Special pick: Movavi Screen Recorder Our special pick from this list of video capture software for a Mac is Movavi Screen Recorder. Fully compatible with Mac devices (including Apple MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, and others), this simple and effective screen recorder tool can help you capture a video and record your screen in a single click. It's very useful for things like video instructions, streaming videos, and online events, allowing you to adjust
the recording parameters with ease and even featuring its own built-in editor tools for trimming of your recorded files. A desktop screen recorder for Macs is a good choice for bloggers, teachers, program developers, and designers who need high-quality output. You usually have to pay to use software without a watermark. But if screen recording is a part of your daily activities, it’s worth spending a little money to get a better result. Here
is the definitive list of the best Mac screen recorders, according to our research. Best for: capturing streaming videos, webinars, and online calls Price: free trial, premium for $37.95/year or $52.95/lifetime G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars, 41 good reviews out of 44 Download for Free
You can record separate streams, schedule recordings, take a photo via the webcam, screenshot video, demonstrate keystrokes and add mouse effects. After you’re done with capturing, you can edit the video, save it in any popular format, and share the file via social networks. Pros:
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2. QuickTime PlayerBest for: simple video screen capture on Mac Price: free MacUpdate rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars, 38 good reviews out of 164 QuickTime Player is designed specifically for MacBook. The majority of macOS users have it on their laptops by default. That’s why the program is so popular – there’s no need to install any software. And even if you don’t have it by default, you can download it for free. Though the program can be considered a competent MacBook screen recorder, it has significant disadvantages for those who care about sound recording. The issue is that QuickTime doesn’t capture internal system sounds. You can only record external live sounds using the built-in microphone or headphones. Pros:
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Download QuickTime Player 3. OBSBest for: making professional video clips Price: free G2 rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars, 40 good reviews out of 43 OBS is a free video recorder. It offers many settings that enable you to create professional video clips. You can compose scenes from different media formats, edit sound with advanced audio mixing, add transitions, and much more. If you’re good at program development, you may like that OBS has a powerful API, so you can customize functionality yourself. Though the program is one of the best video recording software, we would not recommend it for beginners because they may find it challenging to work with the complex settings. Pros:
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Download OBS 4. ScreenRecBest for: boosting your work self-efficiency Price: free Trustpilot rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars, 31 good reviews out of 42 Another freeware tool on the list is ScreenRec. Its focus is making your work routine less time-consuming. If you’re tired of writing instructions for your coworkers or explaining the same thing to everyone on the team separately, start recording tutorials and taking informative screenshots with ScreenRec. It will save your time and effort for what’s really important. Pros:
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Download ScreenRec 5. Screencast-o-MaticBest for: business use Price: free version, premium from $1.65/month G2 rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars, 34 good reviews out of 38 This is one of the best-known programs, with millions of users all over the world. It's a screen recorder and video editor in one. You can also take screenshots and edit images to add arrows, text, highlights and more. The best aspect is that the company offers cloud hosting, so you can get unlimited ad-free uploads and collaboration tools. Plus, there’s a secure recording backup to online storage, so you’ll never lose your files. But, of course, these options are not available for free. Screencast-o-Matic is appropriate for both personal and business use. You can try a free version with limited functionality or pay a monthly subscription to use the fully featured program. Pros:
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Download Screencast-o-Matic 6. ActivePresenterBest for: eLearning Price: free version, premium from $199 Capterra rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars, 25 good reviews out of 25 If you work in the elearning industry, you may prefer ActivePresenter to other software. Besides the basic screen recording features, you can make guides, elearning games, and quizzes that make educational videos more interactive. You can also export content in HTML or embed your HTML package in the program. The interface resembles a document editor, which may look a little old-fashioned to some users, but school and university instructors say they find it clearer and more understandable. You can try ActivePresenter for free but be aware that the trial version has just a third of the features of the full program. Pros:
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Download ActivePresenter 7. Icecream Screen RecorderBest for: recording computer games Price: free version, premium $29.95 G2 rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars, 18 good reviews out of 21 Icecream Screen Recorder has an easy-to-use interface with only a few buttons, so you won’t get confused by obscure settings. It has all the features you need for simple screen recording on MacBook. How does this program differ from others? The first thing is a neat feature that lets you quickly select the same recording area that you used last time. Secondly, you can add your branded logo to the output. Thirdly, it is perfectly suited to recording games. If you use the trial version, you can only capture 5 minutes of footage, and there are many other restrictions, too. The price of the advanced version is a little higher than average. Pros:
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Download Icecream Screen Recorder 8. VLCBest for: recording the entire screen without audio Price: free G2 rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars, 396 good reviews out of 405 Who doesn’t know VLC? It’s one of the simplest media players around. It works not only as a video and audio player, but also as a converter and screen recorder. And it’s absolutely free to use! But the program has some disadvantages in the area of screen recording. The first is that you cannot use the microphone to record your voice. Secondly, you cannot adapt the size of the capture area. Finally, if you want a high-resolution video, you’ll have to free up a lot of space on your hard disk because the file is going to be pretty huge. Pros:
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Download VLC 9. Peek 360Best for: making short, silent screencasts Price: free Mac app store rating: 2.9 out of 5 stars, 26 reviews Peek 360 is a screencast-recording app for macOS that lets you capture your desktop session to a high-quality MP4 video. Recordings are created from a user-defined screen area. Additionally, you can also export your video as an LMS package. Peek 360 isn’t an advanced tool with plenty of extended features but rather a small application that focuses on the single task of making short, silent screencasts of a custom area of the screen. Pros:
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Download Peek 360 Screen recording on a Mac onlineIf you're not excited about installing desktop software, check out these online recorders. Of course, they do tend to have fewer recording features. For example, you cannot schedule recording or customize settings. But these shortcomings are compensated for by the opportunity to use them for free and without installation. The only inconvenience that may detract from using an online recorder is that you need to open its web page every time you want to make a screen capture. It’s not ideal if you need a screen recorder for professional use. You should also note that you cannot use this type of recorder without an internet connection. Here are two online grabbers that we would highly recommend. 1. Screen CaptureBest for: making fast recordings on-the-go Price: free version, premium from $9.95/month or $39.95/year Trustpilot rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars, 45 good reviews out of 48 Screen Capture is appropriate for anyone who is a fan of rapid recording. No installation, no lengthy setup. You won’t need to spend time learning how to use it. You just open the web page, hit the Start Recording button and capture your screen. The grabber has a simple interface that is comfortable to work with. You can record audio and video simultaneously or separately. Webcam recording is also supported. The biggest disadvantage is the lack of choice in output formats. If you need a specific format, you’ll need to use another program to convert the video after the recording is finished. The output videos have watermarks. If you want to remove these, you’ll have to pay a monthly subscription fee, but it’s pretty reasonable. Pros:
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Go to Screen Capture website 2. Apowersoft Free Online Screen RecorderBest for: editing videos during online recording Price: free Techradar rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars This web grabber records all types of screen activities – streaming videos, self-demonstrations, online calls, and more. One nice thing is that you can edit your recordings in real time. Many editing tools are included. Apowersoft supports many formats for exporting files that even desktop programs do not always have. After you’re done with recording, you can upload your video to Vimeo, YouTube, Dropbox, or Google Drive. Considering all these options, we’d say it’s one of the best online solutions you can find. You may ask what’s the catch. Although Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder works online, you still have to install a specific launcher to use the app. But no worries – it’s quite safe to use. Pros:
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Go to Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder website 3. Screenapp.ioBest for: quick and easy tasks Price: free, premium from $1.99/month If you are looking for some basic web screen recorder for a quick task, Screenapp.io is just what you need. It is an online tool for quick and easy screen capture. What’s more, the personal version is now completely free to use, since the tool is under development. It offers up to 1 hour of recording your screen, 10 maximum recordings, and an automatic cloud folder creation. Similar to other online tools, Screenapp.io lets you record a browser tab, the content of a selected window, or just the full screen. Pros:
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Go to Screenapp.io website The best browser extensions for video capture on MacOne other way to make a video of your online activities is to add a recording extension to your browser. You’ll get a small icon in the top right corner of your browser that follows you wherever you go on the internet. It’s convenient for capturing page actions, streaming videos, or online meetings. But, in general, you cannot record anything that doesn’t happen in your browser (although there are some extensions that are not limited by browser frames). Another potential inconvenience is that, if you use multiple browsers, you’ll have to add an extension to each one. Let’s have a look at the best extensions. Maybe you’ll find that they are more appropriate to your needs. 1. LoomBest for: sending work video messages Price: free version, premium from $8/month Google Web Store rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars, 9,700 good reviews out of 10,067 Users: 4 000 000+ Loom is a good tool for work messaging. You can record your screen in a few seconds, get a shareable link and send it to your colleagues. There’s no need to download the video. The extension can be integrated with your workspace. For example, you can embed Loom in Gmail, Slack, Jira, and other apps. It’s a good tool for team collaboration. The free version has some limitations, like recording length, number of videos and screenshots, and number of creators (team members who can create and edit content). If you want to use the full version, you’ll have to buy a subscription. Pros:
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Download Loom 2. ScreencastifyBest for: drawing on videos Price: free version, premium for $49/year Google web store rating: 4 out of 5 stars, 8,264 good reviews out of 11,463 Users: 10 000 000+ This is an extension that works like a powerful video and audio recorder. You can record screens, including your browser and desktop. It’s possible to add voice commentary with a microphone and include your webcam image in the recording. It includes drawing tools that you can use in real time, which may be useful if you want to highlight a particular web page element or just have some fun. Recorded videos can be published on YouTube or automatically saved to Google Drive. The files can also be exported in MP4, animated GIF, or MP3 formats. Pros:
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Download Screencastify 3. Movavi Screen Recorder for ChromeBest for: screen recording on Google Chrome Price: free version, premium from $9.95/month or $39.95/year Google web store rating: 5 out of 5 stars, 7 reviews Users: 400+ Movavi Screen Recorder for Chrome is a really useful and free-to-use extension for Google Chrome. You can install it directly to the Chrome browser to use across your favorite devices, and it's perfect for recording both video and audio from your screen on a Mac. Very simple and straightforward for new users, this tool can be set up to record any webpage or desktop screen, capture your own voice via a microphone, record system sounds, and even record your webcam feed too. It has strong security to ensure that only you get access to your recordings, and you have an unlimited number of recordings to make. Pros:
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Download Movavi Screen Recorder for Chrome 4. Awesome Screenshot and Screen Recorder
Best for: sharing content in one click Price: free version, premium from $6/month Google web store rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars, 19,800 good reviews out of 23,102 Users: 1 000 000+ This extension from Awesome has the best user reviews of all the apps. It has all the tools needed for simple screen recording and screenshotting that should satisfy most people’s needs. You can record your desktop, current tab or webcam. There’s even a choice of video dimensions - 720p, 1080p or 4K. Sharing options like sending files to Jira, Slack, Trello, Asana, and GitHub are also supported. This extension is often used as a screenshotting tool. It offers different sizes of screenshots and supports copying a screenshot for quick pasting. You can use the free version with a limited range of opportunities or pay a subscription fee. Pros:
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Download Awesome Screenshot and Screen Recorder How to record screen with our macOS screen recording appFollow the instructions below to learn how to screen-record on your Mac in a few simple steps. Step 1. Install Movavi Screen RecorderDownload and install Movavi Screen Recorder on your Mac. Simply follow the installation instructions and the whole process should be finished in a matter of minutes. Step 2. Set the parametersNext, you'll need to prepare the window or screen you want to record and then load up the program and adjust the parameters. To do this, press the Screen Recording button and then draw the capture frame over the video area you want to record. You may also choose to set a timer via the Settings menu to automatically start and stop recording at set times if you know the timings of the content or event you want to record. You can also adjust the settings to include webcam and audio recordings if desired. Step 3. Record the screen on your MacOnce the settings are all set up, you can press the REC button to start recording your screen. You can use the Pause and Stop buttons while the recording is ongoing to pause or end it, and once you're finished, you can download the new file to your device in MKV format. If you want to make any edits or conversions beforehand, follow the next step below. Step 4. Edit and convert the file (optional)You may also choose to use Movavi Screen Recorder's built-in editing and conversion options to cut out unwanted sections of your video and save it in a format that suits you. Simply make the necessary changes in the preview window that appears at the end of your recording before exporting it to your device. That’s it! Now you know how to record your screen with Movavi Screen Recorder! ConclusionWe hope that this article has helped you find some options for MacBook screen recording. If you're not sure how to decide on the best screen recording software for a Mac, take the following factors into consideration:
Movavi Screen Recorder The perfect way to record from your screen Disclaimer: Please be aware that Movavi Screen Recorder does not allow capture of copy-protected video and audio streams. Learn more Frequently asked questionsWhat are the best free screen recorders for Mac?Here’re some of the best free screen recorders for Mac:
You can learn more about screen recording options in the article above. How can I record Mac screens for free?To record your screen on a Mac, try Movavi Screen Recorder. Step 1. Download and launch the app. Download Movavi Screen Recorder. Step 2. Click Screenshot. Step 3. Select the area for capture (optional). Step 4. Draw on the screenshot if needed. Step 5. Save the image. How can I choose the best screen recorder for Mac?Before you download any screen grabber, you should define your goals. If you need professional videos with high-quality output for your blog or business, it’s better to buy desktop software with a variety of functions and good customer support. If you want to just grab a single screen, use a free online recorder like Screen Capture or Apowersoft Online Screen Recorder. You don’t need to install anything. If you often need to make short videos from your browser activities, add an extension to your browser. It will be faster than using a desktop application, but it won’t work without an internet connection. |