Free plans only

10 Best Free Free Screen Recorders of 2026

By the Rankozo research desk · Updated November 10, 2026

10 of the 10 tools in our best free screen recorders ranking offer a permanent free plan. OBS Studio scores highest among them at 8.8 out of 10.

1. 01

   OBS Studio

   Tutorial makers who want full control over layouts, audio and hotkeys and never want to pay for an upgrade.

   Free and open source; no paid plan

   Full entry, No. 1 overall

   Paid from

   Free

   Score 8.8

2. 02

   ScreenPal

   Teachers and support staff who want a simple recorder with editing, no watermark and an optional cheap upgrade.

   Free plan with 15-minute recordings; Deluxe from $4 per month paid annually

   Full entry, No. 2 overall

   Paid from

   $4

   Score 8.6

3. 03

   ShareX

   Windows users who file bug reports and want recordings, GIFs, annotation and uploads in one tool.

   Free and open source; no paid plan

   Full entry, No. 3 overall

   Paid from

   Free

   Score 8.5

4. 04

   Microsoft Clipchamp

   Beginners who want to record, caption and edit a tutorial in one place without a watermark.

   Free recorder and editor; premium features with Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 per month

   Full entry, No. 4 overall

   Paid from

   $9.99

   Score 8.4

5. 05

   QuickTime Player

   Mac users who need a quick recording without installing anything.

   Included with macOS; no paid plan

   Full entry, No. 5 overall

   Paid from

   Free

   Score 8.0

6. 06

   Snipping Tool

   Windows users who need a short clip of a bug without installing software.

   Included with Windows; no paid plan

   Full entry, No. 6 overall

   Paid from

   Free

   Score 8.0

7. 07

   Loom

   Teams that send short walkthroughs and bug videos through Slack, Jira and GitHub.

   Free Starter plan; Business $18 per user per month

   Full entry, No. 7 overall

   Paid from

   $18

   Score 7.8

8. 08

   Screencastify

   Teachers and Chromebook users who record lessons in the browser.

   Free plan; Starter $7 per user per month billed annually or $18 monthly

   Full entry, No. 8 overall

   Paid from

   $7

   Score 7.5

9. 09

   Zight

   Support teams that mix screenshots, short GIFs and recordings in tickets.

   Free Share plan; Create from $9.95 per user per month billed annually

   Full entry, No. 9 overall

   Paid from

   $9.95

   Score 7.4

10. 10

    Vidyard

    Salespeople who record personal video messages and want CRM integrations.

    Free plan; Starter $59 per seat per month billed annually

    Full entry, No. 10 overall

    Paid from

    $59

    Score 7.0

Scores and prices come from our Best Free Screen Recorders ranking, which uses one method for every tool. Questions or corrections: editorial@rankozo.com