includes the pen, highlighter, eraser, select and move, undo and redo, whiteboard and blackboard, drawing on every display, and window anchoring, with no time limit. ZoomIt for Mac and DrawPen are also free and open source, but their drawings stay fixed to the screen.
How do I draw on my screen during a Zoom, Meet or Teams call?
Install a screen annotation app like JellyDraw, share your entire screen rather than a single window, then press ⌃⌥⌘Space and draw. When you share just one window, most meeting apps capture only that window and leave overlays out.
Does macOS have a built-in way to draw on the screen?
Not live. macOS Markup works on screenshots, PDFs and images after you've captured them. To draw over apps while you're presenting, you need a separate app.
Does JellyDraw record my screen or collect data?
No. It asks only for Accessibility access, to read the position and size of the window you're drawing on. It never reads what's inside your windows, doesn't need Screen Recording permission, and has no analytics or tracking. Drawings stay in memory on your Mac until you clear them or export a copy.
Does JellyDraw work on Intel Macs or older macOS versions?
No. JellyDraw needs macOS 26.2 (Tahoe) or later on a Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or newer). On an older Mac, Annotate, Scribbble and Presentify support earlier versions of macOS.
Do drawings follow the content when I scroll?
Not yet. Window anchoring follows the window itself: moving it, switching apps, minimizing and changing Spaces. Scrolling inside the window doesn't move the drawings.
Draw on your Mac. Keep it on the window.
JellyDraw is free to download, with window anchoring included. Upgrade to Pro once for $9.99 when you want shapes, text and export.
macOS 26.2 or later · Apple Silicon · 14-day refund on Pro