Best screen recorders

Edited byNataly Bogorad

December 23, 2021

We all know it’s better to show people how to do things than to tell them. With this list of the best screen-recording software programs, you’ll be able to capture videos, images, and audio from anywhere on your desktop and share it with anyone.

Quick summary

  • Editor’s choice: Movavi Screen Recorder
  • The screen-recording possibilities with Movavi are limitless. You can record anything, anywhere on your screen, and it does it at 60 fps.

  • Best software perk: TinyTake
  • TinyTake comes with cloud storage, so you can not only upload your screen recordings but other files as well.

  • Most customizable: OBS Studio
  • With OBS, you can customize hotkeys for a variety of functions. It’s the perfect set-up for video gamers who like to share videos.

  • Best Windows-only screen recorder: Ezvid
  • Ezvid only works on Windows, but it’s free, has a solid interface, runs really fast, and comes with a built-in editor.

  • No frills free editor: FlashBack Express
  • FlashBack Express doesn’t have a lot of extra tools, but it works smoothly and has no time limitations for recording.

  • Best online recorder: Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder
  • It’s rare to find a screen capture recorder that’s totally online but still has a swath of tools and features!

  • External camera integration: Debut Video Capture
  • Debut doesn’t have editing capabilities, but it can link up with external devices and integrate them into your videos.

  • Best if you need hosting: Screencast-O-Matic
  • Both the free and premium versions of Screencast-O-Matic come with 25 GB of hosting storage.

  • Best screen recorder for a Mac: ScreenFlow
  • It has a high price point, but this program offers everything you need to record from your screen and edit professional-quality videos.

  • Best Android screen recorder: AZ Screen Recorder
  • AZ has everything you want in a mobile screen-recording application. It captures, has tons of editing features, and shares with ease.

  • Best mobile video customization: XRecorder
  • XRecorder records in 1080 and at 60 FPS, but you can also adjust the resolution and FPS to save space.

  • Best iPhone screen recorder: Record it!
  • For the iPhone, nothing surpasses the features and functionality of Record it! This app creates professional mobile screen videos.

  • Multi-platform screen recorder: DU Recorder
  • DU Recorder works on every platform and has a wide range of functionality to help you create professional screen-recorded videos.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, we receive commissions.

Best screen-recording software

Movavi Screen Recorder has every tool you could ever need to capture video or screenshots on your computer. The program works for both professional and regular usage and comes at a price point that matches everything you get from the software.

With Movavi Screen Recorder, you can capture your entire screen, specific areas, or a window only. It allows you to record video games, video calls, and much more. In these videos, you can display your mouse and keystrokes, and you can also draw on the video while you’re recording. It even gives you the ability to schedule a screen-recording beforehand.

The interface is very easy to use, and Movavi offers a lot of support through their site with tutorials and video walk-throughs. It’s the perfect program for any user to capture their screen in any situation. Plus, it works on both Windows and PC.

What are its best features?

  • Unlimited recording capabilities. It can record games, video calls, etc
  • Records at 60 frames per second
  • Ability to take screenshots and edit
  • Save screen captures in a wide range of formats

What could be improved?

  • File sizes can be large

TinyTake is a great program for recording brief presentations, various tutorial videos and taking screenshots. It has a solid list of tools that allow you to record up to 120 minutes of video on your screen or a webcam. And you can capture video or images from the entire screen, a specific region, or just within one window.

It also comes with features that allow you to annotate and share your images or copy them to your clipboard. But with TinyTake, you don’t have to save your images locally – though you can! The program comes with cloud storage up to 1 TB based on your pricing plan. Plus, you can store other files on their cloud.

Though this isn’t a program for larger videos like video game recording, it’s a solid software for Windows or Mac that also comes with a free trial – that includes some cloud storage. That alone easily makes it one of the best free screen recorders available.

What are its best features?

  • Offers cloud storage for your videos and to upload files
  • The interface is very easy to use
  • Can do most functions through keyboard shortcuts

What could be improved?

  • Only works on small presentations. No video game recording or big videos
  • Annotations for screenshots and video editing functions are not available in the free version

OBS Studio is a free, open-source screen-recording software that works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. The program allows you to mix and capture video and audio and create images with annotation or text.

OBS Studio is a favorite of video gamers as it’s used widely by a lot of streamers on Twitch. The software includes a lot of features that allow you to create excellent audio tracks with noise gating and suppression features. It also comes with a lot of customization, as you can create hotkeys within the program to stop and start recordings, switch screens, mute various audio sources, and much more.

Obviously, the primary reason people flock to this software is because it’s free. But even at this price, it’s still one of the best screen recorders out there.

What are its best features?

  • Works well on multi-screen displays
  • Doesn’t affect the frame rate much even if you don’t have a high-performance system
  • You can customize everything in the interface
  • Free, open-source software

What could be improved?

  • The learning curve is pretty high for this program, and it’s definitely not for beginners. You’ll need to read the manual thoroughly and possibly watch some YouTube tutorials to set it up correctly

Ezvid is an exceptional screen-recording program that comes with a built-in editor and several other features and effects. You can record in localized areas on your screen or the screen as a whole. From there, it’s possible to draw on the screen, control the speed of your videos, and add voice synthesis narration straight from text.

The interface works with just a few clicks for capture, and when editing, it auto-saves within the program. However, you’ll need to upload it to YouTube and then download it again to save it locally.

As a continually updated program that works with the latest CPUs and video cards, it’s certainly one of the best screen recorders for a PC.

What are its best features?

  • The interface is clean and easy to use. Great for beginners!
  • It’s free software with no watermarks
  • The program comes with a built-in editor and speech synthesis feature for adding text-to-narration computer voice to your videos

What could be improved?

  • There’s no way to hide the recording widget
  • Can only record up to 45 minutes of screen video
  • You can’t save locally. Only YouTube uploading is available
  • Limited editing features on the editor

FlashBack Express is a superb screen-recording software from Blueberry Software. The program is an excellent tool to capture video footage via webcam or directly from your desktop. The Express version of FlashBack is completely free and has no watermarks and comes with unlimited time for your recordings.

The program allows you to capture audio and video or just audio from your computer. It’s a brilliant choice for anyone who wants to record a demonstration, tutorial, walkthrough, or just a vlog. But one of the best features is that you can record audio commentary while you’re recording the video.

Overall, this is a solid program for anyone on a budget who needs to record screen footage and doesn’t need a full range of editing tools.

What are its best features?

  • No watermarks or time limitations
  • Possible to add commentary to your videos as you record
  • Saves as an MP4, WMV, or AVI file for a broad range of usage
  • Webcam capture available

What could be improved?

  • The Express version is very watered down compared to the Pro. It lacks editing features, picture-in-picture, and annotation

It’s important to note that Apowersoft has two screen recorders. The pro version is paid and available only for your desktop. But the one for this list is their free online screen recorder.

For a free online screen recorder, this program offers a lot of features to help you record videos for a range of applications. You can record Zoom calls, video streams, or demonstration and tutorial videos with ease.

The interface is highly intuitive and easy to use. The buttons and menus are simple and self-explanatory, and there’s not too much clutter on the screen. Before you record, you can select your frame rate, video format, bitrate, and even audio quality. Then, you just press the ‘Record’ button to record.

Although the program is completely online, just remember that you must download a plugin to run it. This could take up to 10 minutes for download and set up on the first go.

What are its best features?

  • Offers annotation tools with arrows, shapes, icons, and text along with color options
  • No watermarks or time limits for recording
  • Very easy-to-use interface with buttons and options that explain themselves
  • Easy to share videos on YouTube and other top sites

What could be improved?

  • This program won’t work very well for recording gaming
  • You don’t have to download desktop software, but you’ll need to download a web-plugin to use the program
  • Some reported customer service issues from various review sites

With Debut Video Capture, you can opt to pay for commercial use or download a free version for home use only. Regardless, this is an excellent screen recorder with no watermarks, time limitations, added software, or limited options for exporting.

The program comes with all the tools you need to capture footage anywhere on your desktop or from your webcam, and it also has capabilities for linking with external devices like a security camera. Though it isn’t a solid choice for video game recording, this program packs a lot of punch.

For general screen recording, the program has a lot of shortcut options to avoid conflicts and comes with features that allow you to either hide or highlight your cursor based on your needs. It also has support for picture-in-picture to add in webcam footage while you make the video.

What are its best features?

  • Offers a free version for home use only
  • It can also record video from external cameras – like a security camera
  • Ability to schedule recordings
  • Cursor hiding option when screen recording

What could be improved?

  • Though clearly labeled and easy to use, the interface has a dated look to it
  • Doesn’t have any editing features for after you record

With Screencast-O-Matic, you find superb screen-recording and -editing solutions that work for almost any situation. You can record from anywhere on your screen and while recording, there are a wide variety of tools and features to create excellent videos for marketing, training, or education.

The program has a solid editing suite that allows you to trim videos, add captions, import narration, and insert transitions. It also comes with a music library so you can insert copyright-free music into your videos.

Many screenshot programs have loads of saving and sharing options, but Screencast-O-Matic also offers hosting for both the paid and free versions of the software. This makes it one of the best screen recorders for Mac or Windows.

What are its best features?

  • Offers access to a music library to add tracks to your videos
  • Can zoom in on areas while you record
  • Ability to trim recordings, add captions and draw while recording
  • Premium versions come with green screen filters
  • The free and premium version offers up to 25 GB of hosting for your videos and images

What could be improved?

  • Can only export images in PNG format
  • Text capture on the screen can look blurry because there are no OCR features
  • The free version only offers 15-minute videos with a watermark

ScreenFlow is a Mac-only screen-recording software that offers many video capture and editing tools. It has an easy-to-use interface that integrates well into feature-rich capture and editing tools. You can record from multiple screens or devices and it offers both camera and microphone recording.

The editing features alone are worth the cost, as you get tons of filters, animations, and annotation options. Plus, it offers multi-channel audio editing. This is the perfect software for Mac users to record their screen and create professional videos all in one place.

What are its best features?

  • Intuitive interface, that’s very easy to learn and use
  • Can record from multiple audio and video sources at once
  • Nice collection of animated titles
  • Creates small file sizes even for large videos

What could be improved?

  • This program has a lot of features, but its price is high
  • The new version only runs on Catalina or Big Sur

Best mobile screen recorders

If you’re looking for a mobile screen recorder that allows you to record your mobile gaming, video calls, and take solid screenshots, then AZ Screen Recorder is a great option. This app uses Android’s internal audio when recording, so it’s perfect for anyone who needs to capture the true sounds of what you’re trying to record.

With AZ, you can use your phone’s front camera and add your face into a small PiP window and move it anywhere on the screen, which is definitely a feature not found on many other screen recorders. For editing, the app comes with a variety of mobile video editing options that aren’t available on a lot of desktop programs. Overall, this is easily the best screen recorder for Android.

What are its best features?

  • Records from Android’s internal sound
  • Offers high-quality recording in 1080p and 60 FPS
  • Comes with a video editor with tons of features – trimming, cropping, rotation, compression, and GIF conversion

What could be improved?

  • Has a floating button that sometimes appears in videos

XRecorder is a solid option for Android users who need to capture clean and clear videos and screenshots from their mobile screens. With this program, it’s easy to capture video games, video calls, or even video tutorials all from your Android phone.

The app allows you to record audio from your mic or from the internal audio, so it’s perfect for creating professional screen recordings directly from your phone. After recording, you can use any of the many editing features to crop, trim, speed up, or slow down your videos. Plus, there are no watermarks and no time limits.

What are its best features?

  • Supports screen recording in 1080p and 60 FPS
  • Has internal audio recording capabilities
  • No watermark, no root, and no time limits on videos
  • Video editor allows you to add music

What could be improved?

  • Offers a ‘Performance Mode’ but some reviewers have still complained about games lagging or audio and video out of sync
  • Some features are a little difficult to navigate within the app

Many consider Record it! to be the best screen recorder for the iPhone. This application has full-screen recording functionality, so you can record games and other applications for demos, training, walkthroughs, and more. The interface is simple and easy to use and allows you to record with just one tap.

From there, the video editing functionality is superb as it comes with tons of standard features, but you can also change the canvas and background colors in your videos. There is also a feature to add in audio-only commentary within your videos. So you can record separately to make the audio track perfect.

When you’re done, you can share videos directly to social media, save them to your camera roll, or export them to other storage apps through email or AirDrop.

What are its best features?

  • Offers one-tap recording for the entire screen
  • Comes with a lot of tutorials that can help you easily navigate the app
  • The video editor comes with features like trimming, filters, speed change, rotation, and background color changes
  • Has organization features with easy access

What could be improved?

  • Some users have complained about losing sound in their videos at times

DU Recorder is available on mobile, PC, or Mac and is a solid solution if you’re looking for screen-recording and screenshot software. The program can help you record both instructional videos or video games with ease and has a wide range of editing functions to create professional-looking videos.

What are its best features?

  • Can record in a wide range of resolutions, and it also supports HD
  • Possible to record external or internal sound from a phone
  • Has a function to stop recording by shaking your device

What could be improved?

  • Not available in the Google Play store

Summary

The best screen-recording software programs create solid videos and save you time. With this list of free and paid programs, you can now find one that’ll help you create the perfect recording – no matter your budget. Just remember to review your needs and match them with the features you see listed in the descriptions above.

Nataly Bogorad

Nataly Bogorad is a content creator and a chief editor. With qualifications in English and American studies and art criticism, she specializes in writing SEO-optimized and user-friendly content. Nataly graduated from Universität Kassel with a bachelor of arts degree and worked as a project assistant for Regionalmanagement Nordhessen GmbH.