Best Screen Capture Softwares

In the past, it used to be extremely difficult to record a screen. You had to either utilize complicated tools or pay huge amounts to a software professional, which wasn’t always possible.

Fortunately, screen capturing software has evolved over the years to be more user-friendly. You can now create professional-looking tutorials, online courses, or YouTube video tutorials without breaking a sweat.

However, there are numerous screen recording programs in the market, and picking the one that best suits your demands and budget is very crucial.

This guide delves into all you need to know about screen recording software, factors you should consider when choosing software to record your screen, and a lowdown on the best screen recording software in 2021.

Let’s go!

What is A Screen Capture Software?

Screen capture software is a program that records your laptop’s or mobile device’s screen activity and stores it as a video file. It records the device sounds as well as captures cursor movements and page clicks.  Businesses, educational institutions, and media professionals all utilize the program to make and share how-to videos, training guides, educational content, online courses, product demos, and other types of content.

What Features Make A Great Screen Capture Software?

A great screen capture software has the following features:

Audio recording and microphone

Helps you to concurrently or separately record your narrative and system’s audio.

Record/capture

Allows you to record your device’s entire screen or a selected section. The recording can be paused and resumed. Timer controls are available in some solutions.

Options for export

Allows you to export recorded films to your smartphone or file storage apps like Google Drive. You can also upload them to video hosting sites like YouTube and Vimeo.

Formats for video

You may capture videos in a variety of codecs, including WMV, MP3, MP4, and MOV.

Hotkeys

Provides customized keyboard shortcuts for capturing screenshots, pausing/resuming recording, and more.

Webcam recording

Allows you to switch between screen and webcam recording, allowing you to capture the presenter in the recorded videos.

Editing

Allows you to make changes to the videos you’ve captured. Trim them, remove background colors, and add closed captions if desired.

Annotations

Allows you to make notes on recorded videos. You can create arrows and callout boxes, highlight portions of the screen, and even blur areas of the screen to hide sensitive/copyright info.

Factors to Consider When Choosing A Screen Capture Software

Quality of output videos

Before buying a tool, take advantage of free trials and product demos to assess the output video quality. If you need high-definition (HD) videos, you’ll need to choose software that enables HD recording, which will cost more. Check to see if the tool allows you to change the video quality settings to make smaller or larger video files.

Mobile Support

Make sure the program you choose is compatible with mobile apps for Android, iOS, and Windows devices, as well as the ability to capture movies for all sizes of mobile and tablet screens. Check for compatibility with different mobile operating system versions.

Features vs. price

Most screen recording software comes in both free and paid editions. Free versions allow you to try out software features for free, but the recorded films will be short and may even contain the vendor’s name or logo. Paid versions will come with a slew of extra features. As a result, determine your business needs and choose a tool that allows you to personalize features and select only the modules you need.

Best Screen Capture Softwares

OBS Studio

OBS, or Open Broadcaster Software, is a free screen video recorder that allows you to record and stream high-definition movies with no time constraints.

With OBS Studio, you may record not only the entire display or a window but also the webcam and microphone. When it comes to streaming, you may choose which desktop apps and audio sources you want to transmit with as well as create layered webcam videos. It’s best for professional live streaming to Youtube, Twitch, or Mixlr. Hardcore gamers also prefer it for broadcasting live gameplay footage.

While OBS Studio is a powerful screen recording tool, it lacks a video editor and there is no way to pause the recording. If you wish to modify your recorded video, you’ll need to use another program.

Key Features

• Audio mixer with intuitive controls.
• Fullscreen, window, webcam, microphone, and computer sound can all be recorded.
• Stream to Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, DailyMotion, and a variety of other platforms.
• Image mask/blend, crop, color correction, green screen, noise reduction, audio normalization, and other filters can be applied to scenes, sources, and audio devices.

Flashback

You can record displays across several monitors or limit capture to a single display if you’re using this software on a multi-monitor system.

It neither limits the recording time nor adds a watermark to the output videos. Scheduled recordings can also be used to start and stop recording at specific times or when a specific application is started.

Flashback Pro is the premium version. While both versions have the same recording capabilities, the free version lacks video editing capabilities, annotations, and effects. Users can save videos like MP4, AVI, or WMV files and then post them to YouTube directly on the free version. However, only premium customers can save videos in Flash, QuickTime, GIF, or standalone EXE formats, as well as password-protect them.

Key Features

• Multiple monitors are recorded.
• Contains a webcam
• Allows you to create unique and personalized watermarks.
• Upload to Youtube, FlashBack Connect, or save as MP4, GIF, WMV, QuickTime, AVI, or Flash.
• Zooming and panning functionalities are available.

Camtasia

Camtasia from TechSmith makes it easy to capture and edit professional-looking videos on your computer.

Camtasia impresses with its built-in video editing tool. In the tool’s sidebar, you’ll find a large collection of stock photos as well as click-and-drag effects. Users can quickly create outro and intro portions by dragging and dropping them into their videos.

In terms of using animations and visual effects, as well as adding overlays, Camtasia is fairly versatile. Also, its ability to create and add quizzes and interactivity to videos sets it apart from other screen recording tools.

Key Features

• It has a webcam built-in.
• Separate tracks for audio, video, and cursor movements can be edited.
• Existing films, audio, photographs, and PowerPoint slides can be imported.
• Captions, callouts, and quizzes can be added to your videos.
• Editing on a frame-by-frame basis.
• Has a sound effect and music collection that is royalty-free.

Bandicam

Bandicam Company’s game recording software is widely regarded as one of the most powerful for gamers. It can record a variety of 2D/3D games at up to 144 frames per second in 4K UHD resolution. Bandicam may also record the entire screen, a portion of the screen, and video from other sources such as a webcam or a game console.

While the recording tools may appeal to most users, the software lacks any video editing capabilities. You can only trim, split, and join recordings, even while using Bandicut, a video cutter from the same company. The free version has a 10-minute recording limit per video and a watermark.

Key Features

• Fullscreen, region, webcam, microphone, and computer sound can all be recorded.
• While recording, you can draw, add text, and take screenshots. While recording, add mouse click effects and animations.
• Incorporate a logo onto the screen capture.
• Mixing of voices.
• The package is small and light.

Movavi Screen Recorder

This is a simple screen capture program for recording computer screens, capturing webcam and audio, saving recordings as videos and GIFs, and taking screenshots. You can share records with your audience via social media by uploading them to Google Drive or YouTube.

When you’re not at your desk, you can use this tool to record webinars or live streams. This option can be found in the Preferences, under Scheduler. You can set a time limit for the next recording or define a start and finish time for a recording. You may even set it up such that when the capture is over, your computer shuts off or goes to sleep.

Key Features

• Contains a webcam.
• It’s possible to record both the screen and the audio at the same time or independently.
• Saves video in high definition and supports a variety of formats: AVI, MP4, MOV, and MKV are some of the most popular video formats.
• Allows modification of screenshots.

Screencast-O-Matic

Screencast-O-Matic comes with a long list of functionality, including screen recording, video editing, and video hosting and sharing.

The free edition is restricted to 15-minute recordings and includes a watermark. You can edit your video, add closed captions, then upload it to YouTube or share it on social media networks.

When you upgrade to the paid version, you won’t have a recording time limit and the output won’t have a watermark. In addition, to complete video editing capabilities, the premium edition now includes the ability to record computer sound.

Key Features

• Fullscreen, window, region, webcam, microphone, and computer sound can all be recorded. While recording you can draw, add text, and zoom in.
• Editing options such as Trim, cut, alter the speed, add zoom-n-pan, annotations, multimedia, green screen effect are all available.
• Directly upload videos to YouTube, Vimeo, and other video services.

Apowersoft

This is an awesome tool for recording an Android or iPhone screen and a desktop screen. You can wirelessly cast a mobile device to your computer screen and utilize the desktop recorder to simultaneously record your computer’s webcam, microphone, PC audio, and mobile device if you have Apowersoft’s Unlimited suite.

This is especially useful if you want to show someone how to use a desktop and mobile version peak of a program. Showing them side by side might clear up any doubt if there are identical functionalities with different interfaces.

Key Features

• A built-in screen recorder and video editing functionalities that are compatible with any Android or iPhone device.
• Has features like resolution customization, bit-rate limiter, framerate selection, and camera combinations.

Conclusion

The best screen recording software is the one that saves you the most time and helps you create valuable content for your viewers with utmost professionalism. Before choosing an app, make sure you understand your target demographic and use case. All of the software we’ve listed are either free or has trial versions, so give them a try and see which one you prefer.

What’s your favorite screen recorder software? Let us know by dropping a comment below.

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