Best Screen Recorder for Mac: 8 Free and Paid Apps Compared

You need to record your Mac’s screen, and the built-in tool either isn’t enough or you’re not sure it is. Maybe you need sound from your apps, a webcam overlay, smooth zooms, or a link you can paste into Slack. We compared the options to find the best screen recorder for Mac in each situation, including the best free screen recorders that don’t add watermarks.

What to look for in a Mac screen recorder

Before you compare apps, decide which of these matter for the videos you make:

• System audio. If you record videos, games, calls or app sounds, you need a recorder that captures your Mac’s audio, not just the microphone. The built-in toolbar does this only on macOS 27 and later.
• Webcam overlay. Tutorials and sales demos feel more personal with your face in a corner. Most third-party apps do this; the built-in toolbar doesn’t.
• Editing. Trimming is enough for bug reports. Tutorials benefit from zooms, callouts and cuts, which means a built-in editor or a separate video app.
• Sharing. If the video is going to a coworker, a recorder that uploads and gives you a link saves time. If it’s going to YouTube, local files and export quality matter more.
• Pricing model. Free, one-time purchase and subscription apps all appear below. Watermarks in free modes are the main thing to watch for.

Quick comparison

App	Price model	System audio	Built-in editor	Best for
Screenshot toolbar + QuickTime	Free (built in)	macOS 27 and later	Trim only	Quick, no-install clips
OBS Studio	Free, open source	Yes	No	Free recording with full control
Screen Studio	Subscription	Yes	Yes	Polished product demos
CleanShot X	One-time purchase (optional cloud subscription)	Yes	Yes	Screenshots and recordings in one app
Loom	Free tier + subscription	Yes	Basic	Async video messages for teams
Cap	Free for personal use + paid plans	Yes	Yes	Open-source Loom alternative
Camtasia	Subscription	Yes	Full	Tutorials and training courses
ScreenFlow	One-time purchase	Yes	Full	Mac-native recording and editing

Best screen recorder for Mac: our 8 picks

1. Screenshot toolbar and QuickTime Player (built in)

Best for: Quick recordings with no setup · Price: Free · Website

Every Mac already has a capable recorder. Press ⌘ Command + ⇧ Shift + 5 to record the entire screen, a selected portion or, on macOS Tahoe 26 and later, a single window. You can add microphone audio, show mouse clicks and set a timer. On macOS 27 and later, Include System Audio in the Options menu captures app sound too. QuickTime Player handles trimming and can export a smaller copy at a lower resolution.

It won’t add a webcam overlay automatically, there’s no real editor, and on macOS Tahoe and earlier it can’t record app audio. For a bug report or a two-minute walkthrough, though, it’s often all you need. Our step-by-step guide on how to screen record on a Mac covers it in detail.

• Pros: Free, already installed, no watermark, no time limit, records single windows on Tahoe and later
• Cons: No system audio before macOS 27, trim-only editing, no webcam overlay

2. OBS Studio

Best for: Free recording with system audio and full control · Price: Free · Website

OBS Studio is the best free screen recorder for Mac if you’re willing to spend ten minutes learning it. It’s open source, has no watermark or time limit, and records your screen, webcam, microphone and system audio at the same time. You can capture all desktop audio or a single app’s sound on macOS 13 Ventura and later. It’s also the standard tool for live streaming.

The interface is built around “scenes” and “sources,” which feels heavy if you just want to hit record. There’s no editor, so you’ll trim in QuickTime or another app. OBS offers separate downloads for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

• Pros: Completely free, system and per-app audio, multiple sources and layouts, streaming built in
• Cons: Steeper learning curve, no editor, more setup than other apps

3. Screen Studio

Best for: Product demos and launch videos that look professionally edited · Price: Subscription · Website

Screen Studio records your screen and then automatically adds smooth zooms where you click, smooths out jittery cursor movement and puts your recording on a clean background. The result looks like it took hours in an editor. It supports webcam overlays, microphone and system audio, and exports for the web or social media.

It’s subscription-only for new buyers, with every feature available in every plan. It’s overkill for quick internal clips, and it’s Mac-only.

• Pros: Automatic zooms and cursor smoothing, beautiful output with almost no editing, webcam and system audio
• Cons: Subscription only, no free tier, focused on demos rather than long recordings

4. CleanShot X

Best for: People who take lots of screenshots and short recordings · Price: Paid (one-time purchase) · Website

CleanShot X replaces the built-in screenshot tools with something faster and more flexible, and its screen recorder is excellent. It records video or GIFs, captures computer audio and your microphone, adds a webcam overlay, and can hide desktop icons while you record. Recordings can be uploaded to CleanShot Cloud for a shareable link.

The app is a one-time purchase that includes a year of updates; renewing updates and the Cloud Pro tier are optional. It’s also included in the Setapp subscription. It requires macOS 13 or later.

• Pros: Screenshots, scrolling capture and recording in one app, system audio, GIF export, one-time purchase
• Cons: Paid, editing is lighter than a dedicated video editor, cloud extras cost more

5. Loom

Best for: Quick video messages and walkthroughs for teams · Price: Freemium · Website

Loom is built for sharing, not producing. Record your screen and camera, and the video uploads while you talk, so a link is ready when you stop. Viewers can comment and react, and paid plans add AI titles, summaries and transcripts. The Mac desktop app can record system audio when you turn it on in the recording settings.

The free plan limits recording length and the number of videos you can keep, so it suits occasional use. Paid plans are per-user subscriptions.

• Pros: Instant share links, comments and viewer reactions, works well across teams, simple to use
• Cons: Free plan is limited, videos live in Loom’s cloud, editing is basic

6. Cap

Best for: An open-source Loom alternative you can keep local or self-host · Price: Freemium · Website

Cap offers two modes: Instant Mode uploads while you record for a quick share link, and Studio Mode records locally and opens an editor with backgrounds, zooms, trimming and captions. It’s open source, actively developed, and runs on macOS and Windows. You can use Cap’s cloud, connect your own S3-compatible storage or self-host it.

Cap is free for personal use. Commercial use needs a paid desktop license, and the Pro subscription adds unlimited cloud sharing, AI features and team tools.

• Pros: Free for personal use, open source, polished editor with zooms and backgrounds, flexible storage
• Cons: Commercial use needs a license, younger app that’s still changing quickly

7. Camtasia

Best for: Tutorials, training videos and online courses · Price: Subscription · Website

Camtasia from TechSmith pairs a recorder with a full timeline editor. You get annotations, callouts, cursor effects, transitions, quizzes for course content and a large library of assets. It records screen, webcam, microphone and system audio, and it runs on both Mac and Windows with nearly identical features, which helps if your team uses both.

Camtasia is sold as a subscription for individuals, with several tiers. You can download the editor free, but exports carry a watermark until you subscribe.

• Pros: Powerful editor made for teaching, cross-platform, lots of templates and assets
• Cons: Subscription pricing, more than most people need for short clips

8. ScreenFlow

Best for: Mac users who want a native recorder and editor in one · Price: Paid (one-time purchase) · Website

ScreenFlow from Telestream has been a Mac favorite for screencasts for years. It records screen, camera, microphone and computer audio at the same time, then drops everything into a fast, Mac-native editor with callouts, text, transitions and zooms. It’s popular with YouTubers and course creators who work only on Macs.

The base app is a one-time purchase, with an optional yearly stock media add-on. The free trial is fully functional but watermarks exports. Telestream’s store page lists support for recent macOS releases, so check its tech specs before upgrading to the newest macOS.

• Pros: One-time purchase, smooth Mac-native editing, records multiple sources at once
• Cons: Mac only, major upgrades cost extra, fewer collaboration features than Loom or Camtasia

Best free screen recorders for Mac

If you don’t want to pay, three options cover almost everything:

• Screenshot toolbar and QuickTime: Best for quick clips. Free, no watermark, no time limit. System audio needs macOS 27 or later.
• OBS Studio: Best free screen recorder for Mac overall. System audio, webcam and multiple sources, no watermark.
• Cap: Best free option for share links and light editing, as long as it’s for personal use.

Loom’s free plan works for occasional short messages. The free modes of Camtasia and ScreenFlow add watermarks, so treat them as trials.

If your main problem is getting sound from apps into your recordings, our guide to recording your screen with audio on a Mac also covers free workarounds such as the BlackHole audio driver.

Which one should you pick?

• You record a short clip now and then: stick with the built-in toolbar.
• You need system audio for free: OBS Studio.
• You make product demos or marketing videos: Screen Studio.
• You take screenshots all day and record sometimes: CleanShot X.
• You send video updates to coworkers: Loom, or Cap if you want open source.
• You make courses or long tutorials: Camtasia, or ScreenFlow if you prefer a one-time purchase.

Whichever you choose, macOS asks for permission the first time a third-party app records your screen. If an app only captures your wallpaper, turn it on in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen & System Audio Recording, then reopen the app. Recordings also take up space quickly, so keep an eye on storage with our guide to freeing up space on a Mac.

How we picked

We looked for screen recorders that are actively maintained, run on current macOS, and come from an official developer website or the Mac App Store. We confirmed each app’s pricing model on its official site in October 2026 and left out exact prices, because they change often. We compared how each handles the things people actually need: system audio, webcam overlays, editing, sharing and watermarks.

We left out Kap, a once-popular open-source recorder, because its last release was in 2022 and it hasn’t seen meaningful development since. We also skipped browser-only recorders, which can’t capture the whole Mac desktop as reliably as a native app. For more recommendations beyond recording, see our list of the best Mac apps.