The best screen recording software in 2026

Show, don't tell. It's simple enough advice, and screen recording software makes it easier to follow.

Screen capture apps record what's happening on your screen, including the movement and interaction of your cursor, so you can deliver instructions, describe problems, or share knowledge. Writing out descriptions of such things takes significantly longer than just showing someone your screen, but you're usually not standing next to the person or people who need to see your screen. Video capture apps solve that problem.

I've been updating this list for the past few years. This year, I evaluated and tested 50 screen recording apps, and here I'll present the seven best.

The 7 best video capture apps

• Loom for quickly recording and sharing on the desktop

• Camtasia for advanced video editing

• OBS Studio for advanced recording tools and live streaming

• Descript for automatic transcription

• Screen Studio for quickly creating professional-looking videos

• Tella for beginner-friendly advanced editing

• Zappy for quick recordings on Mac

What makes the best screen recorder for PC or Mac?

The best screen capture software makes it really easy to show how things work—or, if you're filing a support ticket, how they don't work. But different people are going to be looking for different things. In my research, I tested several dozen apps, ranging from minimalistic three-button windows to complex apps overflowing with tools. The options are priced from free all the way up to several hundreds of dollars. Each of my picks for best screen recorder app offers a unique feature, but they all meet some basic criteria:

• The ability to record your whole screen, one window/app, or a specific area

• The option to superimpose a webcam feed over the screen capture

• Simultaneous microphone and system audio recording

• Built-in video sharing and/or convenient exporting tools

• An intuitive, friendly user interface

• Affordable pricing plans that match the value

Of course, the process doesn't end with the screen recording. The quality of the final product can make or break user engagement, so I also considered the post-capture editing features.

One thing to note: It's possible that an app you already use has screen recording built in. Many video conferencing, communication, and productivity tools have added screen recording to their feature sets (like Dropbox Capture and Vimeo Record), so it's worth checking if you can get the capabilities you need from a tool that's already in your stack.

Plus, iPhones and Androids both have a built-in screen recording feature. If you're just looking to record your phone screen, that may be all you need.

To record your screen on iPhone:

1. Add screen recording to your Control Center by swiping down from the top right-hand corner of your screen to open Control Center, tapping the small + in the top left, then tapping Add a Control along the bottom and choosing Screen Recording.

2. When you're ready to record, swipe down from the top right corner of your screen to open Control Center, tap the Record icon, then wait for the three-second countdown (you'll see this just to the right of your dynamic island, followed by a red light indicator while recording).

3. Stop the recording by swiping down and tapping the Record button again (it'll be red now), or by tapping the red recording indicator to the right of your dynamic island.

To record your screen on an Android:

1. Swipe down twice from the top of your device's screen, and tap the Screen record option.

2. Choose your recording area, opt to record audio and screen touches (or not), and tap Start.

3. When finished, swipe down from the top again, and tap the Screen recorder notification to end the recording.

That's it! Your recording is automatically saved to your Photos app on either device.

The best screen recording software at a glance

Best screen recording software for quickly recording and sharing on desktop

Loom (Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone/iPad, Chrome)

Loom pros:

• Super easy to use and works across devices

• Generous free plan

Loom cons:

• The mobile apps aren't perfect

If you want to quickly record something and share a link, give Loom a chance. Loom isn't overly complicated when it's time to record: you can choose whether you want to record just your screen, your screen with webcam video, or just your webcam. Once you finish, your video will be uploaded to Loom. You can do some basic editing in the browser, if you want, or you can copy the link to share the video. It's all very quick, which makes it, overall, the best screen recorder.

With the free version of Loom, you can store up to 25 videos of up to five minutes each. It's limited, sure, but great for quickly showing something to a collaborator or coworker. And you can always download your videos and store them somewhere else if you're getting close to that 25-video threshold. 

The company recently wrapped a beta on AI features, including automatic transcription, auto-generated titles, summaries, and chapters, auto-suggested tasks and next steps for viewers, and removing filler words and silence. The transcription aspect is the most helpful—some folks are using it to create SOPs based on screen recordings.

Regardless of what you're recording, Loom will get the job done without a lot of fuss for most users.

Loom pricing: Free for 25 videos of up to five minutes. Business plans start at $18/month/user with unlimited videos and recording length.

Best screen recording software for advanced video editing

Camtasia (Windows, Mac)

Camtasia pros:

• Simple, easy-to-use capture

• Robust editing features

Camtasia cons:

• High upfront cost

The Camtasia video capture interface is straightforward and no-nonsense. You choose your capture area, whether or not to include webcam and microphone inputs, and click Record.

Its built-in video editor is a different story. There's an exhaustive list of editing options that manage not to feel overwhelming. Click-and-drag effects and a decent selection of stock media are located along the left-hand side of the app, with detailed properties and customizations appearing on the right-hand side whenever you select an element from the timeline.

Camtasia provides outstanding tutorial videos for anyone who struggles with its editing tools. Creating surprisingly professional intro and outro segments and dropping them into my test video took a matter of seconds. My only hiccup was with the interactivity features, which allow you to add quizzes or clickable buttons to your project. Configuring these elements was easy enough, but previewing the video and exporting the final product was noticeably more complicated after adding interactivity.

This is also the only app I tested with a closed captions tool that loops audio while you add the text. A four-second segment plays until you're done typing, and then you can press Tab, and it plays the next loop.

My one complaint about Camtasia is the pricing structure. There's no monthly option, and even the entry-level Starter plan is quite limited, so it's a bigger upfront investment than most. That said, if you know you like the interface, the cost is lower over time than most.

Camtasia pricing: Limited Starter plan from $39/year; upgrade to the Essentials plan for $179.88/year to remove Camtasia's watermark from your videos.

Best screen recording software for advanced recording tools and live streaming

OBS Studio (Windows, Mac, Linux)

OBS pros:

• Live streaming and advanced recording tools

• It's totally free

OBS cons:

• Can be difficult for beginners

OBS is a screen record app that's mostly built with live streaming in mind—if you've ever watched someone play games on Twitch, for example, they were probably using OBS. But you can also use it to record videos (it's by far the most robust tool for doing so), and it's free, so it's a great choice if you're looking for Camtasia alternatives.

Most of the apps in this list let you record using a webcam and your display. OBS Studio can go much, much beyond that. It's a complete tool for broadcasting, meaning you can add as many displays and cameras as your computer can handle. You can also create customizable "studios," preset audio and video configurations that you can cycle through during a recording.

Sizing and positioning elements within each studio is a simple click-and-drag affair, and cycling through them during a recording session is controlled with a hotkey.

With enough preparation, these audio and video presets eliminate the need to fuss with any settings while streaming live video via OBS's robust integrations. There are 85 platforms in the live streaming menu, ranging from big-name sites like Facebook Live, YouTube, and Twitch, to obscure streaming platforms like Pandora TV. Opening the Settings menu and pasting your stream key into the text box is all it takes to set up the one-click Start Streaming button on the main dashboard. Changes you make to a studio, such as sound mixing or webcam placement, are broadcast live—make sure you're ready.

OBS Studio pricing: Free

Best screen recorder for automatic transcription and AI

Descript (Web, Mac, Windows)

Descript pros:

• Top-notch automatic transcription

• Useful AI editing features

• User-friendly

Descript cons:

• Limited free plan

Descript is known primarily for automated video and audio transcription and editing, but the company also offers a screen recording app, which, when combined with super high-quality transcription and AI, makes it a strong contender.

The desktop screen recorder, available for both Mac and Windows devices, features a delightfully simple control panel that's easy to learn and use during recording. Every screen recording with audio is automatically transcribed—and the transcription is top-tier.

Post-recording, you can use the transcript to automatically add captions (in a huge variety of styles) and make tons of edits, like changing the background color, adding transitions, and even overlaying additional media. Perhaps my favorite feature is the ability to cut and trim the video by simply deleting words or sentences from the transcript.

You can also let Descript's AI assistant, Underlord, edit for you. Found at the bottom of the right-hand menu, Underlord can remove filler words, shorten word gaps, add time-stamped chapters, and create clips or highlight reels, among plenty of other options.

Descript pricing: Free for up to 1 hour of recording and transcription per month, plus 100 (one-time) AI credits per editor; upgrade to the Hobbyist plan for $24/person/month for up to 10 hours of recording and transcription and 400 AI credits per month.

Best screen recording software for quickly creating professional-looking videos

Screen Studio (Mac)

Screen Studio pros:

• Incredibly user-friendly

• Tons of customization and editing options

• Options to save preset settings for reuse

Screen Studio cons:

• Limited built-in sharing

• Mac-only

Screen Studio is the app I was most excited about after testing this year. It's a great overall option for Mac users with all the standard recording area controls and input support you expect, plus a simple, incredibly usable and modern interface.

Recording your screen is super straightforward, but Screen Studio shines when it comes to post-production. You get really granular control over the background, movement of your cursor and zoom, and webcam overlay. From within the same app, you can add a background, change or add cursor effects, alter the size, shape, and positioning of your webcam overlay, and even zoom in on the area around your cursor. In fact, the app will automatically zoom in and move smoothly across the screen to follow your mouse.

One of my favorite features: after you finish editing, you can save those settings as a named preset to reuse on future videos. So if you're recording a bunch of product demos or tutorials, for example, you can ensure they all have the same look and feel in practically no time at all.

There's no free plan here, but you can try out the full Screen Studio app for free and only pay when you're ready to export your video.

(One last note: Screen Studio doesn't let you screenshot anymore, so the screenshot you see above is from last year, when it wasn't yet blocked. The interface is still pretty similar, though.)

Screen Studio pricing: $29/month for the Monthly plan, which includes all features and link sharing for up to 3 Mac devices; from $9/month for the Yearly plan.

Best screen recording software for beginner-friendly advanced editing

Tella (Web, Mac, Chrome)

Tella pros:

• Simple desktop app

• Powerful, easy-to-use editing

• Affordable paid plans

Tella cons:

• No free plan

Tella is among the most modern and user-friendly screen recording tools I tested this year. The Mac app and Chrome extension are super streamlined and low-touch, making it seamless and quick to record your screen on any device.

You can opt to record your microphone, webcam, screen, or any combination of these, and choose which display, window, or custom area to share. Click the three dots in the top right to view speaker notes while you record, or open your Tella library in the web app.

From there, editing happens within Tella's web app. Once you finish a recording, it automatically opens in the web app. Just click Edit along the top-right menu, and you'll find the editing tools along the right-hand menu.

There's no shortage of editing features here: from the standard trimming and slapping your logo on to more advanced zoom effects, backgrounds, and subtitles in a variety of styles. The web app is exceedingly straightforward—even the greenest of beginners can quickly find the tools they need and produce a pro-level video in a matter of minutes.

Tella pricing: Starts at $13/user/month (billed annually) for the Pro plan, which includes unlimited videos and recording duration and AI editing.

Best screen recording software for quick recordings on Mac

Zappy (Mac)

Zappy pros:

• Simple and quick

• Allows you to make GIFs

• Totally free

Zappy cons:

• Limited feature set

• Mac-only

As the tools above show, there's no shortage of capable, feature-heavy screen recording apps. But sometimes, you just want to quickly record a clip of your screen without any fuss—and you just don't need any other features slowing you down or getting in your way.

Zappy is perfect for this. You can open the app via keyboard shortcut or from the icon in your Mac menu bar. Simply choose the area of your screen you want to record, hit the camera button to add your webcam (or not), and hit record. You can capture static screenshots and looped GIFs via the same quick flow, too.

While recording, you can mark up your screen with drawing, arrows, boxes, basic text, and obfuscation.

For free users, recordings are stored locally on your device. For paid Zapier users, recordings are saved to the cloud and the link is automatically copied to your clipboard, making it super quick to share.

Zappy pricing: Free for local recordings, screenshots, and GIFs. Paid Zapier users can automatically upload all recordings to the cloud (Paid Zapier plans start at $19.99/month).

Screen recording software FAQ

Here are some questions lots of people have about screen recording apps and how to choose the right one.

Why use screen recording software?

There are a ton of different reasons why you might need to record your screen. You might want to show someone how to do something, describe an issue, or share knowledge with coworkers—all of which can be done through a screen recording.

What's the best free screen recording tool?

It depends on what you want to record your screen for. For something simple, like just sharing what's on your desktop, Loom and Zappy are great options. For live streaming, OBS is a reliable choice.

Are there any free screen recorders that don't leave a watermark?

OBS and Zappy are free to use and don't include a watermark in your video recordings.

Finding the best screen recording software

The best screen recording app is the one that saves you the most time and produces the most worthwhile content for your audience. Make sure you know your target audience and use case before selecting an app. All the video recording software options I've listed are either free or come with trial versions, so give your top contenders a whirl, and see which you like best.

Related reading:

• Screenshot tools, tips, and shortcuts: How to capture anything on your screen

• Take full-page screenshots with this hidden Chrome shortcut

• How to take a screenshot on a Windows PC

• How to take screenshots on a Mac

• The best video editing software

This article was originally published in February 2019 by Ryan Farley and has also had contributions from Justin Pot. The most recent update was in March 2026.