SHARA vs PowerToys: keep it free, add what Mouse Highlighter can’t
PowerToys is free and comes from Microsoft: Mouse Highlighter, Find My Mouse, Crosshairs and ZoomIt cost nothing. What they don’t put in one place is a laser, a pen and a halo that stay with you while you present. SHARA’s free tier adds the cursor halo, click flash, Laser, Pen, Arrow and text, and you can run it next to PowerToys. Here is where each one wins.
- You want a laser and pen beside the highlight. The cursor halo, Laser, Pen, Arrow and text labels are free. Mouse Highlighter and Find My Mouse only mark the pointer; drawing lives in ZoomIt.
- You want one toolbar instead of separate utilities. A docked toolbar or the Ctrl+Space Wheel holds every drawing tool next to the halo, so there is one place to look.
- You want keys and zoom on screen. The Keystroke Pill, Spotlight and three more zoom modes come with Pro, free for your first 14 days.
- You’d rather install from the Microsoft Store. SHARA needs no account and sends no telemetry.
- •You want everything at $0. PowerToys has no paid tier, and its click colours are free. In SHARA, custom click colours, Spotlight, zoom and the Keystroke Pill are Pro.
- •You record or time your demos. ZoomIt records MP4 or GIF, runs a break timer and types a script with DemoType. SHARA doesn’t record the screen.
- •You need Find My Mouse or crosshairs. Press Ctrl twice or shake the mouse to find the pointer, or draw crosshairs on it. SHARA lists neither.
Free forever: cursor halo, click animation, Pen, Laser, Arrow, Text, Eraser, Screenshot and the Ctrl+Space Wheel. Every Pro tool is free for your first 14 days, with no card and no account. After that, Pro is a one-time purchase ($19.99 in the US).
Updated November 1, 2026
PowerToys vs SHARA: the pointer, the pen and the price
PowerToys is a bundle of utilities; SHARA is one overlay. Both highlight the pointer, dim the screen, magnify and draw. These are the rows that decide it.
| What decides it | PowerToys | SHARA |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, all utilities | Free tier. Pro $19.99 once, 14-day refund |
| Install | GitHub installer, Microsoft Store or winget | Microsoft Store |
| Runs on | Windows 11, or Windows 10 2004 and newer; x64 or ARM64 | Windows 10 and 11 |
| Pointer highlight | ✓Mouse Highlighter: Circle, Spotlight or Ripple, toggled with Win+Shift+H | ✓Halo in three shapes and five sizes FREE, toggled with Ctrl+Win+H |
| Click colours | ✓Primary and secondary button colours | ✓Click flash FREE; custom left and right click colours PRO |
| Find a lost cursor | ✓Find My Mouse: press Ctrl twice or shake | Not listed: the halo stays on the pointer |
| Crosshairs | ✓Mouse Pointer Crosshairs | Not listed |
| Spotlight dim | ✓Spotlight mode, and Find My Mouse | ✓Dims the screen around the pointer PRO |
| Draw on screen | ✓ZoomIt: six pen colours, highlighters, line, rectangle, ellipse, arrow, text | ✓Pen, Arrow, text FREE; Highlighter and shapes PRO |
| Laser pointer | Not listed | ✓Laser that fades after 2.6 s FREE |
| Zoom | ✓ZoomIt Zoom (Ctrl+1) and LiveZoom (Ctrl+4) | ✓Lens, Live Zoom up to 8×, Broadcast PRO |
| Whiteboard | ✓ZoomIt whiteboard and blackboard (W and K) | ✓White, black or grid PRO |
| Keystrokes | Not listed on the Mouse utilities or ZoomIt pages | ✓Keystroke Pill, pauses in password fields PRO |
| Recording and timer | ✓ZoomIt records MP4 or GIF and has a break timer | Not a recorder; no break timer |
Try SHARA next to PowerToys on your own setup. The free tier never expires, and every install starts with a 14-day Pro trial.
Three differences that matter in a real session
Separate utilities or one overlay
Each PowerToys mouse tool has its own switch, shortcut and settings: Win+Shift+H for Mouse Highlighter, a double Ctrl for Find My Mouse, Ctrl+1 to Ctrl+9 across ZoomIt. SHARA puts the halo, Laser, Pen, zoom and keys on one docked toolbar or one Wheel.
Proof: Ctrl+Space opens the Wheel; the PowerToys defaults are on its Microsoft Learn pages.
Nothing, or nothing until you need more
PowerToys has no price at all. SHARA’s free tier already has the halo with its click flash, Laser, Pen, Arrow and text; Pro adds Spotlight, zoom, shapes, the Highlighter and the Keystroke Pill for one $19.99 payment. If the free tier is enough, you never pay.
Proof: SHARA pricing and the Free vs Pro line above.
A demo toolkit or a live presenter’s overlay
ZoomIt is described as a zoom, annotation and recording tool for technical presentations and demos, and it adds a break timer and DemoType. SHARA is built for the live moment: a halo and laser that stay on, with ink and zoom a key away.
Proof: Microsoft Learn’s ZoomIt page, and our SHARA vs ZoomIt page.
Run PowerToys and SHARA together in three steps
You don’t have to choose. The defaults don’t overlap: PowerToys uses Win+Shift+H and Ctrl+1 to Ctrl+9, SHARA uses Ctrl+Win shortcuts and Ctrl+Space, and every SHARA hotkey can be changed in Settings.
- Install SHARA free from the Microsoft Store.Keep PowerToys installed. SHARA starts with a 14-day Pro trial, so you can test Spotlight, zoom and the Keystroke Pill on a real talk.
- Give the pointer to one highlighter.If you use SHARA’s halo, press Win+Shift+H to turn Mouse Highlighter off, or switch it off in PowerToys Settings, so two circles don’t follow your pointer. Press Ctrl+Win+H to toggle the halo.
- Split the jobs.Keep ZoomIt for recording, the break timer and DemoType. Use SHARA for the halo, Laser, Pen, Arrow and keys: hold Ctrl+Space for the Wheel, or press Ctrl+Win+X to draw with the current tool. Press Ctrl+Win+Z to switch all of SHARA off.
Free forever tier. SHARA Pro is a $19.99 one-time lifetime license with a 14-day money-back guarantee, usable across your personal Windows devices via the Microsoft Store. See SHARA pricing and the 14-day trial.
PowerToys Mouse Highlighter and SHARA, answered
Is there a free alternative to PowerToys Mouse Highlighter?
Can Mouse Highlighter draw or show keystrokes?
Can I use PowerToys and SHARA at the same time?
Which Windows versions do they support?
Will people in Zoom or Teams see SHARA’s halo and ink?
Is SHARA free, and is Pro a subscription?
None of these worked: what now?
Keep PowerToys. Add the halo, laser and pen.
Halo, click flash, Pen, Laser, Arrow and text free forever. Spotlight, zoom, shapes and the Keystroke Pill for one $19.99 payment.
Disclosure and methodology: Mashyo makes SHARA. We compared documented features, not a benchmark: PowerToys facts come from Microsoft Learn (Mouse utilities, ZoomIt and Install PowerToys), the Sysinternals ZoomIt page and the PowerToys GitHub releases page, read November 1, 2026; SHARA facts from the app. Where PowerToys doesn’t list a feature, we say “not listed” rather than assume it’s missing. PowerToys updates often, so check Microsoft Learn before you decide. Last updated: November 1, 2026.
