As this year comes to a bright beginning (hopefully) , our top ranking for the best Chromebook screen recorder has also come to a conclusion.
Best Screen Recorder for Chromebook – Free & Paid
1. Techsmith Camtasia
Camtasia is our number 1 choice for screen recording software. With over 65 million users worldwide, TechSmith remains number #1 in terms of video capture software. Camtasia 2020 comes with the most advanced feature that you can think of for a screen recorder plus a Final Cut Pro – style video editor for high quality instructional videos and much more.
The latest version of the software, Camtasia 2022, comes with a collection of pre-designed templates that users can use as the basis for their own video projects. In addition to the included templates, users can create their own custom templates that can be used by others by sharing it into the platform.
If you’re in doubt that Camtasia suits your needs, you can try out the 30-day free trial with a watermark added.
If you’re interested in purchasing Camtasia 2022 feel free to use our 20% OFF coupon code listed below.
| PROS | CONS |
| Record full screen, window, region, webcam, microphone, and computer sound. | High price compared to other screen recorders |
| Record OS screen | 64 bit only |
| Feature a video editor to edit captured videos as well as imported videos | |
| Free video and sound stocks | |
| Professional video editing features |
2. Screencastify – Screen Video Recorder
Screencastify is Chrome’s extension’s most used screen recording app with 10m + downloads. The free version let you enjoy unlimited recordings of up to 5 minutes at times, including all the features of the paid version.
With Screencastify, users can create videos such as demos, tutorials, lessons, and presentations while using the Chrome browser. Videos can be published on YouTube, shared using Google Drive, or exported as MP3/MP4 files.
| PROS | CONS |
| Record full screen, window, region, webcam, microphone, computer sound | Limited to 5 minutes of recording time with the free version |
| Hide cursor or desktop icons while recording | Not allowed to record the microphone alone |
| Links and Syncs with your Google Drive | Video Editor available on a paid subscription |
| Designed for educational purposes | |
| Draw and zoom in while recording | |
| HD video recording |
3. Loom Screen Recorder
Loom Screen Recorder is a very good choice The free version limits you a few minutes of recording with multiple options for video sharing, while the paid version allows you endless recording time and multiple export options.
It allows you to create short how-to videos, model exemplars of anything from document annotation to industrial safety procedures, or send quick reminders home, adding links to your videos to direct viewers to additional resources. We recommend using Loom with an extension like Kami to highlight and explain important points in documents or give formative feedback about students’ writing.
| PROS | CONS |
| Record full screen, region, webcam, microphone, and computer sound | Limited video editing features |
| Schedule recordings to be recorded at a certain time | Very limited recording time in the free trial |
| Trim the beginning and end of videos after recording | Not allowed to test paid features before paying |
| HD video recording up to 60 fps | |
| Draw and zoom in while recording |
4. Movavi
Movavi Screen Recorder is such a good lightweight screencast software designed to help users capture streaming videos with music from websites, webinars, and podcasts. It allows you to record and save Zoom calls and program activities, take desktop screenshots, create demos, and much more. The interface is very beginners friendly to use and we could say that its simplicity and straight forwardness are what we love the most about Movavi Screen Recorder. In addition to that, Movavi has a feature that seems very popular which is the Audio Only function to record podcasts, calls, songs, etc.
For streamers, the company has a featured app called Gecata by Movavi.
You can try it out for free or purchase it now with a 15% OFF discount available till the end of the month.
| PROS | CONS |
| Record full screen, region, webcam, microphone, and computer sound | Limited webcam options |
| SuperSpeed conversion | The trial version lacks full features |
| Scheduled recording | Very short period of recording during the free trial |
| Personalized shortcuts | |
| Basic built-in video editor |
5. OBS Studio
OBS Studio (Open Broadcaster Software) is free software for video recording and live streaming. It has no watermark or time limit. It is the preferred platform for gamers and live streamers. Using OBS Studio, you can capture the entire display window including the webcam and microphone. When it comes to streaming, Scenes and Sources lets you set up your stream layout, and add your games, webcams, and any other devices or media that you want in the output. Thus OBS is quite challenging to set up for a newbie but there are extensive tutorials on Youtube and Vimeo.
| PROS | CONS |
| Record full screen, window, region, webcam, microphone, & computer sound | No “pause” function for recording |
| Stream to Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, DailyMotion, & much more | No built-in video editor |
| Multiple filters to scenes, sources, and audio devices: image mask/blend, crop, color correction, green screen, noise reduction, audio normalization, and more | Beginners may find it hard to set up |
| Intuitive audio mixer | |
| No watermark, no time limit, ad-free |
Download OBS Studio for Windows Chromebook for free from the OBS Project official website.
6. Screencast-o-Matic
Screencast-O-Matic is a web-based screencasting software presented by screencast-o-matic.com. This tool can be launched directly from your Chromebook browser or used as a desktop app without an internet connection. Screencast-O-Matic offers a good number of features ranging from screen recording, and video editing to video hosting and sharing.
The free version is limited to 15 minutes per record with a watermark added. The free version has the video editor in trial for 30 days. In the free version, you are allowed to trim your recording, add closed captions and publish videos to YouTube and other social media platforms. When you upgrade to the paid version, you’ll have no watermark on the output. The paid version also comes with full video editing features plus the ability to record computer sounds.
| PROS | CONS |
| Record full screen, window, region, webcam, microphone, computer sound | Most features are only available in the paid version |
| Draw, add text, and zoom-in while recording | Not allowed to test paid features before paying |
| Stock library with multiple animations | |
| Video editing features: trim, cut, change speed, add zoom-n-pan, annotations, multimedia, green screen effect, and more | |
| Password protected videos with searchable or unlisted option |
7. Bandicam
Bandicam is a popular game recording software for gamers, streamers, and users in general. The producers describe it as a lightweight screen recorder software for Chromebook that can capture anything on your PC screen as high-quality video. One can use it to capture the entire screen or just a section of it and record a game that uses DirectX/OpenGL/Vulkan graphics technologies.
While the recording features are meeting all the basic screen recording requirements, the software has no video editing feature. Although Bandicut, a video cutter from the same company, comes as a complement to the Bandicam screen recorder for Windows, you can only trim, split, and join recordings.
The free version has a recording limit of 10 minutes per video with a watermark added.
| PROS | CONS |
| Record full screen, region, webcam, microphone, and computer sound | No audio recording only |
| Record 4K UHD resolution at up to 144 FPS | Limited video output formats: MP4, AVI |
| Draw, add text, and take screenshots while recording | No built-in video editor |
| Voice mixing | |
| Add your logo to the screen capture |
8. Icecream Screen Recorder
Icecream Screen Recorder by Icecream Apps is a clever choice if you are looking for a screen recorder with very basic video editing features. In fact, the paid version of this software includes only the ability to trim the beginning and the end of the recording. This is highly limited but can be enough if you want very fast and simple screencasts.
Icecream Screen Recorder comes in two versions: free and paid. The free version limits you to 5 minutes of recording time with only one output video format (WEBM) and video codec (VP8). The paid version includes a broader formats selection such as AVI, MP4, and MOV as well as H.264 and MPEG-4 codecs. Aside from no watermark added like the free version, the paid version supports scheduled recordings, custom watermarks, and trimming features.
| PROS | CONS |
| Record full screen, region, webcam, microphone, and computer sound | Not allowed to record the webcam alone |
| Hide cursor or desktop icons while recording | Not allowed to record the microphone alone |
| Draw and zoom in while recording | Limited video editing features |
| Personalized logo to the screen capture | Not allowed to test paid features before paying |
| Schedule recordings to be recorded at a certain time | |
| Hotkeys customization |
Conclusion
I hope this review has helped you get a good overview of exactly what the Best Screen Recorder for Chromebook is and what they can and cannot do and which one best suits your needs.
If you have any comments, or questions, or have any experiences with the tool yourself, I would love to hear from you in a comment below.
Are you looking for a professional screen recorder for your desktop instead? Learn more about selecting the best screen recorder for you, whether you need it for online courses, creating explanatory videos for your business, or for game recording.