Alternatives to OBS Studio
The standard free tool for recording a screen and for live streaming, built around scenes and sources. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
OBS Studio
The standard free tool for recording a screen and for live streaming, built around scenes and sources.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as OBS Studio.
Streamlabs Desktop
Streaming-focused fork of OBS with built-in widgets, alerts and themes.
Streamlabs Desktop is a fork of OBS that adds built-in widgets, alerts and themes, but it is closed source, has no Linux build and puts premium features behind a subscription.
XSplit Broadcaster
Streaming app with strong scene-transition and source-management tools.
XSplit Broadcaster offers comparable scene and source management with strong transitions, but it runs only on Windows, is closed source and charges for premium features.
Camtasia
Professional screen recorder and video editor for tutorials and demos.
Camtasia swaps live streaming and scene building for combined recording and editing aimed at tutorials, and it is paid, closed source software for Windows and macOS only.
ScreenFlow
Mac-only screen recording and editing tool for tutorials and courses.
ScreenFlow records and edits tutorial and course videos in one app, but it runs only on macOS, is paid after a trial and does not stream live.
Restream
A browser-based live video studio that multistreams one broadcast to more than 30 platforms.
Restream moves live production into a browser studio that multistreams to more than 30 platforms, but it needs an account and sends streams through its own servers.
Cap
An open-source screen recorder and Loom alternative with local editing, instant share links and the option to use your own storage.
Cap focuses on quick screen recordings with instant share links and local editing under AGPL-3.0, but it has no live streaming and weaker Linux support.
SimpleScreenRecorder
A Linux screen recorder for capturing programs and games, with live streaming and audio recording support.
SimpleScreenRecorder is an open-source Linux-only recorder with live streaming and custom codecs, without OBS's scene system.
Bandicam
A Windows screen recorder for capturing the desktop, games, webcam and audio, with built-in editing.
Bandicam is a Windows-only recorder with built-in trimming and scheduled recording, closed source and requiring a paid licence per PC.
Also worth comparing
These listings name OBS Studio 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.
OBS Studio is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux, recording and streaming to any RTMP service at once, with a steeper learning curve.
AMD Adrenalin
AMD's driver suite with built-in instant replay and game recording via ReLive.
OBS Studio is free, open source under GPL-2.0 and works with any GPU on Windows, macOS and Linux, but it has a real learning curve and no driver integration.
Blue Recorder
A simple desktop screen recorder built with GTK4 and FFmpeg, with Wayland support on GNOME and KDE.
OBS Studio is open source under GPL-2.0, runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and adds scenes, audio mixing and live streaming, with a steeper learning curve.
Capto
A Mac screen recorder, screenshot tool and video editor for tutorials, classes and demos.
OBS Studio is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux, adding scenes and live streaming but no built-in video editing and a steeper learning curve.
Debut Video Capture
A screen, webcam and device video recorder for Windows and Mac from NCH Software.
OBS Studio is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux with scenes and live streaming, without commercial restrictions but with a real learning curve.
EaseUS RecExperts
A screen recorder for Windows and Mac that captures screen, webcam, audio, meetings and gameplay.
OBS Studio is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux, adding scenes, an audio mixer and live streaming, with a steeper learning curve.
FlashBack Express
A Windows screen recorder with webcam and audio capture plus an editor for tutorials and demos.
OBS Studio is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux, adding scenes and live streaming, but lacks a built-in editor and has a learning curve.
Icecream Screen Recorder
A screen recorder and screenshot tool for Windows, Mac and Android with annotation tools.
OBS Studio is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux with scenes, streaming and an audio mixer, but it has a steeper learning curve.
Insights Capture
Windows app that auto-clips gameplay highlights and reviews matches afterward.
OBS Studio is free, open source and cross-platform, recording and streaming any game, but it requires manual setup and has no automatic highlight detection.
Kap
Open source Mac screen recorder that exports to GIF, MP4 or WebM.
OBS Studio is free under GPL-2.0 on macOS, Windows and Linux with scenes and live streaming, but it has a learning curve and no direct GIF export.
Kooha
A simple GTK screen recorder for Linux with a minimal interface, supporting Wayland and X11.
OBS Studio adds scenes, an audio mixer and live streaming across Windows, macOS and Linux, but has a steeper learning curve and needs PipeWire on Wayland.
Loom
Async video messaging tool for quick screen and webcam recordings.
OBS Studio is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux with scenes and streaming, but it saves files locally with no share links and has a learning curve.
Medal.tv
Auto-recording gaming clip app with a built-in social network for sharing clips.
OBS Studio is free, open source and cross-platform with recording and streaming, but it requires manual starting and setup rather than automatic clipping.
Movavi Screen Recorder
A desktop screen recorder for Windows and Mac that captures screen, webcam, system audio and voice.
OBS Studio is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux with scenes and live streaming, but has a steeper learning curve.
NVIDIA ShadowPlay
Built-in NVIDIA App recording and instant replay for supported RTX and GTX GPUs.
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.
Screen Studio
A macOS screen recorder that adds automatic zooms and smoothed cursor movement to recordings.
OBS Studio is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux with scenes and streaming, but has no automatic zooms and a steep learning curve.
Screenflick
A native Mac screen recorder that captures high frame rate video with system audio, webcam and keystrokes.
OBS Studio is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux, with scenes, an audio mixer and streaming, but no keystroke display and a learning curve.
Screenity
An open-source Chrome extension for recording the screen, with annotation and editing tools.
OBS Studio is a free, open-source desktop recorder for Windows, macOS and Linux with scenes, an audio mixer and live streaming, but has a real learning curve.
ScreenPal
A screen recorder and video editor, formerly Screencast-O-Matic, available online and as a desktop app.
OBS Studio is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux with scene-based recording and live streaming, but it has no editor or teaching tools.
Spectacle
KDE's screenshot and screen recording application for Linux desktops.
OBS Studio is a free, open-source recorder for Linux, Windows and macOS with scenes and live streaming, but it does not take screenshots.
vMix
Professional live production software for multi-camera streaming and playback.
OBS Studio is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux, with scenes, sources and an audio mixer, but lacks vMix's professional replay features.
vokoscreenNG
An open-source screencast recorder for Windows and Linux that captures the screen, an area or a window.
OBS Studio adds scenes, an audio mixer and live streaming, and also runs on macOS, but it has a steeper learning curve than vokoscreenNG.
wf-recorder
A command-line screen recorder for wlroots-based Wayland compositors, using ffmpeg for encoding.
OBS Studio is a full graphical recorder and streaming tool on Linux, Windows and macOS, using the PipeWire source on Wayland, with a steeper learning curve.
wl-screenrec
A command-line screen recorder for wlroots Wayland compositors that encodes video on the GPU.
OBS Studio is an open-source graphical recorder and streaming tool for Windows, macOS and Linux, needing the PipeWire source on Wayland and having a real learning curve.
Wondershare DemoCreator
A screen recorder with a built-in video editor for making tutorials, demos, courses and gaming videos.
OBS Studio is free and open source on Windows, macOS and Linux with scene-based recording and streaming, but it has no built-in video editor.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
ShareX
A Windows capture tool that screenshots, records, annotates and uploads, all driven by hotkeys.
Greenshot
A small Windows screenshot tool that captures a region, window or screen and annotates it in one step.
Keyviz
Show keyboard shortcuts and mouse actions during demonstrations.
Carnac
Show pressed keys during Windows demonstrations and recordings.
