The Best Screen Capture Tool for Mac OS X. OS X already offers a means of capturing screenshots with a few keyboard shortcuts, but if you want to do a little more you have to grab a third-party. Debut Video Capture Software for Mac is a screen recording app that allows you to easily record and capture video from any webcam, recording device, or screen. Whether creating a professional video recording for work or a video for personal use, Debut Screen Recorder has an array of production features that will help to create a flawless screen.
Simple, Powerful Screen Capture Software and Screen Recorder Take a screenshot or capture a video of what you see on your computer screen. Choose whether you want to capture an image or record your screen after you make your selection, and resize the capture area right down to the pixel. Snagit is way more than just a snipping tool. Here are the top Mac OS X screen recorders. Movavi Screen Recorder. Best for: capturing streaming videos, webinars, and online calls. Price: free trial, premium for $37.95/year or $52.95/lifetime. G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars, 41 good reviews out of 44. Movavi Screen Recorder is a screen recording software for your Mac.
Finding a screen recorder for Mac isn’t terribly difficult, but finding great free ones is more tricky. Why pay for one when we have a list of six of the best free screen recorders and they are most likely suited for whatever your needs may be?
Let’s dive right into our picks.
QuickTime Player
You may or may not know that Mac’s built-in QuickTime Player can do screen recording. You can also edit your screencast right in iMovie—you can add text, transitions, use zoom, and more.
- From “Finder” on your Mac, go to “Applications.”
- Once in “Applications,” scroll to select “QuickTime Player.”
- Select “File,” and then “New Screen Recording.”
- In the screen recording box, click the drop-down menu.
- From the drop-down box, select the features you want to use for your screen recording.
- Click the red button to begin recording. When you’ve finished, just click the red button again to stop recording.
- To export your screen recording, go to “File Export,” and QuickTime converts your screen recording into a video once you choose your video quality setting.
Now you can share your video or make edits in iMovie. That’s it!
Here are some other free alternatives to QuickTime . . .
Monosnap
You’re able to do more recording tasks within Monosnap, a feature-rich alternative. Create screenshots, make videos, add text, and highlight important or specific parts of your screen, all within the app. Go to the Monosnap website to get started, or go straight to the Apple App Store and download it.
VLC
VLC has been around for quite some time and is capable of many things. Did you know VLC can capture screen recordings? For free, open-source software, VLC does a decent job of screen recording.
QuickCast
If you don’t need a heavy-duty screen recorder and only need something to record short, three- to five-minute screen recordings, then you may want to check out QuickCast. It can use your external microphone and webcam as well. It’s an app that gets installed in your menu bar—when you need it, just click on it!
TinyTake
In order to use TinyTake, you’ll need to sign up for a TinyTake account—it’s a fully free program. Once you’ve installed TinyTake on your Mac, it shows up in your menu bar. Click on it and log in to your TinyTake account to get started with screen recording. You can record anywhere from two minutes to two hours, and you can even make notes or point things out on screen. You can also upload your videos directly to YouTube.
Screencast-O-Matic
Screencast-O-Matic is free to use, but also offers a paid version for $15 per year, which is pretty reasonable. The free version lets you record for up to fifteen minutes, does screen and webcam recording, allows you to publish to YouTube, and saves your recordings as video files.
We hope our list of these free Mac screen recorders has an option or two that you’ll love. Out of these six programs, you should be able to find one—or several—for all your Mac screen recording purposes.
It is true that you can take a screenshot on Mac by pressing Shift, Command and 3/4/5/6 keys on the keyboard. As a result, you can quickly capture your Mac’s screen via keyboard shortcuts. Since there are premade key combinations to capture any portion on Mac, why you still need a Mac screenshot tool?
The main reason is that you cannot get drawing tools and other advanced features from the straightforward Mac screenshot feature. Mac will save the screenshot as PNG by default. You need to use an image converter to change the screenshot format. In many cases, a snipping tool for Mac really helps.
Part 1: Top 7 Best Free Screenshot Tools for Mac
To take a screenshot on Mac without keyboard, you can take a look at the following paragraphs. Here’re top 10 best screenshot tools for Mac free to use in 2020.
Top 1: Vidmore Screen Recorder
There is a built-in free screenshot tool for Mac in Vidmore Screen Recorder. It’s okay if you don’t get its full version or even register an account. You can take a Mac screenshot of the whole screen or single window. The Mac screenshot capture software offers real-time drawing tools. Thus, you can emphasize the key point and draw anything on the screenshot directly. The screenshot will be saved as PNG, JPG, JPEG, BMP, GIF or TIFF based on your need.
Main Features:
- Capture Mac screen with full screen or browser window.
- Save Mac screenshot picture as PNG, JPG, JPEG, BMP, GIF or TIFF.
- Add rectangle, ellipse, line, arrow, callout, text and more in any size and color to your screenshot.
- Safe, clean and totally free to use. No registration or hidden purchase.
- The free Mac screenshot software works with Mac OS X 10.10 or above.
Top 2: Lightshot
Lightshot is a free screenshot tool for Mac. You can select any area on your Mac computer to capture. Later, you can share the screenshot via Internet directly.
Pros:
- Take a screenshot on Mac with any screen size.
- Upload your Mac screenshot to the server or get its short link to share.
- Use the online editor to edit screenshots on Mac. (Find more video editor here)
Cons:
- Lightshot may close down suddenly.
- The copy function in Lightshot does not work.
Top 3: Snappy
You can capture any part of your Mac computer with Snappy automatically. The free screenshot tool for Mac allows users to annotate, resize and customize the screenshot picture. Moreover, you can organize, collaborate and share Mac screenshot within Snappy on Mac.
Pros:
- Grab Mac screen by drawing or shortcuts.
- Collect snaps stored on Mac and make then well organized.
- Share screenshots to Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Email and more.
Cons:
- Lack editing features.
- Snappy becomes quite buggy.
You may want to know: how to record audio on Mac
Top 4: Skitch
Skitch is a free screenshot for Mac that works with Evernote. If you are in the business of taking screenshots for your team, Skitch can be your good companion.
Pros:
- Snap, mark and send a screenshot on Mac.
- Add text, shape and draw on your screenshot image.
- Blur the obscured areas.
Cons:
- Skitch crashes and freezes in the half of time.
- Still need the UI improvement.
Top 5: Recordit
Recordit is a GIF-based screencast tool for Mac free to use. You can also install Recordit plugin to quickly take a screenshot on your Mac computer.
Pros:
- Use hotkeys to screenshot on Mac.
- Get free cloud storage space for screenshots.
- Provide multiple upload and share options.
Cons:
- Recordit free version is limited.
- Require the stable Internet connection.
Screen Recording Software Free Mac
Top 6: Snagit
TechSmith Snagit offers the free trial for screen capture and recording on Mac. You can capture a process and add drawing tools of what you see on Mac screen.
Pros:
Free Screen Capture Tool Mac
- Draw on Mac screenshot with markup and annotation tools.
- Convert Mac screenshots into simplified graphics.
- Get direct file sharing feature.
Cons:
- Snagit free trial lasts for 15 days only.
- Snagit full version is expensive.
Top 7: Monosnap
Monosnap is a free online screenshot tool. You can capture screenshots on Mac with full screen, custom area or window. If you want to edit and add annotations, you need to register its user account first.
Pros:
- Highlight on screenshot with multiple drawing tools.
- Use blur tool to hide sensitive information in your screenshot.
- Share Mac screenshot to Twitter, Facebook, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.
Cons:
- Monosnap gets buggy with the new OS releases.
- You need to pay to unlock third-party services.
Part 2: FAQs about Mac Screenshot Tool
Where are screenshots saved on Mac?
If you capture Mac screen with official shortcuts, your screenshot will be saved on desktop by default. For macOS Mojave users, you can change the default screenshot destination folder. Just head to Options in the Screenshot app.
Is Preview the hidden screenshot software for Mac?
Yes. There is Take Screenshot feature in Preview. You can screen capture on an PDF file or image in Preview on Mac for free.
Can website see if you screenshot?
No. It is not allowed for the browser to detect whether users use a Mac screenshot tool or not. Your screenshots are not traceable.
Actually, you can use any screenshot app to capture Mac’s screen as JPG and other formats. It is also supported to copy and paste Mac screenshot to clipboard. Which can be your best free screenshot tool for Mac? You can feel free to share with us.