Free Screen Recorders
Which screen recording and video messaging tools a startup can use for free today, how long and how many recordings the free plan allows, whether recordings carry a watermark, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, read from each tool's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Screen recorders change their free limits from time to time: confirm the terms on the tool's page before you record a demo with it.
Screen recorders a startup can use for free today include Zight (Share plan: free recording and sharing), OBS Studio (Free and open source), Kommodo (Free: unlimited recordings), ShareX (Free forever, open source), and Loom (Starter plan: $0 (free)). Each of the 11 free plans below links to the tool's page that states it, with its main limit, whether recordings carry a watermark, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs.
A two-minute screen recording explains a bug, a feature or a sales demo better than a page of text. Most screen recorders that share a link have a free plan, and open-source desktop recorders are free outright.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. A free plan can cap recordings at 5 minutes, limit how many videos you keep, delete them after a while, or add the tool's branding. Each recorder below shows what is free, its main limit, whether recordings carry a watermark, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, quoted from the tool's own page with the date we read it.
Which recorders we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the providers'. Some of these providers pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which recorders are listed or where.
Screen recorders that share a link, with a free plan
Record your screen and camera and share a link, with a free plan to start.
- 1
Zight
Free recording and sharing, 5-minute videos
Zight's Share plan is free, and no credit card is required to start. Recordings are capped at 5 minutes. The first paid plan, Create, is $9.95 per user a month, billed annually.
- Main limit
- 5-minute recordings (source: zight.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: zight.com)
- First paid plan
- Create: $9.95 a user a month, yearly (source: zight.com)
- 2
Kommodo
Unlimited recordings free, kept for 60 days
Kommodo's Free plan has unlimited recordings, and no credit card is required. Each recording stays available to you and your viewers for 60 days. Premium is $9 per person a month, billed yearly.
- Watermark
- No watermarks (source: kommodo.ai)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: kommodo.ai)
- First paid plan
- Premium: $9 a person a month, yearly (source: kommodo.ai)
- 3
Loom
Free video messages, up to 25 a person
Loom's Starter plan is free, with up to 25 videos per person and 5-minute recordings. Removing Loom branding is a Business feature, and Business is $18 per user a month.
- What's free
- Starter plan: $0 (free) (source: loom.com)
- First paid plan
- Business: $18 a user a month (source: loom.com)
- 4
ScreenPal
Free recordings up to 15 minutes each
ScreenPal's Free plan is free forever, with recordings up to 15 minutes. Deluxe is $4.00 a month when paid annually.
- First paid plan
- Deluxe: $4 a month, paid annually (source: screenpal.com)
Start free at ScreenPalTerms read on screenpal.com on ScreenPal: the free allowance and how to start - 5
Cap
Free for personal use, local recordings
Cap's free plan covers personal use with no time limit on local recordings, and its shareable links are capped at 5 minutes. A Desktop License is $29 per year.
- First paid plan
- Desktop License: $29 a year (source: cap.so)
- 6
Jumpshare
Free plan with 25 uploads and 5-minute videos
Jumpshare's Basic plan is free, with 25 uploads and 5-minute recording time. Plus is $12 per user a month.
- First paid plan
- Plus: $12 a user a month (source: jumpshare.com)
Start free at JumpshareTerms read on jumpshare.com on Jumpshare: the free allowance and how to start - 7
Bubbles
Free meeting and screen recordings, 30 minutes each
Bubbles' Basic plan is free, with 30-minute recordings and 5 meeting recordings a week. Pro Teams is $12 a member a month when billed yearly.
- 8
Vidyard
Five recorded videos a month, free
Vidyard Free includes 5 recorded videos a month, and new recordings stop at 30 minutes.
Start free at VidyardTerms read on knowledge.vidyard.com on Vidyard: the free allowance and how to start Vidyard for Startups: what startups get - 9
Tella
A 7-day trial with no card needed
Tella offers a 7-day free trial, and no credit card is required. Pro is $13 a month when billed annually, with clips up to 6 hours.
- What's free
- 7-day free trial (source: tella.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: tella.com)
- First paid plan
- Pro: $13 a month, billed annually (source: tella.com)
Desktop and open-source screen recorders that are free
Recorders that save the video to your computer, many open source and free.
- 1
OBS Studio
Free open-source recorder for desktop and streaming
OBS Studio is free and open source software for video recording and live streaming.
Start free at OBS StudioTerms read on obsproject.com on OBS Studio: the free allowance and how to start - 2
ShareX
Free open-source recorder, no account needed
ShareX is free forever and open source, and no account is required.
Video startup programs
Programs from video tool companies that give startups free months or discounts.
Also useful for team productivity
Referral links, picked for fit and ordered by fit (70%) and what a signup earns us (30%), at no cost to you. They never change this page's ranking.
Compare the top options
How this comparison is built
The list covers screen recording and video messaging tools a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each recorder's terms. Every term comes from the recorder's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. A cap on recording length or videos, or a watermark on free recordings, can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the tool states them. Some of these recorders pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a recorder appears, and no recorder pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
What is the best free screen recorder?
It depends on how long your videos are. By the terms each tool states, Kommodo records without limits on number (kept 60 days), ScreenPal allows 15-minute recordings, Bubbles 30-minute recordings, and Loom's Starter plan 25 videos a person of up to 5 minutes, while OBS Studio and ShareX are free and open source.
Is Loom free?
Loom's Starter plan is free, with 25 videos a person and recordings up to 5 minutes. Business costs $18 a user a month.
What is a free Loom alternative?
Kommodo offers unlimited free recordings kept for 60 days, ScreenPal is free forever with 15-minute recordings, and Cap is free forever for personal use.
Is there a free open-source screen recorder?
Yes. OBS Studio and ShareX are free and open source desktop screen recorders.
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