Comparison · checked 24/08/26
Looking for a ShotPut Pro alternative
ShotPut Pro has been the default answer in this category for years, and it earned that. This page is about the specific reasons people go looking for something else — and the reasons they stay.
Who should not switch
If ShotPut Pro works for you, you run one machine, you are on a stable macOS and you have no intention of replacing your cameras, buying it once and skipping the renewals is a perfectly rational thing to do. It will cost you less than a subscription, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
The numbers, from the vendor's own page
| ShotPut Pro (Mac) | Card Offloader Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Up-front | $169 | €0 |
| Ongoing | 12 months of updates included, then $59/yr auto-renew or $70/yr pay-as-you-go | €9.99/mo or €89/yr, 7-day trial |
| Three-year total | $287 | €267 |
| Machines covered | Single CPU application (may only be used on one computer at a time) | Every Mac on one Apple Account |
| Short-term option | 30-day rental, $60 | Free tier, no expiry |
The three-year gap is smaller than the sticker prices suggest, and if you skip the renewals ShotPut Pro is cheaper. The difference that does not close is the machine count: a freelancer with a laptop on set and a workstation at home needs two ShotPut Pro licences and one Card Offloader subscription.
What is the same
Both do verified copies from cards to multiple destinations, both write MHL, both produce reports for handover. Checksum verification is not a differentiator between these two products and it has not been for years — ShotPut Pro offers nine hash algorithms and does the job properly.
Where we are different
- One licence covers every Mac on your Apple Account, because it is sold through the Mac App Store. This is structural, not a promotion.
- Verification is in the free tier, in full. No expiry, no watermark, no reduced checking. You can evaluate the actual integrity behaviour without paying or starting a trial clock.
- We publish the verification method and its cost. Flush every device, then read back with the OS cache bypassed — documented, with what those extra seconds buy.
- Our ASC MHL output has been validated by the reference implementation, which then continued our chain of custody. The commands are published so you can repeat it.
- A failed file fails the job. No
completed with issues
, and the destination folder is literally named!!! INCOMPLETE - DO NOT USE AS BACKUP !!!until every file is verified.
Where ShotPut Pro is the better choice
- It runs on Windows. Card Offloader is macOS only, and there is no Windows version planned.
- It has a decade of production use behind it. We are new. On a job where nothing may go wrong, that is a real argument and you should weigh it.
- Established support and an established company. Ours is a small operation.
- If you never renew, $169 once beats €89 a year. Whether an offloader that stops being updated keeps understanding your next camera and your next macOS is the question to ask yourself — but the arithmetic is the arithmetic.
And the option neither of us wants to mention
If price is the reason you are here, the honest answer is that this category now has capable free software. Stow is free on macOS and Windows and writes ASC-MHL v2; lastcard is $59 once for two Macs with updates included (both checked 24/08/26). Our own free tier does one verified destination with no time limit.
Paying for Card Offloader makes sense for simultaneous destinations, a NAS in the workflow, the camera report, and the job queue. If you do not need those, use the free tools and spend the money on drives.
Free tier included, with full read-back verification and no time limit. Pro is €9.99 a month or €89 a year, covering every Mac on your Apple Account.