Want to make screen grabs from Mac. This article introduces you the best 10 free screen recorder for Mac to capture screen on macOS.
- Monosnap is another popular and free Mac screen recorder software tool you can use to record anything that comes on your screen. You can use the screen recording software tool not just to record on-screen images, but you can use it to record audio as well, through a 3 rd party utility.
- Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) is a open source screen recording software that is free to use and can record screen without watermark and time limit. It is compatible with Windows 10, 8, 7, Mac and Linux. OBS is more than just a screen recorder. It can be used for live streaming, creating live videos with window captures, images, text, webcams.
Your Mac comes with its own screen-recording feature on macOS Mojave and higher. Open the app or window you want to record, then press Shift+Command+5 to open the system’s screen capture tool.
Fancy showing other people how to play a blockbuster game on YouTube? Would you like to create instructional videos to teach or train something, or communicate some computer issues? If you are in this league, it can get a bit frustrating when you have difficulty in getting your point across to your audience. And what you need is to record the sequence of actions in a video, so that anyone can figure out your point. The free screen recorder for Mac absolutely a solid choice to make the process of creating lessons, tutorials, product reviews, and even presentations a lot easier on Mac OS. And here are 10 excellent best screen recorder for Mac options available completely free.
Best 10 Free Screen Recorder for Mac to Capture Screen with Audio
No.1: MacX Video Converter Pro
The first free screen recording software for Mac we'd like to show you is the built-in screen recorder of MacX Video Converter Pro, which is able to free record screen on Mac with audio. No matter you're willing to record software training sessions, game walkthrough, demos of apps, presentations or streaming videos playing on YouTube, this screen recorder for Mac will suit all your needs on Mac screen capture with the help of system audio, microphone. Besides, as the name implies, the screen recorder for Mac free with audio is also known as the best video converter for Mac, allowing you to convert the recorded video to MP4, AVI, MOV, MKV, H.264 or any other formats so that you're free to watch your Mac screen recording on iPhone iPad Android or uploading to YouTube.
[Tutorial] Record Mac Screen for Free with MacX Video Converter Pro
Free download the free screen recorder for Mac and launch it. And if you plan to capture Windows screen actions, grab the Windows version.
Step 1: Click 'Screen Recorder' icon on the main interface to get ready for Mac screen recording.
Step 2: Go for screen recording settings. Click the gear icon and you can set your Mac screen capturing now:
- Choose the Session Preset and move the Framrate slider to determine the quality of the recorded video.
- Go Audio Devices and click on the drop-down button to choose 'System Sound'.
- Set the output folder to save the file from the Target Folder.
- Check the box of 'add recorded movie to convert list' if you'd like to convert your recorded video later.
- Back to the main interface, crop the specific area of the screen to record or simple check Keep full screen if you want to record full screen video on Mac.
Step 3: Hit Record blue button, then the free screen capture for Mac will capture what is happening on Mac OS.
No.2: Jing
Jing is a free screen recording software for mac that not only allows you to capture images, but also record videos. Simply save any particular area into a screenshot and continue performing a video record with the same selection. This app will allow you to use the microphone during recording. But it's a pity that if you use a mic, you cannot record the system sounds. Anyway, if you want to narrate through some process or guiding steps, this software is the right one for you, not to mention it's available to record 360 degree videos, 4K UHD videos etc.
Ease to access.
History feature that allows you to see you recent recordings.
Very limited editing tools.
Tend to lag from time to time.
No.3: QuickTime Player
A surprise, as a Mac user, you obviously know that QuickTime Player comes as a default video player for Mac, but seldom to know its capability of recording Mac screen for free. Well, if you need a no-nonsense solution for your screen recording needs which caps at 15fps, can record microphone audio but not system audio, and doesn't need your face to be shown in, and doesn't need you to install anything or spend a single penny, QuickTime is the right answer for you.
The recording can only be limited by the space available on your hard drive.
It is easy to use.
It can't play two videos simultaneously.
It doesn't support other video formats.
No.4: Snagit
Coming from the same developers that brings us the excellent Jing, Snagit is another free screen recorder for Mac that will help you to record high quality videos. The focus of Snagit is on annotation of your screen captures - both in stills and video formats. And better still, the Mac screen recorder, available on OS X 10.9 or later, will retain what you have recorded, allowing you retrieve them at any time.
Easily retrieve the recordings given that they are stored in the tray.
It features a user-friendly interface
It provides an option of using keyboard shortcuts to start the process of recording..
Limited features with free trail and somehow expensive for Pro version
It has limited editing features.
No.5: Monosnap
One of the most unique features of Monosnap, other than it being available for a number of platforms, is that is records your screen in 60fps for an ultra-smooth playback even in the most demanding scenarios. The free Menu bar tutorial, presentation, gameplay recorder also comes with option of turning on your webcam, mic and system's audio all at the same time before you start recording. If you are connected to your Monosnap account, once you're done recording, you can immediately upload and share the link with your friends.
Allow you to use the system audio, webcam and mic simultaneously.
Allow you to hide private information.
You will need to register a Monosnap account.
No.6: TinyTake
As one of the best free Mac screen recorders, TinyTake certainly allows you to record video from iMac camera, but you will need to sign up for a TinyTake account. Once you have installed the Mac screen capture, it shows up in your menu bar. As you get started, you can record anywhere from two minutes to two hours, and you can even make notes or point things out on screen. It's worthy to praise that the TinyTake can be treated as a YouTube screen recorder as well, not only being capable of recording YouTube on Mac, but also uploading your video directly to YouTube.
Easy to use, both available on Mac & Windows
Allow you to directly upload recorded video to YouTube
Annotate your screenshots & videos
You need to sign up a TinyTake account first.
No.7: VLC
You might be surprised to find VLC here, after all, it's merely a video player. Actually, VLC can meet the basic screen capturing for most people. To access this 'hidden' feature, navigate to the File menu and Open Capture Device, where you need to change the source selection to Screen. VLC allows some basic adjustments like which audio input device to capture, what frame rate to use for videos (up to 30fps), and allows following the mouse for easier focus as well, among other parameters.
Works on every platform VLC is available on, on Windows, Mac, and Linux
Installed by default for many Mac users, no need for any extra tool installations.
A bit complicated compared to other free screen recording software for Mac.
VLC won't record sound, just picture
Only available to record the complete desktop, cannot change the recording's resolution.
No.8: QuickCast
Quickcast is another incredible app that any Mac user can use to record Mac screens for free. This free app is very fast and allows you to share your screencast via a QuickCast portal. And the videos recorded by the free screen recording software for Mac are also available to embedded to Webpages and blog posts.
It is super fast.
Allows you to easily share your screencasts.
Its recording time limited to 3 minutes only
No.9: OBS Studio
If you're a keen gamer, OBS Studio is easily the best free screen capture software for you. Unlike the hugely popular FRAPS, OBS Studio is open source, and completely free to use without restrictions. It supports both streaming and recording in high definition, with no restrictions on the number or length of your creations. With this free game recorder for Mac, you can stream live to Twitch or YouTube's gaming, save projects and come back to them later, or encode your footage in FLV format and save it locally.
Goodspeed for screen and window recording
It is easy to use. Available for live streaming.
Cannot record full screen games
Complicated, and lags a lot when recording games
10. Screencast-o-Matic
Screencast-O-Matic is free to use, but also offers a paid version for $15 per year, which is pretty reasonable. The free version screen recorder lets you record for up to fifteen minutes, does screen and webcam recording, allows you to publish to YouTube, and saves your recordings as video files.
Allow you to directly publish recorded videos to YouTube
Easy-to-use, and able to record screen and webcam simultaneously
An online recorder which only works with internet
Free version is unable to use computer audio system for recording
That concludes all the top 10 picks for Mac screen recording software. We took care in compiling this list that pretty much all category of users can find something that works for their specific need. Or if we've missed your favorite screen recording software on Macbook Pro/Air, iMac, let us know in the comment.
Screen recording has become one of the best methods to create a footage of your desktop activity with ease. There might be several occasions when you want to capture your gameplay, record streaming videos, or either make some video tutorials or software reviews on your Mac. In case these circumstances arise, a good screen recorder is necessary. Actually, there are lots of screen recording software that are available online. However, most of these tools only offer paid version or have a poor recording quality. In this article, we will introduce the best free screen recorder for Mac.
Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder
Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder is a free but in the meantime very comprehensive program that you can use to create high-quality videos. With the help of this tool, you will have an easy access to the experience of using a brilliant screen activity recorder that doesn’t leave any watermark at all on your video after a successful registration. Moreover, this program can capture your desktop activity together with the audio coming from your system and microphone. Overall, there is surely no doubt that Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder is one of the best free screen recorders for Mac available on the market. To utilize this program, you can follow the step-by-step guide below.
- Firstly, you need to visit the official website of Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder.
- On the main page of the site you can click the “Start Recording” button to launch the screen recorder.
- Once you launched it, you can set to record screen or webcam, custom recording area, and change audio input, etc. You can also go to settings and make some configurations.
- Once done settings, hit the red recording button to start recording. During the recording process, you can add a webcam to your screen, and you can even add some annotations to it.
- After you have finalized the recording, click the stop button to stop it. At this point, a preview window will pop up. On the preview window, you can save the video by clicking the “Save video” button, or even share the video with your friends by clicking the share button.
Monosnap
Monosnap is another mentionable flexible program specifically developed for Mac OS. You can use this program not only to record your screen but also to take quick screenshots in case you need to use it as a powerful screen recording software. In addition, this tool can be used as a storage software. This program can also offer the option of capturing your webcam, microphone or system sound as you can just set it before you start recording according to your need. Aside from that, the mentioned program can record in 60 fps. This means that you can record smoothly even you are playing high framerate games. If you want to use this free video recording software for Mac, you may follow the steps below.
- Download and install Monosnap.
- After successfully finalizing the installation, click the Monosnap’s drop down menu, then choose “Record Video” to start recording.
- In case you want to stop this program from recording, just click its drop down menu again then click “Finish recording” to end it. Afterwards, your recording will be saved automatically, and you can check it right away at the location of your choice of saving.
OBS Studio
The next free screen recording tool for Mac that you can rely on according to our list is OBS Studio. This is a free and open source screen recorder that is available on both Windows, Mac, and Linux. The suggested program will allow you to capture real-time activities and create excellent live streaming videos. Moreover, this program has the ability to incorporate footage from your previous recordings or add exiting videos. On the other side, this program is to some degree complicated, in the sense that you can take certain time familiarizing its interface and configurations. Here are the steps on how to use this program.
- First of all you need to have OBS Studio installed in your computer.
- Once you have it, launch OBS, then click “Scene” > “Source” > “Add Icon”, and then click “Windows Capture”.
- After the previous step is done, a pop up window will show and allow you to rename your video you are going to record. Once done, click the “OK” button to proceed.
- Next, select the window you want to record.
- Lastly, you only need to hit the “Start Recording” button to initiate recording. Once done recording, just click the top button to end it.
Jing
Another free screen recording software for Mac is Jing by Techsmith that has been very popular on the market for a long time. This program is very simple and easy to use that are the pillars of its popularity. It comes with a movable sun icon that can be placed anywhere on your display, which enables you to easily utilize its function. Aside from screen recording, you can use this tool to take screenshots and edit it right after capturing. However, this program can only record up to 5 minutes. If you are still interested to use this program despite its time limitation, you can follow these steps.
- First and foremost, download and install this program on your pc from the official Techsmith website.
- Hit the “Sun” icon and select “Capture”.
- Once you are inside the options panel, simply adjust the frame according to your preference then select “Capture video”.
- To stop the recording, simply hit the “Stop” button, and then the recorded file will automatically pop up for preview.
Quicktime Player
The last recording program for Mac is the Quicktime Player. This is an extensible multimedia framework that can be used not only to record videos but also to play, edit and share videos on Mac. This tool can be characterized with that it has a very intuitive interface which makes it very easy to use even for beginners. This program can create footage of your Mac screen with a web camera or iPhone screen. You can follow the instructions below to capture your screen using this best free screen recorder for Mac.
- To begin with, you have to launch Quicktime Player at the first hand.
- Once you see the interface, click “File” and select “New Screen Recording”, then a screen recording window will pop up. On this window, you can configure your recording settings. After configuring, hit the red round recording button to start recording your screen.
- Once done with the complete recording process, click the “Stop” button in the menu bar, then your recorded file will automatically pop up.
Conclusion
As you can see, the aforementioned programs are the currently best free Mac screen recording software you can find on the market. You can decide which program you will use for your recording. I highly recommend Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder. Compared to the other programs above, this program can be used to quickly record your screen, audio, as well as a webcam as it is a web-based application. Aside from that, it has an easy interface and even beginners can use it.