What is the best screen recorder for Mac?

Prequel, if the recording has to look produced without an afternoon of editing. It records the screen, your camera and both audio tracks, then opens an editor with the zooms already placed on your clicks and typing, your camera framed and a background behind it. Export is 4K at 120 fps, on your Mac, with nothing uploaded. Seven days free, then $9 a month or $39 once.

Which Mac screen recorder has automatic zoom?

Prequel, Screen Studio, Screen Charm and Tella place zooms on their own. Prequel also zooms on the field you are typing into, and adds a perspective tilt on the push-in with focus falling away from the subject, which none of the others on the grid do. Every generated zoom is editable afterwards.

What is the best Screen Studio alternative?

Prequel is the closest to it: the same automatic zooms and cursor smoothing, plus the perspective tilt, the focus falloff, fourteen layouts and export at 4K 120 where Screen Studio stops at 4K 60. It is $9 a month, the same as Screen Studio's yearly rate and a third of its monthly one, and there is a $39 lifetime licence, which Screen Studio withdrew in 2025.

Which screen recorder does not upload my recordings?

Prequel records, edits, transcribes and exports on your Mac. Nothing leaves it unless you press Share. Loom, Descript and Tella upload the recording to work on it; Screen Studio and Screen Charm record locally but upload for a share link. On the grid, the only two that transcribe captions on the machine are Prequel and Screen Studio.

Which screen recorder exports 4K at 120 fps?

Prequel. Screen Studio exports 4K at 60 fps, and the rest top out at 4K on a paid plan or at 60. The export is rendered on your Mac's own media engine, with no upload and no cloud render.

Which screen recorder can remove the camera background?

Prequel cuts you out of the camera picture while you record, so it is you standing on the wallpaper with no card, shape or shadow around you. Camtasia, ScreenFlow and Descript remove a background inside a video editor; Loom and Tella swap or blur it inside the camera bubble.

Which is the smallest screen recorder to download?

Prequel is 104 MB, with the recorder and the whole editor in it. Screen Studio is 366 MB, Camtasia 435 MB, Descript 255 MB, Screen Charm 237 MB and Loom 228 MB. ScreenFlow is 89 MB. Tella's 25 MB app is only the recorder, and its editor is a web page.

Is there a free screen recorder with automatic zoom for Mac?

Prequel is free for seven days with the whole app in it, no card needed, and then $9 a month or $39 once. Screen Studio and Tella are paid too. The free recorders in this category capture faithfully and leave the zooms, the framing and the background to you.

Which screen recorder is cheapest?

Prequel is $9 a month or $39 once, for everything. Screen Studio is $29 a month or $9 a month billed yearly; Loom Business is $18 a seat; Tella is $13 a seat; Descript's paid plans start at $16; Camtasia is an annual subscription; Screen Charm is $99 once and ScreenFlow is $199.99 once. Prices as checked on the dates under the grid.

Compare

How Prequel compares

The recorders people weigh Prequel against, on one grid, feature by feature. Scroll across for each one. The name at the top opens the full comparison.

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Feature	Prequel	Screen Studio	Loom	Camtasia	ScreenFlow	Descript	Tella	Screen Charm	QuickTime Player	OBS Studio	CleanShot X	Cap	Snagit	ScreenPal	Screencastify	Vidyard	Zoom	Clipchamp	Movavi Screen Recorder	Bandicam	ShareX	FlashBack	Icecream Screen Recorder	FocuSee	Cursorful	Recordly	OpenScreen
Automatic zoom on clicks	Included	Included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Included	Included	Not included	Not included	Included	Included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Included	Included	Included	Included
Zoom on what you type	Included	Included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included
Cursor smoothing and resizing	Included	Included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Included	Included	Included	Included
Camera overlay, shaped and placed after	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Picture in picture	Included	Included	Not included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Not included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included
Backgrounds, padding and shadow	Included	Included	Blur and simple backgrounds	Included	Included	Green screen removal	Included	Included	Not included	Anything you compose into the scene	On screenshots	Included	Not included	Virtual backgrounds behind the camera	Not included	Behind the camera bubble	Virtual backgrounds behind you	Stock backgrounds on a layer	Not included	Chroma key behind the camera	Not included	Not included	Not included	Included	Included	Included	Included
Layouts for the screen and camera	Fourteen, per clip	Camera over the screen, or full screen	Screen and camera, screen only, camera only	Rev templates	Templates you build	Split-screen and scene layouts	Included	A floating bubble, or pinned to an edge	Not included	Scenes you build yourself	A camera bubble over the screen	Camera over the screen, resized and moved	Camera and screen, or either alone	Camera and screen, resized and placed	Tab, desktop or camera only	Screen and camera, or either alone	Speaker, gallery, or screen with a thumbnail	Whatever you build on the timeline	Camera over the screen	Camera over the screen	Not included	Camera over the screen	Camera over the screen	Camera over the screen, or beside it	A webcam docked in a corner, per scene	A webcam bubble that grows and shrinks	Picture in picture, dual frame, vertical stack, or none
Camera cut out of its background	Included	Yes, in beta since version 4	Virtual background inside the bubble	Included	Included	Included	Blur, a colour or an image	Background replacement inside the overlay	Not included	Chroma key, or a plugin	Not included	Not included	Not included	Blur or replace the camera's background	Not included	Virtual background inside the bubble	Virtual background, with or without a green screen	Background removal on a clip	Not included	Chroma key, with a green screen	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Included
Perspective tilt and focus falloff on zooms	Included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	A 3D camera move, with depth of field
Captions transcribed on your Mac	Included	Included	After upload to Loom	After upload to TechSmith	Typed in a caption editor	In the cloud	After upload to Tella	Generated in the app; where is not stated	Not included	Not included	Transcripts in the cloud	Transcripts on Cap Pro, after upload	Not included	Speech-to-text in their editor	Auto-captions after upload	Transcribed after upload	Live captions, and transcripts in the cloud	Auto-captions, in the cloud	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Generated in the app; where is not stated	Included	Not included	Included
Timeline editing	Included	Included	Trim and transcript-based edits	A full multi-track editor	A full multi-track editor	Transcript-based, plus multi-track	Included	Trim, split, mute and speed, per clip	Trim at either end	Not included	Studio Mode: trim, and zooms	Included	Trim, cut and combine clips	Included	Trim, stitch, text and blur boxes	Trim and stitch	Not included	Included	Trim and join	Not included	Not included	Included	Trim	Included	Segments for zoom, speed, camera and blur	Speed, zooms, annotations and audio tracks	Included
Separate audio tracks	Included	Included	Not included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Not stated	Not included	Included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Multiple audio tracks in the editor	Not included	Not included	Per-speaker audio on a cloud recording	Included	Not included	Two audio tracks, separated on export	Not included	Included	Not included	Not stated	Not included	Imports audio and webcam as their own tracks	Not stated
System audio without a virtual driver	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	From macOS 27; a virtual driver below it	Yes, on macOS 13 or later	Included	Included	Included	Included	Tab audio, not the Mac's own	In the desktop app	Included	In the Windows app	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Tab audio from the extension	Included	Included
Reframe to vertical without cropping	Included	Included	Not included	Change the canvas and re-position by hand	Change the canvas and re-position by hand	Included	Included	A split layout; the screen crops to follow the cursor	Not included	Set the canvas to a vertical size yourself	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Change the aspect ratio and reposition by hand	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	A vertical layout, cropped to follow the cursor	Ten aspect ratios, cropped	Not included	Not included
Magnifying-glass loupe over the work	Included	Yes, new in version 4	Not included	Cursor magnify, around the pointer	Callouts and magnify actions	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included
Colour looks and filters	Included	LUTs	Not included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Not included	Not included	A LUT filter on a source	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Studio effects and filters	Filters and effects	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included
Microphone noise reduction	Included	Included	After recording, in the web player only	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Not included	Included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Automatic levels, and silence detection	Not included	Not included	Included	Included	Included	Not included	Not included	Included	Not included	Included	Included	Not included	Not included
Import a video you already have	Included	Yes, an mp4, without cursor animation	Yes, on paid plans	Included	Included	Included	Yes, on paid plans	Not included	Opens any file it can play	As a media source in a scene	Not included	Not included	Included	Included	Upload a video to the library	Included	Not included	Included	In Movavi Video Editor, sold separately	Not included	Not included	Included	Not included	Included	Included	Audio and webcam footage	Not included
Records and exports without uploading	Included	Records locally; shareable links upload	No — recordings upload to Loom	Included	Included	No — projects and media are stored on their servers	No — recordings are hosted by Tella	Records locally; shareable links upload	Included	Included	Records locally; the cloud uploads	Records locally; sharing uploads, or self-host it	Records locally; Screencast sharing uploads	Hosted; the editor and the library are theirs	No, recordings go to Drive or their library	No, recordings upload to Vidyard	Local recording on paid plans; cloud recording uploads	No, projects live in the browser or the Microsoft account	Included	Included	Local, until a workflow uploads it	Included	Local, with 10 GB of cloud storage on PRO	Included	Renders locally; sharing uploads	Included	Included
Shareable links	Included	Yes, 30-minute cap, branded page	Included	Via Screencast Pro	Not included	Included	Included	Yes, 2 GB per upload	Not included	Not included	Included	Yes, 5 minutes on free and Desktop, unlimited on Pro	Included	Included	Included	Included	From a cloud recording	Included	Not included	Not included	To dozens of destinations you choose	Publish to a video platform	Included	Not included	Included	Not included	Not included
Team workspace	Included	Not included	Included	Included	Not included	Included	Included	Not included	Not included	Not included	On the Pro plan	Included	Through TechSmith Screencast	Included	Included	Included	Included	Through Microsoft 365	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included
Records an iPhone or iPad	Not included	Included	Not included	Not included	Over USB	Not included	Not included	Not included	Included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Records on an iPhone or iPad, as its own app	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	A device over HDMI, with a capture card	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included	Not included
Maximum export	4K, 120 fps	4K, 60 fps	4K on paid plans	4K	4K	4K on Creator and above	4K; 60 fps on Premium only	4K, 60 fps	Screen size, no settings	Whatever you configure	Not published	4K, 60 fps	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not published	1080p on a cloud recording	1080p free and Standard, 4K on Premium	4K	4K, up to 480 fps	Whatever you configure, MP4 or GIF	Not published	Not published	4K	4K	MP4 or a looping GIF	Source size, 60 fps, H.264
Download size	104 MB	366 MB	228 MB	435 MB	89 MB	255 MB	25 MB, editor in the browser	237 MB	Built into macOS	188 MB	51 MB	Not published	Not published	Not published	A browser extension	Not published	Not published	A Windows app, or a browser tab	Not published	Windows only	Windows only	Windows only	Not published	Not published	Not published	188 MB	Not published
Platforms	macOS 14+, Apple Silicon	macOS	macOS, Windows, web, Chrome	macOS 14+, Windows	macOS 15 or macOS 26	macOS, Windows, web	macOS, Windows, web, Chrome	macOS 14+, Apple Silicon	macOS, every Mac	macOS 13+, Windows, Linux	macOS	macOS, Windows	macOS, Windows	macOS, Windows, Chromebook, Android, iOS	Chrome, Edge	macOS, Windows, web, Chrome	macOS, Windows, Linux, web, iOS, Android	Windows 11, Windows 10 via the Store, Chrome, Edge	macOS, Windows	Windows	Windows	Windows 10, Windows 11	macOS, Windows, Android	macOS, Windows	macOS, Windows, and a Chrome, Edge or Brave extension	macOS, Windows, Linux	macOS, Windows, Linux
Licence	$9/month or $39 once, 7-day trial	Subscription only	Per-seat subscription	Subscription only, annual	One-off, paid major upgrades	Per-seat subscription	Per-seat subscription, no free plan	$99 once, up to three Macs	Free with macOS	Free, GPLv2	$35 once, a year of updates, $19/yr after	Open source; $58 once or $12/user/mo	Subscription, per user	Subscription, or a capped free plan	Per-seat subscription, or a capped free plan	Per-seat subscription	Per-seat subscription, or a capped free plan	Free tier, or a Microsoft 365 subscription	$44.95/yr or $74.95 once	$33.26/yr or $53.90 perpetual	Free, GPLv3	Free edition, or $39/yr and $65 once	$29.95/yr or $59.95 once	$49.99/yr, or $199.99 once for 2.x	$79 once, per seat	Free, open source	Free, MIT

Screen Studio: checked on 3 October 2026 against Screen Studio, screen.studio pricing, Dynamic camera layouts, Screen Studio changelog, Screen Studio 3.7.5 installer, Screen Studio roadmap, Create a project from an existing video.
Loom: checked on 21 August 2026 against Loom pricing, Loom's recent product investments, Loom capture modes, Loom virtual backgrounds, Loom 0.374.2 installer, Suppress background noise, Upload or import videos, Edit your Loom video.
Camtasia: checked on 22 August 2026 against TechSmith Screencast, TechSmith — transition to subscription pricing, Difference between Camtasia Pro, Create and Essentials, Camtasia features, Camtasia transcription, Camtasia 2026.2.2 installer, Camtasia cursor effects, Camtasia video filters, Remove background noise, Import and manage media.
ScreenFlow: checked on 21 August 2026 against ScreenFlow version history, ScreenFlow 10 on the Mac App Store, ScreenFlow features, ScreenFlow background removal, ScreenFlow captions, ScreenFlow 10.5.2 installer, ScreenFlow audio help.
Descript: checked on 21 August 2026 against Descript pricing, Descript security, Descript tools, Descript 114.0.4 installer, Descript effects overview, Descript colour adjustments, Descript Studio Sound, Import files into Descript.
Tella: checked on 21 August 2026 against Tella pricing, Tella plans, Tella features, Tella camera background, Tella 2.33 installer, Tella: add a zoom, Tella: Studio Voice, Tella: upload existing videos.
Screen Charm: checked on 8 October 2026 against Screen Charm, Screen Charm changelog, Screen Charm vs Screen Studio, by Screen Charm, Screen Charm's Screen Studio alternatives post, Screen Charm 1.11.4 installer, Screen Charm on Product Hunt, Show HN: Mac screen recorder that adds zoom animations from click data.
QuickTime Player: checked on 22 October 2026 against How to record the screen on Mac, QuickTime Player User Guide.
OBS Studio: checked on 22 October 2026 against OBS Studio, OBS Studio download, OBS Studio 32.2.2 installer, OBS Studio on GitHub.
CleanShot X: checked on 22 October 2026 against CleanShot X, CleanShot X pricing, CleanShot X screen recording, CleanShot Cloud, CleanShot X 5.0.1 installer.
Cap: checked on 22 October 2026 against Cap, Cap pricing, Cap commercial licence, Cap on GitHub.
Snagit: checked on 22 October 2026 against Snagit, Buy Snagit.
ScreenPal: checked on 22 October 2026 against ScreenPal, ScreenPal plans, ScreenPal screen recorder.
Screencastify: checked on 22 October 2026 against Screencastify, Screencastify pricing.
Vidyard: checked on 22 October 2026 against Vidyard, Vidyard pricing.
Zoom: checked on 22 October 2026 against Zoom Workplace pricing, Local recording.
Clipchamp: checked on 22 October 2026 against Clipchamp on Microsoft 365, Clipchamp.
Movavi Screen Recorder: checked on 22 October 2026 against Movavi Screen Recorder, Movavi Screen Recorder for Mac.
Bandicam: checked on 22 October 2026 against Bandicam, Buy Bandicam.
ShareX: checked on 22 October 2026 against ShareX, ShareX on GitHub.
FlashBack: checked on 22 October 2026 against FlashBack, FlashBack pricing.
Icecream Screen Recorder: checked on 22 October 2026 against Icecream Screen Recorder, Screen Recorder: Upgrade to PRO.
FocuSee: checked on 22 October 2026 against FocuSee, FocuSee pricing.
Cursorful: checked on 22 October 2026 against Cursorful, Cursorful pricing.
Recordly: checked on 22 October 2026 against Recordly, Recordly 1.4.0 installer.
OpenScreen: checked on 22 October 2026 against OpenScreen, OpenScreen on GitHub.

FAQ

Before you pick one

What is the best screen recorder for Mac?: Prequel, if the recording has to look produced without an afternoon of editing. It records the screen, your camera and both audio tracks, then opens an editor with the zooms already placed on your clicks and typing, your camera framed and a background behind it. Export is 4K at 120 fps, on your Mac, with nothing uploaded. Seven days free, then $9 a month or $39 once.
Which Mac screen recorder has automatic zoom?: Prequel, Screen Studio, Screen Charm and Tella place zooms on their own. Prequel also zooms on the field you are typing into, and adds a perspective tilt on the push-in with focus falling away from the subject, which none of the others on the grid do. Every generated zoom is editable afterwards.
What is the best Screen Studio alternative?: Prequel is the closest to it: the same automatic zooms and cursor smoothing, plus the perspective tilt, the focus falloff, fourteen layouts and export at 4K 120 where Screen Studio stops at 4K 60. It is $9 a month, the same as Screen Studio's yearly rate and a third of its monthly one, and there is a $39 lifetime licence, which Screen Studio withdrew in 2025.
Which screen recorder does not upload my recordings?: Prequel records, edits, transcribes and exports on your Mac. Nothing leaves it unless you press Share. Loom, Descript and Tella upload the recording to work on it; Screen Studio and Screen Charm record locally but upload for a share link. On the grid, the only two that transcribe captions on the machine are Prequel and Screen Studio.
Which screen recorder exports 4K at 120 fps?: Prequel. Screen Studio exports 4K at 60 fps, and the rest top out at 4K on a paid plan or at 60. The export is rendered on your Mac's own media engine, with no upload and no cloud render.
Which screen recorder can remove the camera background?: Prequel cuts you out of the camera picture while you record, so it is you standing on the wallpaper with no card, shape or shadow around you. Camtasia, ScreenFlow and Descript remove a background inside a video editor; Loom and Tella swap or blur it inside the camera bubble.
Which is the smallest screen recorder to download?: Prequel is 104 MB, with the recorder and the whole editor in it. Screen Studio is 366 MB, Camtasia 435 MB, Descript 255 MB, Screen Charm 237 MB and Loom 228 MB. ScreenFlow is 89 MB. Tella's 25 MB app is only the recorder, and its editor is a web page.
Is there a free screen recorder with automatic zoom for Mac?: Prequel is free for seven days with the whole app in it, no card needed, and then $9 a month or $39 once. Screen Studio and Tella are paid too. The free recorders in this category capture faithfully and leave the zooms, the framing and the background to you.
Which screen recorder is cheapest?: Prequel is $9 a month or $39 once, for everything. Screen Studio is $29 a month or $9 a month billed yearly; Loom Business is $18 a seat; Tella is $13 a seat; Descript's paid plans start at $16; Camtasia is an annual subscription; Screen Charm is $99 once and ScreenFlow is $199.99 once. Prices as checked on the dates under the grid.