The Best Free Screen Recorders for Mac (and What "Free" Really Means)
Apple's built-in tools, OBS Studio, Cap, ZumCast Basic, Loom Starter and more, compared on what their free versions actually let you do, with no surprises at export time.
この記事は現在、英語のみです。
"Free screen recorder" can mean four different things:
- Free, full stop: no limits, no watermark, often no polish.
- Free to record, limited to export: you can try everything, but the finished video has a watermark or a length limit.
- Free with a cap: short recordings, a limited number of videos or low resolution.
- A free trial: it stops being free after a few days.
None of these is bad. But it's frustrating to spend an hour on a video and find out at export time which kind you picked. Here's what each free option really gives you, as of October 2026.
Disclosure: we make ZumCast, one of the apps below. Details for other apps come from their official websites.
The quick answer
- Free, no limits, no editing: Apple's Screenshot toolbar, or OBS Studio
- Free with a real editor: Cap's free tier
- Free to record and edit everything, limited exports: ZumCast Basic
- Free with a 5-minute cap and instant links: Loom Starter
1. Apple's Screenshot toolbar and QuickTime
Kind of free: completely free, built into macOS.
Press Shift-Command-5, choose the whole screen or a selected portion (or a single window on macOS 26 and later), and click Record. Open the file in QuickTime to trim or split it.
You get
- Unlimited recordings, no watermark, full resolution
- Your microphone; on macOS 27 or later, system audio too (Options › Include System Audio)
- Mouse-click highlighting, a timer, and the choice of where to save
You don't get
- System audio on macOS 26 or earlier, without a third-party driver
- A camera overlay, zooms, captions, cursor effects or share links
Best for: quick, unedited clips for a colleague.
2. OBS Studio
Kind of free: completely free and open source.
OBS is the tool streamers use, and it's remarkably powerful: combine screens, windows, cameras and images into scenes, add filters, and record or stream.
You get
- Unlimited recordings with no watermark, in any resolution and format
- System audio on macOS without extra drivers
- Live streaming, scenes, filters and plugins
You don't get
- An editor, captions, auto-zoom or share links
- A gentle learning curve: expect to spend time on settings before your first good recording
Best for: streamers and anyone who wants total control and is happy to set it up.
3. Cap (free tier)
Kind of free: a free tier, with paid licences for more.
Cap is an open-source recorder with two modes: instant (a link while you record) and studio (a polished edit with auto-zoom).
You get
- The full studio editor with auto-zoom and cursor smoothing
- Exports up to 4K60
- Share links for videos up to 5 minutes
You don't get
- Longer share links or some commercial-use rights: check the licence terms if you're recording for work. A desktop licence is $58 once.
Best for: people who want a polished editor and open source, on Mac, Windows or Linux.
4. ZumCast Basic
Kind of free: free to record and edit without limits; exports are limited until you buy Pro ($49 once).
We'll be upfront about how our free version works, because it's exactly the kind of thing people find out too late. Recording and editing are unlimited and free, forever. You get auto-zoom on clicks, the cursor and click effects, on-screen shortcuts, 3D angles, screenshots with markup and wallpapers, and three plans a day from Zumi, the AI editor that runs on your Mac.
Exports are where Basic is limited:
- Video: the first half of the video, up to 30 seconds, up to 1080p, with a "Made with ZumCast" mark and a short end card
- GIF: up to 10 seconds, with a mark
- Step-by-step guides and demos: the first 3 steps
- Screenshots: a small watermark
Pro, a one-time purchase, removes all of that and adds transcripts, captions, translated captions, unlimited Zumi and share links.
Why it's on this list anyway: it's the most complete free way to try a full demo workflow, with auto-zoom, cursor effects and AI edits, on your own recordings before you pay anything. And nothing is uploaded: it all runs on your Mac.
Best for: trying a complete demo and tutorial workflow before you buy, and short clips you're happy to share with a mark.
5. Loom Starter
Kind of free: free with a cap.
You get
- Instant share links, comments and reactions
- Up to 25 videos
You don't get
- Recordings longer than 5 minutes, or more than 720p
- The editing and AI features, which are on paid plans
- Local-only recording: everything is uploaded
Best for: occasional short async messages.
6. Free trials worth knowing about
Some paid recorders offer trials that are useful for one-off projects, but watch the details:
- ScreenFlow ($199 once) has a free trial, but exports carry a watermark.
- Camtasia has a $39-a-year Starter plan, but it watermarks exports.
- Descript has a free plan with 1 media hour, 720p and a watermark.
- Tella has no free plan.
Which free recorder should you use?
- You need a clip right now: Shift-Command-5. Nothing to install.
- You need app sound on an older macOS, or you stream: OBS Studio.
- You want a polished edit for free, and open source: Cap.
- You want to try a full demo workflow (auto-zoom, cursor effects, AI edits, screenshots) on your own recordings before paying: ZumCast Basic.
- You send short video messages to a team: Loom Starter.
The best free recorder is the one whose limits you know before you start. Make a 30-second test, export it, and look at the file. Then you'll know.
Details were checked on each product's official website in October 2026 and may have changed since. ZumCast is made by the team that wrote this article. Download ZumCast free.