// GUIDE · UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2026
How to annotate a screen share in Zoom, Teams and Google Meet on a Mac
Zoom and Teams both have an Annotate button on the screen share toolbar. Google Meet's annotation is for paid Google Workspace accounts. To use the same tools in every app, and in recordings, use a screen annotation app and share your entire screen.
Each call app has its own annotation tools, and they don't carry over from one to the next. If you're in Zoom in the morning and Teams in the afternoon, that's two sets of tools to learn.
Here's how each one works, and the alternative that works in all of them.
METHOD 01
Zoom
Free with Zoom
Pen, text, stamps, a spotlight pointer and an eraser. Viewers can annotate too.
- 1Share your screen.
- 2Click Annotate on the share toolbar.
- 3Pick a tool and draw. You can save the result.
GOOD
- +Collaborative
- +Can save annotations
NOT SO GOOD
- −Zoom only
METHOD 02
Microsoft Teams
Free with Teams
Annotation uses Microsoft Whiteboard as an overlay on your share.
- 1Share your screen.
- 2Move to the top of the shared content to show the presenter toolbar and select Annotate.
- 3Choose whether everyone can annotate or only you.
GOOD
- +Collaborative
- +You control who can draw
NOT SO GOOD
- −Teams only
METHOD 03
Google Meet
Paid Google Workspace
Pen, highlighter and text boxes while presenting, with co-annotators.
- 1Present your screen in the Meet desktop app or Chrome.
- 2Open the annotation tools and draw.
GOOD
- +Built in for Workspace accounts
NOT SO GOOD
- −Not on free accounts
- −Meet only
METHOD 04THAT'S US
Overlaid
$11.99 once, 7-day free trial
The same tools and shortcuts in every call app, and in anything you record.
- 1Share your entire screen (not a single window).
- 2Press ⌃⌥D to turn on draw mode and draw with single-key tools.
- 3Press ⌃⌥D again to hand the mouse back to your apps.
GOOD
- +Works in Zoom, Teams, Meet, Slack, Discord and Webex
- +Keystrokes, zoom and cursor effects
NOT SO GOOD
- −Only you can draw
- −Doesn't show in single-window shares
// WHICHEVER YOU PICK
THREE TIPS.
Entire screen, not a window
Any annotation app draws in its own window. Share your entire screen so it's included.
Turn off notifications first
Sharing the whole screen means sharing notifications too. Turn on Do Not Disturb before you present.
Let viewers draw with the built-in tools
If you need the audience to mark things up, the call app's own annotation is the right tool. Overlaid is for you.
// FAQ
QUICK QUESTIONS.
You're probably sharing a single window. Annotation apps draw in their own transparent window on top, which a single-window share doesn't include. Share your entire screen.
Meet's own annotation is for paid Workspace accounts. On a free account, a screen annotation app on your Mac works as long as you present your entire screen.
// COMPARE
- Overlaid vs Zoom's built-in annotationThe annotation toolbar inside Zoom's screen share. Free, collaborative, and only inside Zoom.
- Overlaid vs PresentifyThe best-known Mac screen annotation app: drawing, cursor highlight, spotlight, zoom and a whiteboard.
- Overlaid vs DemoProA lightweight, hotkey-driven annotation app with cursor highlights, a whiteboard and a break timer.
// YOUR NEXT CALL
Draw on your screen in the next five minutes.
7 days free with every feature. Then a one-time purchase. No account, no subscription.