Dolly
- Best for
- Polished demos and tutorials
- Price
- Free · €5 once
- In one line
- Auto zoom, redrawn cursor, timeline, captions
Best screen recorder for Mac
The best screen recorder for Mac, by what you make.
There's no single best app; there's the best one for your video. Eight honest picks for 2026, including the free ones, and where our own app fits.
| App | Best for | Price | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dolly | Polished demos and tutorials | Free · €5 once | Auto zoom, redrawn cursor, timeline, captions |
| Screen Studio | Polished video with share links | $29/mo or $108/yr | The most complete auto-zoom app |
| CleanShot X | Screenshots, quick clips | $35 once | Screenshot king, Studio Mode zooms |
| Built-in ⇧⌘5 / QuickTime | Quick and free | Free | No editing, no zooms |
| Loom | Async messages to a team | Free · $18/user/mo | Instant links, comments |
| OBS Studio | Streaming and scenes | Free, open source | Powerful, steep learning curve |
| Camtasia | Long training courses | €40–€608/yr | Full multitrack editor |
| Cap | Open source, cross-platform | Free · $58 once | Mac, Windows, Linux, links |
Screen Studio
- Best for
- Polished video with share links
- Price
- $29/mo or $108/yr
- In one line
- The most complete auto-zoom app
CleanShot X
- Best for
- Screenshots, quick clips
- Price
- $35 once
- In one line
- Screenshot king, Studio Mode zooms
Built-in ⇧⌘5 / QuickTime
- Best for
- Quick and free
- Price
- Free
- In one line
- No editing, no zooms
Loom
- Best for
- Async messages to a team
- Price
- Free · $18/user/mo
- In one line
- Instant links, comments
OBS Studio
- Best for
- Streaming and scenes
- Price
- Free, open source
- In one line
- Powerful, steep learning curve
Camtasia
- Best for
- Long training courses
- Price
- €40–€608/yr
- In one line
- Full multitrack editor
Cap
- Best for
- Open source, cross-platform
- Price
- Free · $58 once
- In one line
- Mac, Windows, Linux, links
Prices and features as listed on each product's own website in October 2026, before tax. Check them before you buy; they change often. We make Dolly, so weigh our take on it accordingly.
How we picked
We looked at what each app is built for, what it costs in October 2026, and what it's like to go from "record" to "video I can post". Prices come from each vendor's own site. We make Dolly, so we've tried to be most critical where we know the most.
1. Dolly: best for polished demos and tutorials on a budget
Record normally; Dolly zooms in on your clicks, redraws your cursor so it glides, and puts the recording on a designed background. A real timeline (split, trim, several takes, speed, cut silences), captions and transcript editing on your Mac, camera layouts, masks for private data, and MP4 up to 4K60 or GIF. Free up to 1440p with no time limit, €5 once for everything. Share links with comments (Dolly links) are free during the beta. Missing: Windows (in the works), Intel Macs, iPhone recording.
2. Screen Studio: best if budget isn't the issue
The app that made auto zoom popular, with the most features in the category: five camera layouts, camera cutout, color grading, iPhone recording, share links with view counts, AI voiceover. $29 a month or $108 a year, and you need a plan to export. See Dolly vs Screen Studio.
3. CleanShot X: best if you mostly take screenshots
Screenshots, scrolling capture, OCR, annotations and a quick cloud, plus recordings with Studio Mode zooms. $35 once with a year of updates. See CleanShot X vs Screen Studio.
4. The built-in recorder: best free option for a quick clip
Press ⇧⌘5 to record the whole screen or a part of it; QuickTime Player can trim the result. It's free and always there, but there's no zoom, cursor polish or real editing. Our Mac screen recording guide covers the details.
5. Loom: best for quick messages to a team
Record, stop, paste a link. Comments and view counts. Free for 25 videos of five minutes at 720p; $18 per user a month for more. Not built for polish. See Dolly vs Loom, or the free Loom alternative if the 5-minute limit is the problem.
6. OBS Studio: best for streaming and complex scenes
Free and open source, with scenes, sources and live streaming. It's enormously capable and equally fiddly; there's no automatic zoom or cursor polish.
7. Camtasia: best for long training courses
A full multitrack editor with callouts, annotations and quizzes, on Mac and Windows. Subscription only. See Camtasia vs Dolly.
8. Cap: best open-source option across platforms
Mac, Windows and Linux, with an instant mode that uploads while you record and a studio mode with auto zoom. Free for personal use, $58 once for a commercial desktop license.
Which should you get?
- A demo, tutorial or launch clip that has to look great: Dolly or Screen Studio.
- Screenshots all day: CleanShot X.
- A quick note to a teammate: Loom, or the built-in recorder.
- A course with quizzes: Camtasia.
- Free and open source: Cap, OBS or OpenScreen.
Not sure yet? Most of these have a free version. Record the same 30 seconds in two of them and compare.
Questions
What is the best free screen recorder for Mac?
For a quick clip, the built-in recorder (⇧⌘5). For polished videos, Dolly's free plan exports up to 1440p with no time limit. For streaming, OBS Studio.
What screen recorder do YouTubers use on Mac?
It depends on the video. Tutorials and software walkthroughs often use auto-zoom apps like Screen Studio or Dolly; streamers tend to use OBS.
Which Mac screen recorder has auto zoom?
Dolly, Screen Studio, CleanShot X (Studio Mode), Cap (studio mode), FocuSee and OpenScreen all zoom automatically on clicks.
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Free to use, with no time limit. Everything for €5, once.
First time: open Dolly, click Done, then System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway (macOS 13–14: right-click Dolly → Open). Once only. Installation help