[Software] The best free screen recorder

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With a free screen recorder, you can capture exactly what's happening on your screen (whether it's the entire display or just a selected area) and either stream it live, or save it as a video file.

 

The best screen recorders can do a lot more than that though, with options for recording your own commentary as a voiceover, adding captions and notes, and even using picture-in-picture to add footage from your webcam. The right software will also let you export your recordings in a variety of formats, and even export them directly to YouTube.

 

Not all free screen recorders are the same though – some only record for a few seconds, some come bundled with extra software you probably don't want, and some apply unsightly watermarks to your finished videos.

 

That's why we've rounded up the very best screen recorders you can download today, helping you choose the right one for your project. Whether you're making a software tutorial, recording a Let's Play video, or capturing a video call, there's something here that'll fit the bill.

 

If you’re a keen gamer, OBS Studio is easily the best screen recorder for you. Unlike the hugely po[CENSORED]r FRAPS (which only lets you record for 30 seconds at a stretch unless you’ve bought a license, and applies a watermark to the resulting footage), OBS Studio is open source, and completely free to use without restrictions.

OBS Studio supports both streaming and recording in high definition, with no restrictions on the number or length of your creations. You can stream live to Twitch or YouTube gaming, save projects and come back to them later, or encode your footage in FLV format and save it locally.

 

Because OBS Studio can record directly from your graphics card, it’s able to capture games running in full-screen mode (many other screen recorders can only record if the game is windowed), with customizable hotkeys to control the recording. OBS Studio can also make full use of multi-core CPUs for improved performance, and can record at 60FPS (or even higher).

 

It might take a little while to set it up exactly how you want, but OBS Studio is by far the best and most powerful screen recorder for gamers.

OBS Studio is our favorite free screen recorder, but Flashback Express comes an extremely close second. Despite being a free version of a paid program, FlashBack Express won't put ugly watermarks over your recordings or impose time limits, and it's packed with features and tools that rival many premium programs. Its interface is less intimidating than OBS Studio, so if you've never used a screen recorder before, it's an excellent choice.

 

You can record from your whole screen, a window, a selected area, or a webcam. Once you’ve finished, your recording will appear in a simple editor, where you can crop and trim it to suit your needs, then export it to YouTube, an FTP server, or your PC.

 

 

That’s all fairly standard fare for a free screen recorder, but take a minute to dive into Flashback’s advanced options and you’ll find a wealth of thoughtfully designed settings that will make your desktop recordings look truly professional. The recorder can automatically obscure passwords entered on screen, replace your silly wallpaper with a plain one, hide messy desktop icons, and highlight your mouse pointer to make it easier to follow. There's also a dedicated gaming mode that lets you define the number of frames recorded per second.

 

There’s no limit on the length of your recordings unless you choose to set one, which can be useful if there’s a chance you might accidentally leave the recorder running. You can also choose to break long recordings up into chunks – a brilliant touch that helps you avoid creating huge, unwieldy files. Your recordings won’t be watermarked, either.

 

 

Following a recent update, Flashback Express can export in WMV, AVI and MP4 formats, eliminating the need for a separate video converter, and it no longer requires a free license key for activation – just install the software and you're ready to start recording.

Developer Blueberry Software has also released a free screen recorder designed specifically for games – FBX. This recorder captures HD in-game footage, with hardware acceleration for AMD and Nvidia cards, and Intel CPUs.

If you're thinking about upgrading to FlashBack Pro, Blueberry software is offering TechRadar readers an exclusive 25% discount.