Free video capture software is your computer helper to capture all your screen activities. If you want to use some freeware to capture screens, including making tutorials, creating lessons, demos, and more videos for your life or work. No matter what you need, video capture software will record what's happening on your screen with high-quality videos and export them without any watermark so that you can play them on your Phones, Windows, or Mac. Here we'll present the 10 best free video capture software lists you are looking for on Windows 11/10/8/7 and Mac. Read more details from this article.
Part 1: Top 10 Free Video Capture Software
This article compares top 10 best video recording software on Windows, Mac and online platforms. You can choose any one to record a video with no watermark.
Top 1: Apeaksoft Free Online Screen Recorder
Apeaksoft Free Online Screen Recorder is an excellent capturing tool that can record your screen without any watermark online. When you use the free screen capturing software for the first time, you can find that it has a user-friendly interface and smooth operation speed to record any computer screen easily.
Platform: Online
Price: Free
- 1. Screen record on desktop and webcam including Omegle video call recording and more based on your need.
- 2. Record screen video with audio from browser, software, microphone and other sources.
- 3. Add changeable cursor, highlight, arrow and other drawing tools on your recording video.
- 4. Use hotkeys to start/stop/pause/resume recording video/audio and take screenshot.
- 5. Wide support of output video/audio/image formats.
- Pros:
- Build-in 4 recording quality options.
- Compatible with multiple devices.
- Easy to use with simple operation.
- Record video screen picture-in-picture.
- Cons:
- No feature of hardware acceleration.
- Support WMV and MP4 as export formats only.
Bonus:
If you want to unlock more advanced features about screen recording, purchasing the premium version will fully meet your needs.
Apeaksoft Screen Recorder is the best screen capture software for windows 11/10/8/7 to record any video or audio in real time. The screen recorder is built into 6 recording modes to suit your different recording needs, including Video Recorder, Audio Recorder, Game Recorder, Windows Recorder, Webcam Recorder, and Phone Recorder. You can also use 5 editing features and ultra-complete output formats to create and export your special video and audio.
Top 2: Windows 10 Game Bar
If you are running a Windows 10 computer, you can use the built-in screen recorder to record a video on Windows 10 for free. Actually, it is a pre-installed game bar. You can use it as your free video capture software on Windows 10 as well. There will be no watermark on your output screen recording video.
Platform: Windows
Price: Free
- Pros:
- 1. Record screen video on Windows 10 without installing anything.
- 2. Trim the start and end time of your video recording.
- 3. Record screen video with microphone voice.
- Cons:
- 1. Cannot record Windows 10 screen video with webcam.
- 2. There is no pause recording function in the Windows 10 free video capture software.
- 3. Fail to specify the certain resolution for video capture.
Top 3: OBS
OBS is the abbreviation of Open Broadcast Software. OBS is a popular open source video capture freeware available on multiplatform. You can capture screen video with no time limit. Furthermore, you can use OBS to stream live gameplay to Twitch or YouTube directly.
Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux
Price: Free
- Pros:
- 1. Get HD screen recording and streaming.
- 2. OBS is a totally free video capture software with no ads contained.
- 3. Screen capture games under the full-screen mode.
- Cons:
- 1. The OBS setup is a little complicated.
- 2. There is no Internet access to the builds while recording with OBS.
- 3. OBS does not provide the pause function.
Top 4: QuickTime
QuickTime Media Player is also a worldwide free video capture software for Mac and Windows users. You can record screen video, webcam and iPhone screen with audio from your computer or microphone. Furthermore, you can get basic editing tools to edit QuickTime video recording without extra programs.
Platform: Windows, Mac
Price: Free
- Pros:
- 1. No watermark or time limit in your QuickTime screen recording.
- 2. Enable subtitle to screen capture video with QuickTime.
- Cons:
- 1. Cannot screen capture video with system sound.
- 2. You need to install extra codecs to get the playback of some videos and audios.
Top 5: Screencast-O-Matic
Screencast-O-Matic is a free online video capture software available on Windows, Mac and Chrome in browser. You can record screen video for free up to 15 minutes. Later, you can trim, zoom, add caption, save or share your project.
Platform: Online
Price: Freemium
- Pros:
- 1. The web-based screen capturing program can be launched from a browser directly.
- 2. Get basic editing tools from Screencast-O-Matic free version.
- Cons:
- 1. The maximum length of screen recording up to 15 minutes.
- 2. The free video capture software is watermarked.
Top 6: SnagIt
If you want to make a simple how-to guide or instruction video, you can use Snagit to get the screen-capture utility. You can add a webcam overlay on the screen recording video. If you have some favorite tools, you can add into Favorites in Snagit. As a result, you can get easy access.
Platform: Windows, Mac
Price: Freemium
- Pros:
- 1. Get easy screen capture via hotkey controls.
- 2. Snagit offers basic editing tools to the capture images and recorded videos.
- Cons:
- 1. Some Snagit functions are confusing.
- 2. The Snagit license is a little expensive.
Top 7: ShareX
Similar to Debut Video Capture Software, ShareX is another free and open source video capture software for Microsoft Windows. You can screen capture any area on your Windows computer. After recording, you can share the file with one single press of a key within the free video capture software.
Platform: Windows
Price: Free
- Pros:
- 1. Get multiple export options to save or share your recording video.
- 2. Use keyboard shortcuts to start and stop recording screen video and audio.
- Cons:
- 1. Recording games with ShareX is not a good choice.
- 2. Cannot record video with full-screen mode.
Top 8: Screencastify
Screencastify is a free screen recorder extension for Chrome. There is no need to download or install Screencastify to your computer. If you use Google Chrome as your default browser, you can record, edit and share screen recordings with the lightweight video capture software free. Because of its tiny size, you can also play some music when you record to make the program your music video recorder. It won't make your computer lag.
Platform: Chrome
Price: Free
- Pros:
- 1. Capture the entire desktop or specific browser based on your need.
- 2. Record both the screen and your face in the same window.
- Cons:
- 1. The Screencastify full version software requires high subscription fee per year.
- 2. The free video recorder’s maximum time limit ups to 5 minutes.
Top 9: CamStudio
Being an open source screencasting and recording software, CamStudio is free to use. There are no hidden purchases. Thus, you don’t need to pay to get unlimited screen recording time or remove watermark.
Platform: Windows
Price: Free
- Pros:
- 1. A completely free video capture software with no watermark.
- 2. Screen record video with unlimited time.
- Cons:
- 1. CamStudio offers no video or audio editing tools.
- 2. You can save the recording video file as AVI or SWF format only.
Top 10: Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder
As you can see, it is a free online video capture software. You can use this in-browser screen recorder to record video and audio from your Windows, Mac and Linux computer.
Platform: Online
Price: Free
- Pros:
- 1. Screen capture on your browser with no watermark.
- 2. No maximum time limit for screen recording.
- Cons:
- 1. Need to download a launcher before using the free video capture online.
- 2. Apeaksoft Free Online Screen Recorder is a browser-based tool. Thus, it is not available for gameplay recoding.
Part 2: FAQs about Free Screen Video Capture Software
The recommendation of free video capture app for iPhone and Android
There are many free video recording apps for iOS and Android users, such as Airshou, Vidyo, BB Recorder, DU Recorder, AZ Screen Recorder, etc. Sometimes you need to pay to unlock all advanced features.
Can I capture video on Windows 10 for free?
Yes. There is a built-in Xbox Game Bar on every Windows 10 computer. Thus, you can use the Windows 10 free video capture software to record the screen of any Windows app on your laptop or computer directly.
Is recording a streaming video or audio legal?
It depends on the region and area you live mainly. But it does not matter a lot if you record video or audio streams for personal uses only.
This article covers the 10 recommendations of free video capture software for Windows, Mac, and Linux. You can select the best one to easily record videos with no watermark according to your needs. Then you can also share your favorite video on social media networks or platforms. Now, pick up one recorder to enjoy your making process without hesitation.
