This page provides a comparison of notable screencasting software, used to record activities on the computer screen. This software is commonly used for desktop recording, gameplay recording and video editing. Screencasting software is typically limited to streaming and recording desktop activity alone, in contrast with a software vision mixer, which has the capacity to mix and switch the output between various input streams.

Comparison by specification

Product namePublisherLatest stable versionLatest release dateOSSoftware licenseSource code available?
Adobe CaptivateAdobe Systems12.32024-04-02Windows macOSProprietary commercialNo
Adobe Presenter Video ExpressAdobe Systems12.0.2.1702017-11-28Windows macOSProprietary commercialNo
AVS Video EditorOnline Media Technologies LtdWindowsCommercialNo
Bandicam (Windows)Bandicam Company8.3.030 December 2025WindowsFreemium commercialNo
Bandicam (Mac)Bandicam Company26.3.02026-03-27macOSFreemium commercialNo
BB FlashBackBlueberry Softwarev5.602023-08WindowsProprietary commercialNo
BB FlashBack ExpressBlueberry Softwarev5.602023-08WindowsFreewareNo
CamStudioCamStudio.org2.7.4 r3542016-08-10WindowsGPLYes
Camtasia (Windows)TechSmith2025.0.12025-03-25WindowsProprietary commercialNo
Camtasia (Mac)TechSmith2025.0.32025-04-08macOSProprietary commercialNo
CloudAppCloudApp6.12020-07-13Windows macOS LinuxFreemiumNo
Debut (Windows)NCH Software10.252024-12-02WindowsTrialwareNo
Debut (Mac)NCH Software10.142024-09-09macOSTrialwareNo
FrapsBeepa Pty Ltd3.5.992013-02-26WindowsProprietary commercialNo
FreeseerFOSSLC3.0.12014-01-03Windows macOS LinuxGPL-3.0-or-laterYes
HyperCamSolveig Multimedia7.0.2603.062026-03-06WindowsProprietary commercialNo
HyperCamHyperionics2.29.002016-01-07WindowsFreewareNo
Microsoft Expression EncoderMicrosoft42011-11-02WindowsFreewareNo
Nero VisionNero AG20252024-10-09WindowsProprietary commercialNo
Nvidia ShadowplayNvidia2.11.4.02016-06-21WindowsProprietary (Part of NVIDIA GFE)No
Open Broadcaster Software (OBS Studio)OBS Project32.1.12026-04-02Windows macOS LinuxGPL-2.0-or-laterYes
PeekPhilipp Wolfer1.5.12020-02-19LinuxGPL-3.0-or-laterYes
PixetellOntier Inc.1.3.145992010-07-29WindowsProprietary commercialNo
QuickTime XApple Inc.10.0 (118)2010-03-29macOSProprietary (Part of macOS)No
RecCloudWANGXU TECHNOLOGY1.5.52025-09-26WindowsFreemium commercialNo
recordMyDesktopSourceForge0.4.02021-03-14LinuxGPL-2.0-or-later & GPL-3.0-or-laterYes
ScreencamSmartGuyz Inc.3.3.02009-03-24WindowsProprietary commercialNo
ScreenPalScreenPal3.14.3 3.14.32024-12-02 2024-12-02Windows macOSFreemiumNo
ScreenFlowTelestream10.5.12025-11-18macOSProprietary commercialNo
ShareXJaex and Michael Delpach19.0.22026-01-18WindowsGPL v3Yes
SimpleScreenRecordermaartenbaert0.4.42021-05-24LinuxGPL-3.0-or-laterYes
Snagit (Windows)TechSmith2026.0.02026-01-14WindowsProprietary commercialNo
Snagit (Mac)TechSmith2026.0.02025-12-16macOSProprietary commercialNo
Snapz Pro XAmbrosia Software2.6.12016-10-17macOSProprietary commercialNo
VirtualDubSourceForge1.10.4.354912013-10-27WindowsGPL-2.0-or-laterYes
VLC media playerVideoLAN3.0.182022-11-08Windows macOS Linux BSD Solaris QNX Haiku Syllable OS/2LGPL-2.1-or-laterYes
Xbox (Game DVR) / Xbox Game BarMicrosoftWindowsFreewareNo
XSplit BroadcasterSplitmediaLabs4.5.2412.03042024-11-08WindowsSharewareNo
Product namePublisherLatest stable versionLatest release dateOSSoftware licenseSource code available?

Comparison by features

The following table compares features of screencasting software. The table has seven fields, as follows:

  1. Product name: Product's name; sometime includes edition if a certain edition is targeted
  2. Audio: Specifies whether the product supports recording audio commentary on the video
  3. Entire desktop: Specifies whether product supports recording the entire desktop
  4. OpenGL: Specifies whether the product supports recording from video games and software that employ OpenGL to render digital image
  5. Direct3D: Specifies whether the product supports recording from video games or software that employ Direct3D to render digital image
  6. Editing: Specifies whether the product supports editing recorded video at least to some small extent, such as cropping, trimming or splitting
  7. Output: Specifies the file format in which the software saves the final video (audio output types are omitted)
Product nameAudioEntire desktopOpenGLDirect3DEditingOutput
Adobe CaptivateYesYes??YesSWF, EXE, MP4
Adobe Presenter Video ExpressYesYes??YesMP4
Bandicam (Windows)YesYesYesYesNoVideo: AVI, MP4Images format:BMP, PNG, JPEGAudio: WAV, MP3
Bandicam (Mac)YesYesYesYesYesVideo: MOV, MP4Audio: M4A
BB FlashBackYesYes??YesAVI, FLV, SWF
BB FlashBack expressYesYes??NoAVI, FLV, SWF, MP4 (H.264 or MPEG-4 ASP), WMV, Animated GIF, PowerPoint slideshow, self-extracting EXE
CamStudioYesYes??YesAVI, SWF
Camtasia (Windows)YesYesYesYesYesVideo: MP4, MP4 embedded in webpage (HTML5), WMV, AVI, Animated GIFImages format: PNG, JPEG, GIF, BMPAudio: WAV, MP3, M4A (audio-only MP4)
Camtasia (Mac)YesYesYesYesYesVideo: MP4, MP4 embedded in webpage (HTML5), MOV, Animated GIFImages format: PNGAudio: WAV, M4A (audio-only MP4)
CloudAppYesYesNoNoYes?
DebutYesYes??YesAVI, FLV, MKV, MP4, WebM, WMV, 3GP, ASF, DV, MOV, MPG, OGV
FFmpeg with a plug-inDependsDependsDependsDependsNocf. FFmpeg § Codecs, formats and protocols supported
FrapsYesYesYesYesNoFPS1 in AVI
FreeseerYesYes??NoOgg
HyperCamYesYes??NoAVI, WMV
JingYesYes??NoSWF
Microsoft Expression EncoderYesYesYesNoYes
Nero VisionYes???Yes
Nvidia ShadowplayYesYesNoYesNoVideo: MP4Image sequence: PNG
Open Broadcaster SoftwareYesYesYesYesNoSimple mode: FLV, MP4, MOV, MKV, TS, HLS Advanced mode: Any format supported by libavformat
PixetellYesYesYesYesYes
QuickTime XYesYes??No
recordMyDesktopYesYes?—N/aNoTheora in Ogg
ScreencamYesYesYesYesYes
ScreenPalYesYesYesYesYesVideo: MP4, FLV, AVI. Animated GIFAudio: WAVImages format: PNG, JPEG, TIFF, GIF, BMPOptical character recognition (OCR): simple text
ScreenFlowYesYesYes—N/aYesProRes, MP4, GIF, AAC
ShareXYesYesNoNoNoAVI, MP4, GIF
SimpleScreenRecorderYesYesYes—N/aNoFormats supported by libavformat
Snagit (Windows)YesYesYesYesYesVideo: MP4, Animated GIFImages format: PNG, JPEG, TIFF, GIF, WebP, BMPDocuments: PDFOptical character recognition (OCR): simple text
Snagit (Mac)YesYesYesYesYesVideo: MP4, Animated GIFImages format: PNG, JPEG, TIFF, GIF, WebP, HEIF, BMPDocuments: PDFOptical character recognition (OCR): simple text
Snapz Pro XYesYes??No
VirtualDubYes???YesAVI
VLCYesYesYes?Yes
Windows Media EncoderYesYes??No
Xbox (Game DVR) /Xbox Game BarYesNo??NoMP4
XSplit BroadcasterYesYesYesYesYesMP4, FLV
Product nameAudioEntire desktopOpenGLDirect3DEditingOutput

See also