Best Screen Recorder for Windows 11- Free & Paid
1. Techsmith Camtasia
Camtasia is our top-of-the-line professional-grade screen recording software. With over 65 million users worldwide, TechSmith remains number #1 in terms of video capture software. Camtasia 2020 comes with every possible feature that you can think of for a screen recorder plus a robust video editor for high-quality instructional videos and not only.
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.
If you’re in doubt you can try out the 30-day free trial with a watermark added. If you’re interested in purchasing Camtasia 2020 feel free to use our 10% 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 iOS 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. 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.
Download OBS Studio for Windows for free from the OBS Project official website.
| 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 use |
| Intuitive audio mixer | |
| No watermark, no time limit, ad-free |
3. Movavi
Movavi Screen Recorder is a brilliant lightweight screencast software designed to help users capture streaming video and music from websites, and webinars, save Skype calls and program activity, take desktop screenshots, create demos, etc. The interface is very easy to use and we could say it’s what we love the most about the Movavi Screen Recorder tool. Many of their users also use the Audio Only function which seems to be pretty popular.
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 | A very short period of recording during the free trial |
| Personalized shortcuts | |
| Basic built-in video editor |
4. Bandicam
Bandicam is a popular game recording software for both gamers and streamers. The producers describe it as a lightweight screen recorder software for Windows 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 |
5. FonePaw
FonePaw Screen Recorder is a good choice if you are looking for a screen recorder with simple video editing features. It is used widely by gamers and YouTube creators and is very popular among the young generation. It fully allows you to create quality screencasts with a very simple and intuitive user interface.
The free version limits you to 3 minutes of recording with multiple options for video sharing, while the paid version allows you endless recording time and multiple export options such as MP4, MOV, AVI, GIF, F4V, & TS.
| 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 of 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 |
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 a browser or used as a desktop app without an internet connection when you install the full version. 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, and 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 the searchable or unlisted option |
7. 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 |
8. Windows 10’s built-in Xbox Game Bar
You might not know that Windows 10 has a pre-installed Game bar for anyone who wants to capture their game clips and screenshots. Of course, this Game bar can be used to record apps only – it cannot record full screen or a specific region. This makes sense as it is designed for gaming capture. Although the Game bar is available on all Windows 10 PCs, to record game clips and screens, your computer’s video cards must meet the hardware requirements.
Recording your screen with the Game bar is easy by following these steps:
- Press WINDOWS+G to open the Game bar. If required, select the “Yes, this is a game.” check box.
- Press the Start/Stop Recording button to start and stop a recording.
- Use the Turn Microphone On/Off button to toggle the microphone if you wish.
- After recording, trim your video or rename it in the Xbox app. Your video will be saved in the Captures folder, which by default is in your Videos folder.
Conclusion
I hope this review has helped you get a good overview of exactly what the Best Screen Recorder for Windows 11 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.