• Game Capture Software Download
• Gameplay Recording Software

Don’t know which Mac screen and audio recorder you should choose? Actually, high-quality screen and video capture will help you improve efficiency and optimize your recording content. Whether you use it to stream games online, make tutorials, record your singing, or anything else, you need to find a suitable screen and audio recorder for your Mac. In this article, we’ve listed the top 10 Mac screen and audio recorders for you, including free and the advanced features of a paid solution.

TOP 1. Vidmore Screen Recorder

Part 3: Best open source video capture software for Linux. VLC is an open-source free media player application, so it can be used on both Linux, Windows, and Mac operating system. It allows you to play music and video of any format including WMA, AAC, AIF, MP3, and much more on your computer. This software capture your gameplay at a very high resolution of 1080p full HD quality and 60fps frame rate using H.264 encoding advanced hardware. All you need to do is to connect your PC/Laptop to Elgato Game Capture HD60 device and enjoy streaming without any delay along with live commentary. TinyTake is a free game screen capturing and video recording software for Windows and Mac. You can capture onscreen images and gameplay of computer with ease. Share the game screen videos directly to YouTube or Tiny Take’s server. There is no video editing tools or annotation tools to edit the game screen videos. Game Capture Software. Game Capture Software is easy to use, a powerful tool which helps to record or capture video games. It offers the output video in high-quality and supports motion-JPEG for creating videos in full HD format. Download the free capture tool to record gameplay videos and share them with ease. 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 recording.

Vidmore Screen Recorder is a versatile video recorder to capture any activity on your screen, record HD video, as well as webcam. With this powerful video and audio recorder, you can record computer screen, exciting gameplay, webcam videos, online lectures, favorite music, or just save a screenshot on your Mac.

This screen and audio recording software for Mac is able to capture different audio sources to meet your needs, like system sounds, microphone voice or both. Separately recorded audio clips also give you more control over the sound of more complex projects. It's also good for only recording audio projects like podcasts or audiobooks and you can save them as MP3, M4A, WMA, or AAC files. The quality of the audio file can be set at your request. You can pre-listen to the recorded audio file before saving it.

Here are some key features:

1. Easily record your desktop screen activity and capture your webcam with high quality.
2. Record system sound and microphone sound.
3. Record any audio from your computer and your voice from the microphone.
4. Take a screenshot of the whole screen or of a single window.
5. Add text, arrows, and shapes to your recording or screenshot.
6. Be able to set output video format, video codec, and video quality.
7. Set the task name, starting time and ending time and duration.

TOP 2. QuickTime

QuickTime is the free built-in media player for Mac users. It is a reliable video player, but it’s also a quick and easy screen recorder that you don’t have to pay for. To some extent, it is similar to VLC.

This Mac software is wonderful if you need to record your screen in a pinch. It’s also one of the best video converter apps for macOS. With it, you can also edit your recordings. However, you can’t select a window to record a video. And it can only save 1080pHD video, not support 4K.

TOP 3. VLC

VLC Media Player, a popular Windows Media Player for Mac and Windows, which can play almost any media file format without quality loss. If you only regard VLC as the video player, you may have missed many features from it. It also lets you record any video and audio that is playing with this media player.

You can use VLC to record video from a DVD to your hard drive and record a screen capture video of your computer's desktop. If you are looking for a free recorder, VLC deserves a try. But, you need to pay attention that it can only record without any further editing features. So you have to find another app to edit your recordings if you need it.

Download: VLC(https://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html) (Free)

TOP 4. AnyMP4 Screen Recorder

AnyMP4 Screen Recorder is a powerful app to record screen and audio for Mac and Windows users. It can record any kind of screen on the computer like online videos, games, Skype calls, Podcast, online conference, webcam videos, webinars, lectures and more.

This screen and audio recorder app is able to capture system sounds, microphone voice or both and save your audio recording as MP3, M4A, WMA, or AAC files. After you finish recording, you can play the recorded video in advance and watch it as well as listen to the audio files directly.

Download: AnyMP4 Screen Recorder(https://www.anymp4.com/screen-recorder/) (Free trial)

TOP 5. OBS

OBS, also named as Open Broadcaster Software, is the free and open-source program for video and audio recording. Provided with lots of features and settings, you are able to capture the game screen among the multiple screens and optimize your setup for recording.

This Mac app is a great program for advanced users. It can be configured to your needs as a recording program. However, it is hard to master this recorder for novice users. If you’re willing to put in the time to learn the rules, it’s a great option.

Download: OBS(https://obsproject.com/) (Free)

TOP 6. Bandicam

Bandicam is the video recording software for Mac and Windows that allows you to capture any screen on your computer. You can record lectures, webinars, games and Skype calls with the option to add narration from your microphone and video from your webcam, and share on YouTube or Vimeo.

With it, you can also capture external video devices from webcam, Xbox, IPTV, etc. And it also supports for the schedule recording. Bandicam provides a free version for Mac users to have a try, but you can’t use a full-featured recorder.

Download: Bandicam(https://www.bandicam.com/free-screen-recorder/) (Free trial)

TOP 7. Camtasia

Camtasia is the combination of video/audio recorder and editor on Windows and Mac. You can use it to capture anything on your computer screen–websites, software, video calls, or PowerPoint presentations. With its built-in video editor, you can drag and drop text, transitions, effects, and more.

It can also capture audio from a mic, the system or both. You can also send recordings from your mobile device directly, but admittedly, this it isn’t smooth enough. After recording, you can upload your video to YouTube, Vimeo, Screencast, or your online video course. However, this app does cost a lot – $249. But if you’re looking for a professional one to create your recordings, it might be worth the investment.

Download: Camtasia(https://www.techsmith.com/download/camtasia/) (Free trial)

TOP 8. Movavi Screen Capture Studio

Movavi Screen Capture Studio is the video recording software, which has all the tools you will need to capture a screen on the computer and edit your recordings. You can use it to capture your entire desktop or a specific region, application or window. It's also great for recording video games and more. It can also record your system’s audio or voice through a microphone. However, it can’t share the video recording directly to YouTube, etc. And it doesn’t have the option to lock the window while recording.

Download: Movavi Screen Capture Studio(https://www.movavi.com/screen-recorder-mac/) (Free trial)

TOP 9. Snagit

Snagit is the advanced video recording software and combines some of the best screen recording features in a simple interface. It allows simultaneous recording from screens and webcams. However, you are not able to overlay the videos. Instead, you need to toggle between which one is recorded.

Snagit also allows you to record audio; you can view your past recordings and tag them for finding them quickly in the future. It is featured by a powerful editor with a vast library. This recorder is not friendly to the novice.

Download: Snagit(https://www.techsmith.com/download/snagit/) (Free trial)

TOP 10. ScreenFlow

With ScreenFlow, you can record any part of your screen or the entire monitor while also capturing your video camera, iOS device, microphone or multi-channel audio device, and your computer’s audio. You can creatively edit your video with its built-in editor. And you’re able to share your video directly to YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, etc. However, the cost is $129, a little bit expensive. You can have a free trial if you need.

Download: ScreenFlow(http://primary.telestream.net/screenflow/) (Free trial)

Conclusion

Which screen and audio recorder is best? All of the above recorders can give you a great video and audio recording experience. All in all, selecting any recorder is up to your requirements and budget.

Although there are a lot of audio recording programs out there claiming to record almost any sound play on computer, the fact you should always keep in mind is that only a few of them promise capturing high quality audio. Therefore, if you care much about the quality of your recordings, choosing a proper high-powered audio recorder could really matter. Are you just looking for such recording tool but with a low budget? Luckily, among the numerous audio recording software available on internet, we are glad to see most of them are offered for free. To help you quickly pick up the best free streaming audio recorder online, we complied a list of top 5 most popular free audio recording programs that can record streaming music, radios, in-game sound, music in videos, and any other sound play on Mac and Windows with high quality.

Top 1. Audacity (Mac & Windows)

As a well-known open source free audio recorder, Audacity is capable of recording and editing anything you throw at it, including audio through microphone and sound card all in a few clicks thanks to the clean interface. It also allows users adjust pitch, bass, and treble, or normalize noise and add effects like reverb and phasing to the recordings. In addition, it supports multi-track capturing to save a lot of time for you. And unlike most other free audio recorders which are free for a limited time or free with locked features, Audacity is a real free of charge audio recording application offered in full free version. Overall, Audacity offers one of the most robust packages available among free recording programs.

Pros:

1. Totally free and extremely easy to use;
2. Support recording any sound on computer;
3. Edit recorded audio's quality with many effects;
4. Support multi-track recording.

Cons:

1. Require plugins to accomplish optimal functionality;
2. Can't export audio recordings to MP3;
3. Effect editing is destructive to original audio track.

Top 2. Apowersoft Free Online Audio Recorder

Differing from Audacity or other free audio streaming recorder, Apowersoft Audio Recorder is a free online recording solution that needs no plug-in on Windows or Mac. It allows you record any sound from system sound card and microphone in high quality within 3 steps only. It fully supports capturing streaming music, radio stations, music in games, voice chats, etc. playing via devices like Windows Media Player, QuickTime, iTunes, Tablets, Chromebook, Android smartphones, iPhone, Windows Phone and more. Besides, it offers additional recording functions like converting audio records to MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC, WAV, M4A, OGG, adding ID3 tags, sharing recorded audios online, playing recordings in real time, etc.

Pros:

1. Free and no need to install setup file on computer;
2. Support any sound sources;
3. Save recordings in multiple popular formats;
4. Support extensional functions for recording.

Cons:

1. Can't edit output audio quality;
2. Multi-track recording not supported.

Top 3. Ardour (Mac & Windows)

Ardour DAW is another great open-source audio recorder with professional music recording features and no cost. Developed by Paul Davis, Ardour is aiming at providing powerful recorder for studios who are at low budgets. Featuring highly versatile multi-track audio recording, Ardour can record and edit audios non-destructively or destructively. Its use of Jack, an underlying sound server, makes it compatible with a number of outside applications as well. With the release of third edition, Ardour is supposed to import video for film scoring purpose and record, edit MIDI without a hassle. However, unlike most of other free DAWs, Ardour comes with a confusing graphical user interface which is inaccessible for beginners. It's more like a professional tool developed for musicians or audio engineers.

Game Capture Software Download

Pros:

1. Free and professional;
2. Support multi-track recording;
3. Edit recorded tracks non-destructively.

Cons:

Gameplay Recording Software

1. It's complex and difficult for newbie;
2. No built-in effects or instruments.

Top 4. Aktiv MP3 Recorder (Windows)

If you are looking for a free streaming music recorder that can convey CD, tape, DVD, live performance, TV, Internet radio, streaming music, video games and any other sound source into popular audio formats like MP3, WMA, OGG, VOX, AU, AIFF, then you can't miss Aktiv MP3 Recorder. As a full-featured audio recorder, the big difference between Aktiv and other free recording tools is that it comes with recording scheduler which provides you the ability to record streaming audio at certain times according to your requirements.

Pros:

1. Free streaming audio recorder;
2. Support most popular output formats;
3. Provide schedule recording tasks.

Cons:

1. Available for Windows only;
2. Installer contains some extra software.

Top 5. Traverso DAW (Mac & Windows)

Traverso DAW is another cross-platform free multitrack audio recording and audio editing suite with support for CD mastering and non-linear processing. Traverso is different with other in UI as it offers a unique user interface using both the mouse and the keyboard together for precision and speed. In addition, Traverso includes non-destructive editing, the ability to use plugins and make edits without changing the actual recorded sample. Also it is offering full support for ALSA, Jack and PortAudio, and lockless real-time audio processing.

Pros:

1. Fullfeatured free recording app;
2. Innovative keyboard and mouse shortcuts;
3. Support non-destructive audio editing.

Cons:

1. Take some time for users to get used to the shortcuts;
2. Need plugins to edit audio non-destructively.

More Professional Audio Recorder for Low Budget - TunesKit

Of course, no piece of free software is without its shortcomings. So do those free audio recorders. They are not as advanced as other paid software in functionality. In case you are searching for such paid recording products with reasonable price, we highly recommend a best free sound recorder to you. The renowned program is called TunesKit Audio Capture. It's available for both Mac and Windows platforms. It costs $19.95 but with more powerful features, including multi-track lossless recording, automatically fulfilling ID3 tags, editing output quality, splitting or merging recorded tracks, etc. You can download the free trial versions as below to test it out by yourself. For complete tutorial, visit this user guide.

Conclusion & Suggestion

As you can see, all the above recording tools are free of charge to meet most of your recording needs with options of recording audio, adding effects, and cutting waveforms, as well as other basic recording tasks. To conclude, if you are referring an all-in-one application that combines easy operation and high performance, Audacity and Aktiv MP3 Recorder could be the best audio recording software. But if you concern more about the professionalism and quality, you are suggested to go for Ardour or Traverso DAW that are more professional oriented. Or alternatively, Apowersoft Audio Recorder could be a great choice if you don't want to install any software on your computer. If you still have no idea which one to choose, simply try them out one by one and decide which works best for you.

Nick Orin is a review writer, software geek and Mac OS enthusiast. He spends all his free time in searching useful software and gadgets to share with others.