The best screen recording software for Mac in 2026

How we picked the best screen recorder for Mac

Most Mac users want the same five things from a screen recorder: it should be easy to start, capture the sound your Mac plays as well as your voice, let you fix mistakes without a separate video editor, export a file you can post anywhere, and not cost more than the job is worth.

We judged each tool on exactly that: price, whether it records internal audio without extra drivers, how much editing it offers, what it exports, and who it’s really for. We make Skrimo, so read our verdicts with that in mind. Where a competitor is the better choice for a job, we say so. Facts about other products come from their own websites and recent independent reviews, checked in November 2026.

Best screen recorder for Mac with internal audio

Internal audio (also called system audio) is the sound your Mac plays: a product’s alert, a video, the other side of a call. macOS can’t record it with its built-in tools. The screenshot toolbar and QuickTime Player only record a microphone, which is why so many Mac recordings come out half-silent.

Since macOS 13 Ventura, apps can capture system audio through Apple’s ScreenCaptureKit without a virtual driver. Skrimo, CleanShot X, Screen Studio and OBS all record internal audio this way. Camtasia on Mac relies on its own system audio component, which you install from its preferences and which TechSmith’s support pages troubleshoot separately on Intel and Apple silicon Macs. QuickTime still needs a virtual driver such as BlackHole.

If internal audio is the deciding factor and you want it free, with your microphone on a separate track so you can balance the two later, Skrimo is our pick. If you also need a screenshot tool, CleanShot X is excellent and records computer audio natively too.

1. Skrimo: best free screen recorder for Mac for polished demos

Skrimo is a free mac screen recorder built for demos, tutorials and product videos. Record your whole screen, one window or an area, with internal audio, microphone and webcam. When you stop, it adds automatic zoom where you clicked and typed, smooths the cursor, and frames the video on a clean background with rounded corners and a shadow. Trim, cut and adjust zooms on a simple timeline, then export MP4 at 1080p or 4K, or a GIF.

There’s no account, no watermark, no time limit and nothing is uploaded. It runs on macOS 13 Ventura or later, on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.

• Best for: product demos, tutorials, launch videos and help-center GIFs
• Not for: live streaming, cloud share links with viewer analytics, or Windows

2. Screen Studio: polished recordings, paid subscription

Screen Studio popularised the auto-zoom, smooth-cursor style of Mac recording and does it very well. It records system audio, adds a webcam overlay and offers shareable links. It’s a paid subscription with no free plan; the yearly plan works out to about $9 a month and monthly billing costs more.

Choose it if you want its extras, such as cloud sharing, and don’t mind paying every year. If you want the same look for free, see our Screen Studio alternative comparison.

3. CleanShot X: best screen recording app for Mac if you also need screenshots

CleanShot X is first and foremost a superb screenshot tool: scrolling capture, annotation, OCR and a quick-access overlay. Its screen recorder captures computer audio without drivers, can show clicks and keystrokes, and recent versions added a much more capable editing mode. It’s a one-time purchase per Mac, with an optional cloud subscription.

Choose it if screenshots are most of your day and recordings are occasional. It doesn’t add automatic zoom the way Skrimo and Screen Studio do.

4. Loom: best for async video messages

Loom is built for quick video messages shared as links, with comments, reactions and viewer insights. It runs on Mac, Windows, in the browser and on mobile. The free Starter plan allows 25 videos per person, 5 minutes per recording and up to 720p; Business costs $18 per user per month billed monthly.

Choose it for team communication. For videos you’ll publish, the 5-minute cap and cloud-first workflow get in the way.

5. Camtasia: best for full course and training production

Camtasia pairs a recorder with a full video editor: multi-track timeline, annotations, quizzes, transitions and templates. It runs on Mac and Windows and has been subscription-only since 2024. Watermark-free exports start with the Essentials plan at $179.88 a year; Starter at $39 a year exports with a watermark.

Choose it if you produce long courses with lots of editing. If you mainly need clean demos, it’s more tool (and cost) than you need. Our Camtasia alternatives page covers lighter options.

6. OBS Studio: best free option for streaming

OBS is free, open source and the standard for live streaming. On macOS 13 or later it can capture desktop audio through ScreenCaptureKit without BlackHole. It’s extremely flexible, with scenes, sources and plugins, but that flexibility takes time to learn, and there’s no post-recording polish such as automatic zoom.

Choose it for streaming or complex multi-source recordings.

7. QuickTime Player and the screenshot toolbar: best for a quick capture

Built into every Mac and free. Press Shift-Command-5 or open QuickTime Player, pick the screen or an area, and record. They’re perfect for a quick capture of your screen and voice. They can’t record internal audio without a virtual driver, have no webcam overlay, and editing stops at trimming.

Choose them when you need a clip in ten seconds and sound from your Mac doesn’t matter. Our guide on how to record screen on Mac walks through both.

8. Cap: open-source recorder with cloud sharing

Cap is an open-source screen recorder for Mac and Windows, licensed under AGPL, with an instant-share mode similar to Loom and a studio mode for editing. Local recording is free; a desktop license for commercial use and a Pro cloud plan are paid.

Choose it if open source and self-hosting matter to you, or you want Loom-style links without Loom.

Best screen recording app for Mac by use case

• Product demos, tutorials and launch videos: Skrimo (free) or Screen Studio (paid)
• Screenshots with occasional recordings: CleanShot X
• Async team updates with share links: Loom or Cap
• Long courses with heavy editing: Camtasia
• Live streaming and multi-source scenes: OBS Studio
• A ten-second capture with no internal audio: QuickTime or Shift-Command-5

Best screen recorder for Mac OS X and older Macs

Many people still search for the best screen recorder for Mac OS X, the system’s old name. On older versions (before macOS 13), recording internal audio without a virtual driver isn’t possible for any app, because the ScreenCaptureKit audio capture they rely on arrived in macOS 13. Skrimo needs macOS 13 Ventura or later. On an older Mac, QuickTime with BlackHole or OBS with a virtual audio device are the practical free choices.

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