Top 10 Free Screen Recorders [2024 Listed]

Brittany Garcia

April 11, 2024 10:03Updated by to Record Video

Screen recording tools are very useful for creating tutorials, presentations, gameplay videos, and more. There are also many popular free recording tools on the market, so how to choose? Today, this article picks out 10 best free screen recording software on the market. They include OBS, QuickTime, Xbox Game Bar, ShareX, CamStudio, Icecream Screen Recorder, Free Online Screen Recorder, Screencastify, etc. Whether you want to record long videos or videos without watermarks, there’s always a tool here that meets your requirements. Read carefully and choose one to start recording your screen activities!

Best Free Screen Recorder

Part 1. How to Review the Best Free Screen Recorder

In order to find good video recording tools, this article researched and tested them using commonly used tools in the market. Here is some data from the evaluation.

How many we tested 20 free screen recorders for Mac, Windows, and online
Total recording time 48 hours
What we record Tutorials, presentations, meetings, gameplay videos, audio, screen activities, etc.
How we evaluate the result Video quality, smoothness, features, and limitations

According to these statistics, here is a list of the best free screen recording software.

Top 6 free screen recorders for Windows 11/10/8/7 & Mac Top 4 free screen recorders online
OBS Free Online Screen Recorder
QuickTime Screencastify Screen Recorder
Xbox Game Bar Apowersoft Online Screen Recorder
ShareX FlexClip Screen Recorder
CamStudio
Icecream Screen Recorder

To get more details, such as pros, cons, limitations, etc., you can switch to the next part. Keep reading now!

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Part 2. Top 10 Free Screen Recorders

1 OBS Studio

OBS Studio is an open-source program for video recording and live streaming. This program allows you to create various scenes, including window captures, images, text, webcams, and more. Besides recording, it supports live streaming to platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Live.

OBS Screen Recorder

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux

Export with watermark: No

Best For: Professional live streaming and high-quality recording

Pros

  • Offer the ability to record and stream content.
  • It can be tailored to a variety of streaming and recording needs.

Cons

  • Steep learning curve for beginners.
  • Affecting performance on less powerful computers.

2 QuickTime Player

QuickTime Player is a video-playing, editing, and recording tool. It can record the entire screen or select a portion of it. And it supports recording with the built-in microphone, an external microphone, or other audio input devices. In addition, it offers basic video editing functions like trimming, splitting, and combining clips.

Quicktime Player

Platforms: Mac

Export with watermark: No

Best For: Quick screen recording needs for Apple users

Pros

  • Integrate well with the Apple ecosystem.
  • Built-in tool with straightforward functionality.

Cons

  • Lacks advanced recording features.
  • Limited editing features.

3 Xbox Game Bar

Xbox Game Bar is a built-in tool for Windows 11/10. It’s primarily designed to enhance the gaming experience on Windows PCs. This tool allows you to record video of your gameplay in the background. And it even helps you set it to record the last few moments of gameplay automatically. Moreover, it supports taking quick screenshots during your gameplay.

Xbox Screen Recorder

Platforms: Windows 11/10

Export with watermark: No

Best For: Gamers for quick game recording and sharing

Pros

  • It is easy to access and good for gamers.
  • Support various settings for recording, such as resolution.

Cons

  • Not suitable for complex recording tasks.

4 ShareX

ShareX is a screen capture and productivity tool that’s primarily available for Windows. It lets you to record your entire screen or select specific regions or windows. And the video recordings can be saved in various formats, with the default being MP4. More importantly, it supports customizing hotkeys for quick recording, making the process efficient and streamlined.

ShareX Screen Recorder

Platforms: Windows

Export with watermark: No

Best For: Record short clips and save them as animated GIFs

Pros

  • It is open source with an extensive feature set.
  • Various customized settings, such as framerate and video quality.

Cons

  • The interface can be overwhelming and not intuitive.

5 CamStudio

CamStudio is a free screen recorder for PCs that can capture all on-screen video and audio activity. It is an ideal option to produce video tutorials and create demonstration videos. Moreover, it offers customizable cursor options to record the screen and add screen annotations or personal watermarks.

Camstudio Screen Recorder

Platforms: Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista

Export with watermark: No

Best For: Simple tasks with minimal recording requirements.

Pros

  • Easy to use for basic recording.
  • Integrates a media player to play recordings.

Cons

  • Lack of modern features and updates.
  • Limit the file formats (AVI or SWF).

6 Icecream Screen Recorder

Icecream Screen Recorder is developed by Icecream Apps. It allows you to record portions of your screen or the full display. It also helps you to enable voiceovers and in-app audio during video recordings. Additionally, you can draw, outline, and add text or arrows to your videos for instructional purposes or to highlight important information.

Icecream Screen Recorder

Platforms: Windows, Mac

Export with watermark: Yes

Best For: Suitable for quick and uncomplicated screen captures

Pros

  • Simple to use, offers basic editing functions.
  • It can be saved in various video file formats.

Cons

  • The free version has time limits.

7 Free Online Screen Recorder

Free Online Screen Recorder is a reliable tool to capture any activities on your desktop screen. It can help you to record screen activities, gameplays, and tutorial with picture-in-picture effect. Besides, it supports recording audio files with a few steps, whether it is from system sound or a microphone.

Blu-ray Master Screen Recorder

Export with watermark: No

Best For: Record screen in high quality

Pros

  • Easy to use with its friendly interface.
  • Provide various options for recording quality.

Cons

  • Export video in WMV only in the free version.

8 Screencastify Screen Recorder

Screencastify is a free screen recorder for Chrome extension. This tool can help you capture, edit, and share videos in seconds. With Screencastify, you can capture your desktop activities, browser tab, and webcam. Moreover, it allows you to create and store up to 10 videos for free. Certainly, it supports basic editing for recording videos.

Screencastify Screen Recorder

Export with watermark: Yes

Best For: Browser extension with straightforward functionality.

Pros

  • Easy to use, integrates with Google Drive.
  • Support annotating in real time to highlight key points.

Cons

  • Record and store videos no more than 30 minutes.
  • It exports with a watermark.

9 Apowersoft Online Screen Recorder

Apowersoft Screen Recorder provides a free online version for recording. This tool can capture your screen and webcam together with audio. And it allows you to edit a screenshot and record it in real-time or afterward. Besides, it supports uploading 10 GB of recording files to its free cloud storage.

Apowersoft Online Screen Recorder

Platforms: Windows 11/10/8/7

Export with watermark: No

Pros

  • Support various output formats.
  • Real-time marking is good for use.

Cons

  • Limited 3 minutes per file for recording.
  • Add a watermark to recording videos.
  • Record a video up to 1080p HD only.

10 FlexClip Screen Recorder

FlexClip Screen Recorder is an online screen recorder for free. This tool can capture your screen, webcam, and voice with one click. And it supports recording screen activities and webcams simultaneously or separately. Meanwhile, it allows you to add subtitles, annotations, highlights, and overlays to enrich your recording content.

FlexClip Screen Recorder

Export with watermark: Yes

Best For: Royalty-free music and video library.

Pros

  • Capture screen up to 60 minutes at a time.
  • Edit screen recording and camera recording separately.

Cons

  • Need a stable network for recording.
  • Limited advanced editing features.

Part 3. FAQs of Best Free Screen Recorder

Wrapping up

There are quite a few free but good screen recorders on the market. Through this detailed review, you can pick your favorite screen recording software accordingly. Whether you want to find Windows, Mac, or Online version, you can always find a suitable one. Of course, if you have any other questions or have more software to share, feel free to leave a comment!

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