Top 5 Best FREE Video Recorders [2021]

SophiaBolton
Updated on 2021-07-16
If you're looking for a free screen recorder, you have many choices. I will count down the top five best free video recorders to capture high-quality video of what is happening on your computer.

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If you're looking for a free screen recorder, you have many choices, whether it's creating a presentation for your business, or recording your latest gaming session for YouTube or Twitch, there's a free program for you. Coming up, I will count down the top five best free screen recorders to capture high-quality video of what is happening on your computer. Let's get started.

Best FREE Video Recorders: screen rec 

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Starting off our countdown at number five is screen rec. This program is packed full of tools that are useful for businesses. While intended for business use you could also use this program for other purposes.

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In addition to the screen recorder, you can capture screenshots with annotation tools included, to point out important information

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Your recordings are saved to a dedicated encrypted cloud account, which is useful to easily manage company training videos and other presentations. One downside is that the free cloud storage has a limit of two gigabytes. If you want more, you'll need to upgrade.

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In addition to the cloud storage, your recordings and screenshots can also be saved to your computer. Recording so saved as an MP4 and screenshots are saved as a PNG file.

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At this time, Screen Rec is only available for Windows with support for Mac and Linux coming soon.

Best FREE Video Recorders: ShareX

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Number 4 is Share X. This free and open-source program is only available for Windows. As many of you know, it's one of the best for taking screenshots and includes an excellent screen recorder with no time limits or watermarks.

it's also light on system resources. So if you have an older computer or have low memory, this one might be perfect for you. In addition to the numerous screen capturing options and the standard screen recording method, it also allows you to save your recordings as a gift to be shared on social media sites. If you want to share your videos or screen captures, they can be uploaded directly to dozens of websites, including YouTube. But a drawback for gamers is that Share X does not support full-screen captures or recordings from video games.

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I'll point this out real quickly, Share X does not have a start or stop recording button. The keyboard shortcuts are listed in the main window to start or stop a recording. You can use the keyboard hotkeys Shift + PrintScreen, or you could go to the left pane, select capture, then screen recording from the menu.

Best FREE Video Recorders: NVIDIA SHADOWPLAY&AMD RELIVE

Best FREE Video Recorders: NVIDIA SHADOWPLAY

The number three spot will cover two programs: Nvidia Shadowplay, which is also known as NVIDIA Share. It's for people that own a computer with a GeForce GTX or Artax class graphics card.

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It lets you record almost anything on your computer or broadcast live to Twitch Facebook and YouTube.

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Best FREE Video Recorders: AMD RELIVE

Also coming in at number three is AMD RELIVE. If your PC has an AMD Radeon graphics card, AMD RELIVE software may already be installed. The features are similar to Shadowplay for recording and broadcasting live, but unlike shadowplay, RELIVE does not support OpenGL games at this time.

Best FREE Video Recorders: TinyTake & Icecream Screen Recorder

Before we get to our top 2, here's a couple of honorable mentions that you may want to consider.

Best FREE Video Recorders: TinyTake

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TinyTake is an easy-to-use screen recorder and capture program that lets you save files to your computer and offers 2 gigabytes of cloud storage to save your work.

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Annotation tools are also included to mark up your videos and screenshots. In the free basic plan for TinyTake, they don't have watermarks which is positive, but the reporting limit is 5 minutes, with premium features locked behind a paywall.

Best FREE Video Recorders: Icecream Screen Recorder

Another screen recording option many people use is Icecream Screen Recorder. It's very similar to TinyTakE, and that it's simple to use with various annotation tools.

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In the free version of Icecream Screen Recorder, the time limit for recordings is 5 minutes. The output options are limited and they slap their watermark on recordings unless you upgrade. Due to the restrictions, most of you will probably be better off choosing one from our top 5 then using TinyTake or Icecream Screen Recorder.

Best FREE Video Recorders: FlashBack Express

So let's move on to the top 2. And coming in at number two is FlashBack Express. This is a Windows-only program I highly recommended for those people just starting out learning how to use the screen recording software.

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Not only is it easy to use it lets you adjust the frames per second, capture any part of your screen, and uploading directly to YouTube is a breeze.

What's nice about Flashback Express is that there are no nasty watermarks added and no time limits on your recordings. If you upgrade to Flashback Pro, they give you additional features including the ability to edit your own videos. But if you already have a video editor that you use there should be no need to upgrade.

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They also have another program designed for gamers called FBX. In a prior video on this channel a couple years back at that time FBX was completely free with no restrictions, while they still have a free plan with most of the features included.

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You now must upgrade to the pro plan to remove the FBX watermark. If you're a serious gamer you may want to consider upgrading, especially if you plan to stream to Twitch, Mixer, or YouTube.

Best FREE Video Recorders: OBS Studio

Taking the top spot, OBS Studio once again takes the crown as the best free screen recorder. Not only is it open source and completely free, it's available for the three major platforms: Windows, Mac and Linux.

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There are no forced watermarks, time limits, or ads, and includes a ton of features for HD recording or streaming. It's especially great if you have multiple monitors, allowing you to switch between different scenes with ease.

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OBS won't be for everyone. It has a high learning curve, the interface can be confusing and many become frustrated just going through the process to set it up.

You should also be aware that OBS is resource-intensive. So it's not recommended on older or low spec computers. In addition to what is listed on their system requirements page, I'd recommend a PC with a dual or quad core processor and at least 4 gigabytes of RAM.

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So if your computer can handle it and you can make it pass the setup process, you'll find that there is no better screen recording software than OBS Studio.