OBS Studio
OBS Project — Free recording and streaming studio
Free, open-source Windows screen recording and streaming software with scenes, sources and a screenshot output for the current frame.
Last verified: 2026-08-01
Overview
OBS Studio is the standard free tool for recording a Windows screen at high quality. Scenes combine display, window, camera and audio sources, and a hotkey saves the current frame as an image.
It is overkill for a quick screenshot but unmatched when the same workflow also needs recording or streaming.
Capabilities on Windows
- Screen recording
- Full screen capture
- Window capture
- Screenshot
Pros
- + Free with no limits or watermarks
- + Excellent recording quality
- + Highly configurable scenes
Cons
- − Complex for simple screenshots
- − No annotation or scrolling capture
Pricing and trial
- Pricing model
- free
- Pricing notes
- Free and open source.
- Free trial
- Not applicable
- Trial notes
- Not applicable — the software is free.
- Best for
- High-quality Windows screen recording alongside a separate screenshot tool.
- System requirements
- Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit.
- Last verified
- 2026-08-01
We do not republish exact prices — see how we verify pricing.
Alternatives and competitors
Bandicam
Bandicam Company
Windows screen recording software with game, screen and device modes, plus still image capture and scheduled recording.
- Screenshot
- Full screen capture
- Region capture
- Screen recording
- Delayed capture
Camtasia
TechSmith
Paid Windows screen recording and video editing software for tutorials, with capture, timeline editing, callouts and quizzing.
- Screen recording
- Screenshot
- Annotation
- Built-in editor
ShareX
ShareX Team
Free, open-source Windows screenshot and screen capture software with scrolling capture, OCR, screen recording and scriptable after-capture workflows.
- Screenshot
- Region capture
- Window capture
- Full screen capture
- Scrolling capture
Zight
Zight (formerly CloudApp)
Windows capture app for screenshots, GIFs and screen recordings that uploads to a shareable link with annotation and team libraries.
- Screenshot
- Region capture
- Window capture
- Annotation
- Screen recording
FAQ
- Can OBS take a screenshot?
- Yes, a hotkey saves the current output frame as an image file.
Get OBS Studio for Windows 10 and Windows 11
Download OBS Studio