How to Screen Record With Audio on Any Computer

The microphone and the computer's sound are two separate sources, and most recorders only capture the second if you switch it on. Below are the steps for Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Linux and the browser, then fixes for silent recordings. (Phones have their own built-in recorders and aren't covered here.) The built-in steps follow Microsoft's, Apple's, Google's and GNOME's support pages, checked October 2026.

Screen recording with audio: every computer at a glance

“Computer sound” is whatever your speakers would play. Windows calls it PC or system audio, Chromebooks device audio, Macs system audio.

Mic, computer sound, or both

• Your voice (microphone): narrating a tutorial or a bug report. Every built-in recorder can do this.
• Computer sound (system or internal audio): a game, an app's sounds, a video. Often off by default, and on older Macs and on GNOME the built-in tool can't capture it at all.
• Both: a narrated demo with app sounds, or a call where you need their voices and yours. The recorder mixes them into one track.

Why “no sound” usually means system audio wasn't captured: a recorder doesn't listen to your speakers. It takes the computer's sound as a digital stream, and only when that source is selected. Two habits prevent most failures: wear headphones so the mic doesn't record your speakers again as an echo, and play back a five-second test before the real take.

Any computer: record with audio in the browser

Best for: voice and computer sound on any computer, with nothing to install. ZoomCap's online screen recorder with audio runs in desktop Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. It's free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no time limit set by us (very long recordings are limited by your computer's memory).

1. Open zoomcap.live/screen-recorder in Chrome or Edge.
2. Leave Microphone on for your voice, or switch it off for computer sound only. Allow the mic when the browser asks.
3. Start recording. The browser's own picker opens with tabs for a browser tab, a window, or your entire screen.
4. Pick what to record and tick the audio option at the bottom of the picker. Chrome labels it Share tab audio or Share system audio depending on what you're sharing (Google's Meet help calls them “Also share tab audio” and “Also share system audio”).
5. Record. Pause and resume as you need, then stop with our Stop button or the browser's “Stop sharing” bar.
6. Play it back on the page, then download it: MP4 in Chrome, Edge and Safari, WebM in Firefox. The page shows whether the take has audio.

Tab, window or whole screen: which audio you get

• A browser tab: that tab's sound only, so other apps' alerts stay out. Chrome and Edge, every system. Best for a web app demo.
• Entire screen: everything the computer plays, in Chrome on Windows and ChromeOS, Edge on Windows, and Chrome 141 or newer on macOS 14.2 or newer.
• One window: on a Mac with Chrome 141+, the system audio option appears for a window too. If you see no audio checkbox for a window, share the entire screen or the tab instead.

The Mac row comes from independent testing by Addpipe (2026), which found the option first appears in Chrome 141 and needs macOS 14.2 or newer; Google's release notes don't mention it. Linux browsers offer a tab's sound only.

Nothing is uploaded: the video stays in your browser tab until you download it. It doesn't show a webcam bubble while recording (the signed-in recorder at /record does) or make share links. For zooms, a background or captions, “Add zooms in the editor” opens the ZoomCap editor: a free account with 2 watermarked exports a month, or $29 once (or $12.49/month) for unlimited exports. On browser recordings you place zooms by hand; automatic zoom needs the CLI's click data.

How to screen record with audio on Windows 11 and 10

Windows has two built-in recorders, and both can record sound. The full walkthrough, including save locations and laptop shortcuts, is in how to screen record on Windows.

Snipping Tool (Windows 11): mic and system audio

1. Press Win+Shift+R, or open Snipping Tool, select Record, then New (steps from Microsoft's Snipping Tool support page).
2. Drag to select the area to record.
3. On the recording bar, turn on the microphone button for your voice and the system audio button for the PC's sound.
4. Select Start, and Stop when you're done. Save the recording, or select Edit in Clipchamp.

Audio arrived in Snipping Tool version 11.2307.44.0, which Microsoft's Windows Insider blog describes as “optionally recording your PC audio and voice overs using a microphone,” with settings for the default audio of new recordings and a choice of mic if you have several. If you don't see the audio buttons, update Snipping Tool from the Microsoft Store. Microsoft's 2023 learning-center article that says Snipping Tool records no audio predates this update.

Xbox Game Bar (Windows 10 and 11): one app with sound

1. Open the game or app you want to record.
2. Press Win+Alt+R to start recording, and the same keys again to stop (or Win+G to open Game Bar and use the Capture controls).
3. Press Win+Alt+M to switch the microphone on or off while recording.
4. To include more than the game's sound, open Game Bar's settings and, under Capturing, choose All as the audio to record.

Those shortcuts and the Videos\Captures save folder (MP4 files) come from Microsoft's Game Bar support page. The catch: Game Bar records one app or game window at a time, and Dell's support article notes it doesn't work on the desktop or in File Explorer.

Recording the whole Windows desktop with sound

Use Snipping Tool with system audio on, or the browser recorder: share your Entire screen in Chrome or Edge and tick Share system audio, which captures everything Windows plays. Our free screen recorder for PC runs the same recorder with Windows-specific notes. For multi-source scenes or streaming, OBS Studio is free and records Desktop Audio and your mic as separate sources.

How to screen record with audio on a Mac

Your voice: press Cmd+Shift+5, click Options, and pick a microphone. This works on every macOS version, in QuickTime's File → New Screen Recording too, which opens the same toolbar.

The Mac's own sound: in the same Options menu, choose Include System Audio. Apple's screen recording guide says this needs macOS 27 Golden Gate or later (released September 14, 2026), and macOS 27 runs only on Apple silicon. On macOS Tahoe 26, Sequoia 15 and earlier, and on every Intel Mac, the built-in recorder captures a microphone only. We break it down by version in does Cmd+Shift+5 record audio?

On macOS 26 and earlier, these get system audio and your mic together:

• A browser recorder in Chrome 141 or newer (macOS 14.2+): share a window or the entire screen and tick Share system audio, per Addpipe's testing. In any version of Chrome or Edge, sharing a tab with Share tab audio gets that tab's sound. Our screen recorder for Mac works this way, free.
• ZoomCap's CLI (macOS 15+): npx zoomcap record captures screen, system audio and mic at 60fps through Apple's ScreenCaptureKit, with no driver, and zooms automatically where you click and type. It's part of the paid plans, $29 once (or $12.49/month).
• OBS Studio: free; its macOS Screen Capture source includes desktop audio on macOS 13 and later, per OBS's documentation.
• A virtual audio device such as BlackHole: the old workaround, for macOS 12 and earlier. You route the Mac's output into it and pick it as the recorder's input, which replaces your mic unless you build an Aggregate Device in Audio MIDI Setup.

If a Mac recording comes out black or silent, allow the app under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording and Microphone, then reopen it. The BlackHole setup and more Mac fixes are in how to record your Mac screen with system audio.

How to screen record with audio on a Chromebook

ChromeOS has the most complete built-in option: it records the Chromebook's sound and your mic together. Steps from Google's Chromebook help:

1. Press Shift+Ctrl+Show windows (on an external keyboard without that key, Ctrl+Shift+F5).
2. At the bottom, select Screen record, then full screen, a partial screen or a window.
3. Open Settings (the gear) and choose Device audio, Microphone, or Device audio and microphone. You can also turn on the front camera here.
4. Start recording; for a full screen, click anywhere on the screen.
5. Stop with Stop recording at the bottom right, or Search+Shift+X.

The video lands in Downloads as a .webm file. If you choose Record GIF instead, there's no audio at all. The full guide, with webcam and brand tips, is how to screen record on a Chromebook. The browser recorder also works there: Chrome on ChromeOS offers Share system audio for the entire screen.

How to screen record with audio on Linux

GNOME's built-in recorder (Shift+Ctrl+Alt+R, or the Print key and the camera icon) saves to Videos/Screencasts, but its help page lists no audio option, and a request on GNOME's issue tracker (#5524) asking for system audio notes that its screencasts are silent. For sound, use one of these:

• OBS Studio: free. In Settings → Audio, set Desktop Audio to your output and Mic/Auxiliary Audio to your microphone; both go into the recording. On Linux OBS uses PulseAudio-style sources, which also work on PipeWire.
• Kooha: a small recorder on Flathub that, per its GitHub page, records “microphone, desktop audio, or both at the same time” to WebM, MP4, GIF or Matroska.
• Any recorder with an input picker: PipeWire and PulseAudio expose each output as a “Monitor of …” source. Run pactl list short sources and look for names ending in .monitor, or open pavucontrol, go to the Recording tab and switch the recorder's input to the monitor while it records.
• The browser: on Linux, Chrome and Edge capture a tab's sound with Share tab audio, but not the whole system's. See our screen recorder for Linux. ZoomCap's CLI on Linux records video only (X11), so it's not the tool for sound there.

Recording a call or meeting

Tell people and get their consent first. Rules on recording conversations differ by country and state, so check the consent rules where you and the other people are.

If you can, use the meeting app's own record button. Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet each have one (depending on your plan and the host's settings), and it takes everyone's audio from the source rather than from your speakers.

With a screen recorder you need both sources: computer sound for the other people's voices and your mic for yours. For a meeting in a browser tab, share that tab with Share tab audio and leave the mic on, because your own voice isn't part of the tab's sound. Wear headphones, or their voices come back through your mic as an echo.

Streaming services and protected video

Recording a show from a streaming service often gives a black rectangle, no sound, or both. That's deliberate: many services protect their video with DRM (digital rights management), and the operating system or browser leaves protected content out of screen captures. Apple's guide notes that some apps, such as the Apple TV app, may not let you record their windows. Your recorder isn't broken, and no setting changes it. For a clip in a review or lesson, use the service's own sharing features or ask the rights holder.

Why your screen recording has no sound: fixes

Work down this list; the first three cover most silent recordings.

1. Computer sound wasn't selected. Share audio unticked in the browser picker, system audio off in Snipping Tool, Game Bar recording only the game, or Cmd+Shift+5 on macOS 26 or earlier.
2. The wrong microphone is selected. A webcam mic, an unplugged headset or a virtual device can be the default. On Windows 11: Settings → System → Sound → Input → “Choose a device for speaking or recording.” On a Mac: System Settings → Sound → Input.
3. The OS is blocking the mic. On Windows 11, Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone, and make sure Microphone access, Let apps access your microphone and Let desktop apps access your microphone are on (from Microsoft's microphone troubleshooting page). On a Mac, System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone. In the browser, allow the site to use the mic.
4. The mic is muted. A hardware mute switch on the headset, Game Bar's Win+Alt+M pressed by accident, or an input volume at zero.
5. Bluetooth headset switching modes. Many Bluetooth headsets drop to a lower-quality hands-free mode while their mic is in use, which can make audio thin or move it to another device. Record with a wired, USB or built-in mic and keep the headset for listening.
6. Sample-rate mismatch. If the mic and output run at different rates (44.1 kHz vs 48 kHz), some recorders produce crackles, drift or the wrong pitch. Set both to 48 kHz: on Windows, Control Panel → Sound → the device → Properties → Advanced → Default Format; on a Mac, Audio MIDI Setup → the device → Format.
7. You shared the wrong thing. Tab audio covers only that tab. If the sound comes from another app, share the entire screen with system audio.
8. Protected content can be silent by design (see above).

Check your levels before you record

Open our free webcam and mic test (nothing is recorded or uploaded), speak at your normal volume, and aim for the meter to sit around half to three-quarters, only occasionally touching red. Constant red distorts; a bar that barely moves means boosting it later, which raises the noise too. Then record five seconds with something playing and listen back on headphones: the computer and your voice should sit at similar levels. And turn on Do Not Disturb, or every chat ping lands in the file.

Frequently asked questions

Record your screen with sound now

Open the free screen recorder, leave the mic on, tick Share audio, and record: no download, no sign-up, nothing uploaded. When you want automatic zoom from the CLI and exports without the watermark, it's $29 once on the pricing page, and the security page shows where your recordings go.