Alternatives to NVIDIA ShadowPlay

Built-in NVIDIA App recording and instant replay for supported RTX and GTX GPUs. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as NVIDIA ShadowPlay.

  • AMD Adrenalin

    AMD's driver suite with built-in instant replay and game recording via ReLive.

    FreeProprietaryWindows

    AMD Adrenalin offers the same free built-in recording and instant replay through the driver, but it requires AMD Radeon graphics instead of a supported NVIDIA GPU.

  • OBS Studio

    The standard free tool for recording a screen and for live streaming, built around scenes and sources.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    OBS Studio is free and open source under GPL-2.0, works with any GPU on Windows, macOS and Linux, and adds streaming, but has a learning curve.

  • Medal.tv

    Auto-recording gaming clip app with a built-in social network for sharing clips.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindows

    Medal.tv records gameplay automatically regardless of GPU and adds a social clip feed, but the free tier is ad-supported and it remains Windows only.

  • Outplayed

    Auto-clipping capture app that highlights big plays in popular competitive games.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindows

    Outplayed detects and clips highlights automatically with a match timeline, independent of GPU vendor, but only for a set list of supported games.

  • Insights Capture

    Windows app that auto-clips gameplay highlights and reviews matches afterward.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindows

    Insights Capture auto-clips highlights and supports match review with minimal FPS impact, but it is freemium, closed source and limited to supported games.

  • Streamlabs Desktop

    Streaming-focused fork of OBS with built-in widgets, alerts and themes.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindowsmacOS

    Streamlabs Desktop builds on OBS with widgets and alerts for streaming on Windows and macOS, but it adds overhead and premium features need a subscription.

  • Bandicam

    A Windows screen recorder for capturing the desktop, games, webcam and audio, with built-in editing.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindows

    Bandicam records games, desktop and webcam on Windows with built-in trimming, but needs a paid licence per PC for full use.

Also worth comparing

These listings name NVIDIA ShadowPlay as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • Action!

    A Windows screen and gameplay recorder that also streams live, with webcam and greenscreen support.

    PaidProprietaryWindows

    NVIDIA ShadowPlay is free and built into the NVIDIA App with instant replay, but requires a supported NVIDIA GPU on Windows.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.