Screen recording software for Windows
Short answer: OBS Studio is the best free Windows recorder, Camtasia the best for edited tutorials, and Bandicam the lightest for long captures on modest hardware.
Last verified: 2026-08-01
Before you record
- Close notification-heavy apps or enable focus assist
- Record the window rather than the desktop where possible
- Check the microphone input level
- Record at the resolution you will publish
Compare these Windows products
| Product | Win 10 | Win 11 | Free plan | Free trial | Screenshot | Full page | Annotation | Recording | Pricing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ShareX | Yes | Yes | Yes | n/a | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | free |
| Snagit | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | paid |
| Ashampoo Snap | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | paid |
| Zight | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unverified | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes | freemium |
| Droplr | Yes | Yes | No | Unverified | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes | paid |
| Monosnap | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unverified | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes | freemium |
| Awesome Screenshot | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unverified | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | freemium |
| Nimbus Capture | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unverified | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | freemium |
| Bandicam | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | Yes | freemium |
| OBS Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes | n/a | Yes | — | — | — | Yes | free |
| Camtasia | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes | paid |
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
Snagit
TechSmith
Commercial Windows screenshot and screen capture software with scrolling capture, a polished annotation editor, templates, OCR and screen recording.
- Screenshot
- Region capture
- Window capture
- Full screen capture
- Scrolling capture
Ashampoo Snap
Ashampoo
Paid Windows screen capture software with scrolling capture, OCR, video recording, watermarking and a modern annotation editor.
- 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
Droplr
Droplr
Windows screenshot and screen recording app focused on instant links, file sharing and simple annotation for business teams.
- Screenshot
- Region capture
- Window capture
- Annotation
- Screen recording
Monosnap
Monosnap
Windows capture app with annotation, video recording and uploads to your own S3, Google Drive or corporate storage as well as Monosnap's cloud.
- Screenshot
- Region capture
- Window capture
- Full screen capture
- Annotation
Awesome Screenshot
Awesome Screenshot
Chrome extension for Windows that captures visible area, selected region or the full page, and records the browser tab with annotation and sharing.
- Screenshot
- Region capture
- Full-page web capture
- Scrolling capture
- Annotation
Nimbus Capture
Nimbus Web
Chrome extension and Windows companion for full-page and region capture, video recording, and a comparatively rich annotation editor.
- Screenshot
- Region capture
- Full-page web capture
- Scrolling capture
- Annotation
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
OBS Studio
OBS Project
Free, open-source Windows screen recording and streaming software with scenes, sources and a screenshot output for the current frame.
- Screen recording
- Full screen capture
- Window capture
- Screenshot
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