OBS Studio review

OBS Studio is the recorder we would point most people to first because it removes cost from the decision entirely: the OBS Project describes it as free and open source software for video recording and live streaming, and it runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. For a tutorial you build a scene from sources such as a window capture, your webcam, a browser window or a text label, then switch between as many scenes as you like with custom transitions. The audio mixer applies noise suppression, a noise gate and gain per source, and VST plugins cover anything more specialized. Hotkeys start and stop recordings, and Studio Mode lets you preview a scene before it goes live. The trade-off is effort. There is no editor, no captioning and no share link, so most creators pair OBS with a separate video editor, and the first setup takes longer than with any paid app on this list. For teachers who record the same layout every week, that setup only has to happen once.

Who it is for

Creators and teachers who want unlimited free recording on any desktop

Price

Free and open source, with no paid plan.

Free and open source software for video recording and live streaming.
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 12, 2026.

Key features

• Scenes built from window captures, images, text, browser windows, webcams and capture cards
• Unlimited scenes with custom transitions between them
• Audio mixer with per-source noise gate, noise suppression and gain, plus VST plugin support
• Hotkeys for starting and stopping recordings, switching scenes, muting sources and push to talk
• Lua and Python scripts and native plugins through the OBS Studio API

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Costs nothing and has no recording time limit or paid tier
• Strength: Runs on Windows 10 and 11, macOS 13.0 or newer, and Linux
• Strength: The same scene setup can record a lesson or stream it live
• Weakness: No built-in editor, so recordings need a separate tool for trimming and captions
• Weakness: Scenes, sources and settings take time to learn before the first good take
• Weakness: No cloud sharing links; you upload files yourself

Key facts

• Price: Free
• License: Open source
• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
• Live streaming: Yes
• Built-in editor: No

Where it ranks

OBS Studio is No. 2 in our Best Screen Recording Software verdict.