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Page Table of Contents
Melissa Lee
Updated on Apr 19, 2024
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0 min read
There are tones of free game recording software on the market, many of which claim to be the best, but which one on earth is the best game capture software? When you choose free video capture software, you need to consider the user interface, output formats, benchmark-setting, the sharpness of the video screen, the maximum price, etc.
We have tested a lot of best game recording software and bring you the top 20 best game recorder here. To help you understand each product faster, we have listed their essential advantages and disadvantages, hoping to help you quickly judge and find the best gaming screen recorder that suits your needs most.
| ✨Numbers we tested | 30, including free and paid game capture software |
| 💻Devices we used | Low-end & High-end computers |
| ⚒️Games types we recorded | Action, adventure, strategy, and simulation games |
| 🧐What we valued | Compatibility, performance, video and audio quality, audio recording, hotkeys, file format support, post-production tools |
| 🥇Most recommended | EaseUS RecExperts |
| For Windows | For Both Windows and Mac | For Mac |
|---|---|---|
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Top 5 Game Recorders for Windows/Mac
1. EaseUS RecExperts
Which software should I use for recording gameplay? I am using OBS to record my game, but the recorded video quality is not good. The game runs at 120 fps, but OBS records it at 30 fps. Any idea how to record gameplay without compromising the quality?
___From Reddit
EaseUS RecExperts is an excellent screen recorder that provides you with a screen recording function to capture your gameplay. You can select the full-screen or regional recording. To record the game automatically, you can use the task scheduler to set the start time for the mission. After finishing the task, this excellent game capture software for PC will directly save the gameplay video to your device. And the format of the output videos is customizable.
Apart from that, it is an easy-to-use video editor. Providing many basic editing tools, EaseUS RecExperts allows you to modify the recordings with those tools, such as trimming. Beyond that, the best game capture software lets you take screenshots for some excellent frames in your recording.
More Features:
- All-in-one screen & audio recording software (support system sound or microphone)
- Capture your screen and webcam simultaneously
- Support task scheduler to record automatically
- Export game capture recordings in MP4, MOV, MKV, and GIF formats
- Make a replay of WOWs for YouTube
As this great gaming recorder is perfectly compatible with Windows 11/10/8/7 and Mac, it can help you record whatever is on your device with no lag. Click on the button for a free download. No registration is needed.
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐
- EaseUS RecExperts is an easy-to-use screen recording software with a lot of features to offer. This recording tool can capture audio and webcam video in addition to what's happening on your screen. We also liked that it offers scheduled recordings and an auto-stop function. - By Michael Graw, from TechRadar
2. OBS Studio
As one of the best video game recording software, OBS Studio, this open source screen recorder works well for live streaming games on Twitch and recording other information.
It is the preferred tool for a lot of gamers out there. You are not required to change any settings, just select the source which you would like to record and start recording, and that's it. What's more, OBS is capable of recording in MP4 and FLV formats at a 1:1 ratio.
Pros:
- Free and open source
- Multiple platforms supported: Windows, Mac, or Linux
- Various plugins to enhance the experience
- Support for most live streaming platforms
- Entirely free, with no limitations
Cons:
- Not the most user-friendly UI
- Lack of built-in video editing functions
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐
-
OBS Studio is a powerful program that doesn't make too much of an impact on your PC's performance. It is not a tool that just starts up and works, however. It requires time to understand how it works and how to get the most out of it, and the patience to learn how to troubleshoot when things don't work as expected.- By Ian Paul, from PCWorld
3. Camtasia
Camtasia is the best gaming capture software for those who need advanced recording features. You are free to change the recording settings and adjust the recording window size. It also supports you to record with a camera or microphone.
It offers some advanced video editing features as a comprehensive video editing software to assist users in adding effects, text, transitions, etc., fantastic features to the target video.
Pros:
- Record full screen, window, region, webcam, and microphone
- Feature a video editor to edit recorded game videos as imported videos
- Support green screen effect of making it seem as if you are a part of the action
- Easy to incorporate animated items, like callouts and scrolling text
Cons:
- Only free for 30 days with a watermark
- Cost is high for ordinary users
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Camtasia is a screen recording and video making solution designed to create, edit, and share videos. It can help users create content for lessons, tutorials, product demos, plus more. Users can record desktop screens or use webcams to create videos. With Camtasia, users can use various video templates as well as add annotations and effects to recordings. This solution is compatible with Mac and Windows devices. - From Software Advice
4. Movavi Screen Recorder
Movavi is a friendly PC game recording software that enables you to record various gameplays. It supports resolution up to 4K, and you can use it to do both screen recording and gameplay capture in high quality.
Besides that, this game capture software provides a lot of video editing features so you can edit the recorded game video, for example, convert a video into GIF; trim, cut, and join videos; add animated titles and special effects, and much more.
Pros:
- Modern user interface and easier navigation
- Set up the recording parameters
- Record video and audio simultaneously
- Come with many editing tools
- Support screen resolution up to 4K
Cons:
- A bit expensive
- Limited features in the free trial version
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Movavi Screen Recorder is a video recorder with an intuitive and user-friendly interface. It lets users capture any area of their desktop, add webcam and microphone input, schedule recordings for the future, record the cursor movement and voiceover commentary, mark the areas requiring edits, add drawing directly on video etc. With Movavi Screen Recorder users can create high-quality tutorials or presentations that demonstrate software features. Save work in any HD or 4K format in AVI, WebM, MP4, FLV or WMV formats - From Software Advice
5. TinyTake
TinyTake is a unique game capture software in Windows 10, which would help users capture images and videos and add comments. This software comes with an online cloud gallery, where people can store all their screen captures and videos.
The user interface of this software is pretty simple and easy to use. The user can easily edit their screen with shapes, annotations, effects, font thickness, and much more.
Pros:
- Users can share their files in bulk
- Allow completing screen recording and audio recording tasks easily and quickly
- They can add a public URL, where people can access their files
- The user can create their custom short keys
Con:
- The free version can record the screen for five minutes only
- Users can save files in mp4 format
- The editing features are limited
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐
- TinyTake is a free screen capture & video recording software for Microsoft Windows & Mac. With TinyTake, you can capture images and videos of your computer screen, add comments and share them with others in minutes. TinyTake is ideally suited for anyone who is doing online customer support, customer documentation, educational videos or just want's to take the hassle out of capturing screenshots. TinyTake makes the whole process of capturing or recording super easy & fast. - From G2
Best 11 Game Recording Software for Windows
1. Windows 10 Xbox Game Bar
Xbox Game Bar is a pre-installed free video game capturing software for Windows 10 that allows you to capture game clips and screenshots. The built-in screen recording tool can be used to record apps, especially for gameplay capture.
This free game recording software is able to record most PC games and enable you to instantly access widgets for screen and sharing, finding teammates with LFG, chatting with friends across Xbox console, mobile, and PC without leaving your game.
Pros:
- Convenient to use
- Best free gaming recording software for beginners
- No time limit for recording videos, ad-free
- Record video in 1080p quality
- Completely free screen recorder without watermark
Cons:
- Record apps only
- No pause function when recording the video
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐
- Game Bar and Game DVR built-in to Windows 10 get the job done, but these tools are inconsistent, and whether they’ll work as intended largely depends on the game you’re playing. Performance was also drastically different in several games in our tests. If you want a worry-free experience, then consider going with a more reliable third-party tool. - By Ian Paul, from PCWorld
2. Bandicam
Bandicam is one of the best game recording software that allows recording videos at high bitrates and frames. You can record video games at flexible frame rates and 4K Ultra HD resolution. What's more, it offers the compression feature that ensures the recorded game video is in a small size without quality loss. The recordings can be used for gaming or other PC activities.
The green screen feature is beneficial for some professional users or YouTubers who want to broadcast a live stream. As one of the best game screen recorders, it enables you to remove the background and set a new one.
Pros:
- Support three recording modes
- Record full screen on Windows 10
- Support real-time drawing
- Built-in compression feature
Cons:
- Lack of built-in video editor
- The unregistered version records game video with a watermark
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐
- My overall experience with Bandicam Screen Recorder is very professional because I have to record some certain area on a PC screen in my office, so I always use this software and I am really satisfied. - By Muddassar, from Software Advice
3. Nvidia GeForce Experience
Nvidia Geforce Experience, another free gaming recording software for PC, enables you to capture and share videos, screenshots, and live streams with friends and keep your drivers up to date and optimize game settings.
Apart from updating your Nvidia drivers, this gaming screen recorder for Windows provides Nvidia's Shadowplay feature, allowing you to record video games easily. And it can record at the same resolution as your display, so if you have a 4K panel, your recorded video quality will also be in 4K.
Pros:
- If you have an Nvidia GPU, the GeForce Experience is free to use
- Straightforward
- Use GPU to handle encoding
- Share gameplay videos and live streams on platforms
Cons:
- Work only with Nvidia GPUs
- Not as versatile as other professional recorders
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐
- Nvidia GeForce Experience is an occasionally cool, but largely unnecessary, set of tools for enhancing your PC gaming sessions.- By Jordan Minor, from PC Magazine
4. Action!
Action is also one of the best video game recording software on the market. You can use it to record a real-time game in high definition. This gaming screen recorder is compatible with any Windows version and supports many video formats, like AVI and MP4.
It can output high-quality MP4 60fps gaming clips by utilizing Intel QSV, Nvidia NVENC, or AMD APP hardware acceleration. After recording, Action allows you to stream videos on different platforms such as YouTube, Livestream, Ustream, etc.
Pros:
- Good stability while recording game
- Support live streaming on different platforms
- User-friendly interface
- Support recording gameplay with webcam at the same time
Cons:
- Frame rates cannot be customized
- struggle on older machines; require a decent spec machine
- In free mode, game recording time is limited to 10 minutes
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Action! is a screen recorder and video streaming software that allows to record and stream DirectX, Open GL and Vulcan games and applications. Thanks to easy to use and intuitive interface, users are able to configure their settings in a fast and a hassle-free manner. Action! is a feature-packed software that can record a selected application, desktop region or full screen with audio and 4K webcam support. What makes Action! different from other software is a very high quality of captured video files, smooth and lag-free recording of Vulcan games as well as advanced HUD options that informs users about the recording status.- From G2
5. LoiLo Game Recorder
LoiLo Game Recorder is a lightweight video game recording software. It enables you to record video games and other computer screen activities, and then edit the recorded game videos with various features.
Moreover, it supports Motion-JPEG. With this file format, you are to reach the best balance between file size and image quality. And it shows the least performance loss compared to any competitor's non-free software.
Pros:
- Minimal performance loss
- Record your games for free without any limitation
- Create outstanding Full HD video in reasonable file size
- Provide many useful game capture tools
Cons:
- Not compatible with Windows Vista, XP, and Windows 10
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐
- LoiLo Game Recorder is a completely free, fast, simple and very effective videogame recorder.- From AlternativeTo
6. Xsplit Gamecaster
XSplit Gamecaster is one of the best game screen recording apps for PC out there. It is compatible with Twitch and can record your game and choose the appropriate settings according to your computer's properties without manual customization.
What's more, it comes with variable video editing features, such as picture-in-picture mode, watermarks, video annotations, and social media integration.
Pros:
- Best PC game recording software for live stream
- Enough features are embedded in the free version
- Offer many video editing options
- Record locally or stream to all popular platforms with one click
- Export videos in at least the HD quality
Cons:
- Advanced features only come with a monthly subscription
- It is a little expensive
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐
- XSplit Broadcaster is a live streaming and screen recording solution that helps gaming and esports event organizers to capture screens from multiple external applications, such as Zoom, Teams, and Discord. It allows employees to create custom transitions, add multiple animations, and broadcast effects across scenes. - From Software Advice
7. Fraps
Fraps is another great gameplay screen recording app for PC. It can put out some massive files due to its benchmarking nature, which provides you with a wide range of resolutions. You can set the video capture frame rate manually, and it can go from 30 to 120FPS.
There is also an option to enter a custom FPS value to set the frame rate even below 30. You also can use this gameplay recording software to record both screen and audio through external input or system sound.
Pros:
- User-friendly interface and simple to use
- Handle a wide variety of resolutions
- Benchmarking feature and statistics embedded
- Highlight cursor and capture audio from an external input device
Cons:
- Recorded video size is large
- Lack of editing tools
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐
- Fraps is great for benchmarking and seeing your current framerate, and it's also very easy to use with a minimal interface. As a video capture utility it leaves a lot to be desired. It costs $37 to get the complete set of video capture tools, while other tools with similar features are free. - By Ian Paul, from PCWorld
8. Dxtory
Dxtory can also be regarded as one of the best gaming capture software, which offers many game recording features. Its interface is extremely user-friendly and makes it very simple to understand all settings and adjust them.
This program record a lossless video of the highest possible quality. Thus you need to prepare a lot of space for the captures. You can record the screen with game sound or microphone sound at the same time. You can customize video codecs in the video settings, frames per second from 10-120, sources, size, and format.
Pros:
- Extremely flexible
- Intuitive and straightforward user interface
- Plenty of customization options
Cons:
- Annoying trial notification
- Not suitable for ordinary users
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐
- Dxtory is a movie capture tool only for DirextX/OpenGL application. In order to acquire data from Surface Memory directly, It operates very much at high speed. Arbitrary cropping and free scaling are supported by hardware. - From AlternativeTo
9. ShareX
ShareX is a screen recorder software, which is ad-free. This software is for professional developers and power users because the tools are very advanced. The editing features of this software are complex, but if someone has been using a screen recorder and an editor for some time now, they can easily grasp its use.
The screen recording can be turned into a GIF. Users can set their hotkeys, take screenshots, see the software's history, and grab content from web pages.
Pros:
- Best PC game recording software with rich features
- The user can set hotkeys for easy navigation
- Users can put up their watermarks
Cons:
- There is no option of webcam recording
- The video editor option is not available
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
-
ShareX is a free and open-source program that lets you capture or record any area of your screen and share it with a single press of a key. It also allows uploading images, text, or other types of files to over 50 supported destinations you can choose from. - From G2
10. Ezvid
If you are looking for an easy and free game recorder for PCs with Windows 10 OS, Ezvid is the right software. The speed of this software is outstanding, and it can save the time of the user.
The user can record a video and upload it on YouTube within minutes. This software is specifically designed for those who frequently make video clips from their games and try to do it quickly.
Pros:
- The user can control the speed of the videos
- It has a very modern interface, which is easy to use
- The video can be uploaded to YouTube easily
Con:
- There are minor bugs in this software
- Gamers can't record the full screen of their PC
11. Free Cam
If a gamer wants the best gaming capture software which is user-friendly and straightforward, then Free Cam is just what you want. The software comes with a video and audio editor and has a very user-friendly interface.
With this software's help, gamers can easily take screencasts of their game and share them with others. These screencasts are very professional, and a bonus is that it doesn't put a watermark on the screen. It is also ad-free software, which is why so many gamers love it.
Pro:
- There are no watermarks or time limits
- No ads
- The gamer can do voice recording
- Users can remove the background noise
Con:
- There is no webcam recording available
- The recordings are saved to WMV
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐
- With Free Cam, you can create engaging screencasts and video tutorials. Enjoy the user-friendly interface and a set of useful features, like customizable recording area (capture the full screen, certain area or application), microphone and system sounds recording, and more. - From G2
Top 4 Mac Game Recording Software
1. QuickTime Player
QuickTime Player is the default Mac video player, but it's more than a video player. You can use QuickTime Player to do video recording for free, including game recording. As it's perfectly compatible with your Mac, this best free gaming recording software can save you a lot of trouble.
It also has some basic video editing options, such as cutting, copying, adding a new soundtrack, adding annotations, rotating your video, and more. QuickTime game recording software uses onscreen controls, which are similar to a CD or DVD player.
Pros:
- Best game recording software free
- Small and intuitive interface
- Record voice with video simultaneously
- Provide basic video editing tools
Cons:
- Lack of advanced features
- System audio recording is not possible
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐
- It will put a smile on a lot of users that the application they are using is beneficial for them, and the great thing about QuickTime Player is that it is manageable. In addition to this, it has a lot of versions that you can choose and what the best Pro version suits you. - By Jordan Scott, from TopSevenReviews
2. Monosnap
Monosnap is one of the gaming screen recorders for Mac. You can use this program to record your screen and take quick screenshots if you need to use it as a powerful screen recording software. This good game recording software supports different output formats and can help you make both gaming videos and GIFs with simple clicks.
This software can be used to capture a selected window or just a small part of the screen. After video recording, you can connect the cloud drives such as Dropbox, CloudApp, Yandex. Disk, Box.com, Google Drive, or FTPs and upload recorded videos to share with other PCs and smartphones.
Pros:
- Record in 60fps to ensure an ultra-smooth playback
- Highlight important details with pen, text, arrow, and shape
Cons:
- It doesn't support video editing
- Mobile devices cannot be recorded
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Monosnap screenshot tool for Mac and PC with own cloud storage. Take screenshots, record videos and upload files directly to the cloud. Just in one click. - From G2
3. ScreenFlick
Screenflick is a macOS app focused on the core essentials of screen recording and game recording. This Mac gaming recording software is popular for providing the highest quality screen and audio capture and delivering the key tools needed to communicate your screen experience to your viewers.
Unlike many other game screen recorders on Mac, this program even enables you to create time-lapse screen recordings of long projects and export them to multiple sizes, frame rates, and formats whenever needed. If you need some advanced recording features to make professional game videos, this gaming recorder is what you can never miss.
Pros:
- User-friendly interface
- Record full screen or record part of the screen
- One-click type audio recording facility
Cons:
- Don't support Livestream, timeline editing, adding annotations
- Require OS X 10.10 or later
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐
-
Screenflick features high-performance screen capturing for smooth, fluid motion up to 60 fps. Screenflick can record any portion of the screen, simultaneously recording audio from internal or external microphones and the system audio. - From MacUpdate
4. VLC Media Player
VLC is a free and open-source video recording software and free game recording software available for cross-platform, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.
It's great music and video player of any format, including WMA, AAC, AIF, MP3, and much more on your computer. You can use it as a free screen video capture software with built-in screen recording features.
Pros:
- Simple and clean user interface
- Best free gaming recording software and video player
- A simple and efficient way to create screen recordings
Cons:
- No audio recording options
- No video editing options
- Only capture the full screen
- 👨🎓User Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐
- VLC offers everything you could need from a media player - comprehensive format support, streaming, downloading, and much more besides. - By Carrie Marshall, From TechRadar
To Sum Up
That's it. These are the top 20 best free game recording software for PC. They have their disadvantages and advantages, some with video editing functions, some have no or limited ones. If you are a beginner, you can choose some free and simple-to-use tools. For advanced game recording, you can select high-level tools.
For beginners working on Windows or Mac, we highly recommend EaseUS RecExperts as the best game recording software. This gaming recorder is easy to use yet powerful. You can not only record gameplay but capture your screen, audio, and webcam with it.
FAQs About Best Game Recorders for PC
If you still have questions about good game recording software for your device, those FAQs may be what you want.
1. What is the best software to record gameplay?
There is a lot of video game recording software available on the market. Here are the best 20 gaming recorders you can use on Windows 10 and Mac.
- Top 1. EaseUS RecExperts [Windows/Mac]
- Top 2. Windows 10 Xbox Game Bar [Windows]
- Top 3. OBS Studio [Windows/Mac]&
- Top 4. Bandicam [Windows]&
- Top 5. QuickTime Player [Mac]
- Top 6. Nvidia GeForce Experience [Windows]
- Top 7. ACTION [Windows]
- Top 8. Monosnap [Mac]
- Top 9. LoiLo Game Recorder [Windows]
- Top 10. Xsplit Gamecaster [Windows]
- Top 11. ScreenFlick [Mac]
- Top 12. Fraps [Windows]
- Top 13. Dxtory [Windows]
- Top 14. VLC Media Player [Mac]
- Top 15. Camtasia [Windows/Mac]
- Top 16. ShareX [Windows]
- Top 17. Ezvid [Windows]
- Top 18. Movavi Screen Recorder [Windows/Mac]
- Top 19. TinyTake [Windows/Mac]
- Top 20. Free Cam [Windows]
2. What software do gamers use to record?
There is the 10 best game recording software free for you.
- 1. EaseUS RecExperts [Windows/Mac]
- 2. OBS Studio [Windows/Mac]
- 3. QuickTime Player [Mac]
- 4. Monosnap [Mac]&
- 5. ScreenFlick [Mac]
- 6. Dxtory [Windows]
- 7. VLC Media Player [Mac]
- 8. Camtasia [Windows/Mac]
- 9. ShareX [Windows]
- 10. TinyTake [Windows/Mac]
3. Which game recorder is the best?
Top 6 Best Game Recorders for PC and Mac:
- 1. EaseUS RecExperts
- 2. Bandicam
- 3. QuickTime Player
- 4. LoiLo Game Recorder
- 5. Fraps
- 6. VLC Media Player
You can download EaseUS RecExperts by clicking the button below.
EaseUS RecExperts
One-click to capture anything on screen!
No Time Limit, No watermark
Start Recording
