Free online screen recorder

How to record your screen online in 3 steps

1. Click Start recording and choose what to share in your browser's picker: your entire screen, one window, or a browser tab. To record the computer's sound as well as your voice, tick Share audio before you click Share.
2. Do your demo, lesson or walkthrough. Pause and resume as often as you like. Stop with Stop and save, or with the browser's own “Stop sharing” bar.
3. Watch it back and download it. The file is an MP4 in Chrome, Edge and Safari (WebM in Firefox). To add zooms, a background or captions, click Add zooms in the editor.

That's the whole process. There is no installer, no browser extension and no account, because modern browsers can capture the screen on their own; this page just gives that feature buttons, a timer and a download.

What this free screen recorder does

• Records the whole screen, one window or one tab, at your display's resolution.
• Records sound: your microphone, the computer's audio, or both mixed into one track.
• No watermark and no time limit set by us. A very long recording is limited only by your computer's memory.
• Nothing uploaded. The video is recorded inside your browser tab and saved to your Downloads folder. We never receive it.
• Pause and resume, with a timer that counts only recorded time.
• Works on Windows, Mac, Chromebook and Linux in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. It doesn't work on phones or tablets, whose browsers can't record the screen.

It doesn't record your webcam on top of the screen, draw on the screen while you record, or host a share link. If you need a webcam bubble, the full ZoomCap recorder does that after you sign in.

Record your screen with audio

A screen recording can carry two kinds of sound: your voice from the microphone, and the computer's own sound, such as a video, a call or an app's alerts. The microphone works in every browser. Computer sound depends on the browser and the system:

On a Mac, Chrome 141 or later shows a Share system audio switch when you share a window or the whole screen on macOS 14.2 or later; Safari and Firefox don't, so record in Chrome when you need the Mac's sound. For the Mac's sound plus automatic zooms, use the ZoomCap recorder for Mac, which captures system audio on macOS 15 and later. Our guide to screen recording with audio covers every system's built-in options and how to fix a silent recording. Check your microphone level first with the free webcam and mic test.

Free, and what costs money

Recording and downloading on this page is free, without a watermark or a time limit. What ZoomCap sells is the editor that makes a raw recording look finished: zooms, backgrounds, padding, rounded corners, captions, a webcam overlay, trimming and music, with exports up to 4K.

• Free plan: the full editor with 2 exports a month, which carry a watermark.
• Lifetime: $29 once, with no watermark, and the npx zoomcap record terminal recorder for macOS and Linux (X11).
• Pro: $12.49 a month for the same features.

You can get a refund within 14 days if it doesn't work for you. Plans are compared on the pricing page.

Make the recording easier to watch

Raw screen recordings are hard to follow on a phone or in a small player, because the text is tiny and the important click is somewhere in a 1080p frame. Zooming in on each action fixes that. In the ZoomCap editor you add a zoom where something happens, and the video glides in and back out. Recordings from the ZoomCap terminal recorder on macOS and Linux carry click and typing data, so they get automatic zooms without any editing. On browser recordings, including the ones from this page, you place zooms by hand.

Private by design

Screen recordings often show email, customer data or private messages, so where the video goes matters. This recorder uses your browser's built-in screen capture and writes the video into the open tab. There is no upload step and no account, so there is nothing for us to store. The ZoomCap editor also processes video in your browser; our security page lists what leaves your device and what doesn't.

Two practical notes: record a single window or tab when you can, so a notification doesn't end up in the video, and ask before you record a call or meeting with other people. Consent rules differ from place to place.

Screen recorder for Windows, Mac, Chromebook and Linux

Windows 11 and 10

Windows 11 has the Snipping Tool (Windows key + Shift + R) and the Xbox Game Bar (Windows key + Alt + R). Game Bar records one app at a time and can't record the desktop or File Explorer. This page records the whole desktop with the computer's sound in Chrome or Edge. More in screen recorder for PC and how to screen record on Windows.

Mac

macOS has the Screenshot toolbar (Shift + Command + 5) and QuickTime Player. Use this page for a quick recording (in Chrome it can include the Mac's own sound), or the ZoomCap terminal recorder for 60 fps recordings that zoom on your clicks and typing by themselves. See screen recorder for Mac and how to record your screen on a Mac.

Chromebook

ChromeOS has a built-in Screen capture tool (Shift + Ctrl + Show windows) that saves WebM files. This page saves MP4 in Chrome and opens the recording in an editor. Step by step in how to screen record on a Chromebook.

Linux

The browser asks your desktop for permission to share the screen, which works on both Wayland and X11. For terminal recording and the other Linux recorders, see screen recorder for Linux.

This recorder, built-in tools and desktop apps compared

The OBS Studio and Loom rows come from their own sites (checked September 2026). Pick OBS Studio if you stream or record games for hours; pick Loom if your team watches videos through share links. For a recording you need now, on any computer, this page is the shortest path. Our roundup of the best free screen recorders covers 10 more, including which ones add a watermark.

Tips for a clean screen recording

• Turn on Do Not Disturb (Focus on Windows and Mac) so notifications don't pop up mid-recording.
• Record a window, not the whole screen, and make it about the size you'll show it at: text stays readable.
• Increase the zoom in your app or browser (Ctrl or Command and +) before recording small text.
• Do a five-second test and play it back to check the sound before the real take.
• Keep takes short. Several two-minute clips are easier to redo than one twenty-minute take.
• Shrink big files with the free video compressor, or turn a short clip into a GIF with MP4 to GIF.

If the recorder doesn't work

• Nothing happens when I click Start: check for a blocked-permission icon in the address bar, and update your browser. On a Mac, the browser needs Screen Recording permission in System Settings → Privacy & Security; quit and reopen the browser after allowing it.
• No computer sound: tick Share audio in the picker. On a Mac, use Chrome 141 or later on macOS 14.2 or later, or share the tab that plays the sound.
• No voice: make sure Microphone is on before you start, allow the microphone prompt, and check the input device in your system's sound settings.
• A black picture: protected video (streaming services, some players) records black by design.
• The WebM file won't open: play it in a browser or VLC, or record in Chrome or Edge to get an MP4.

Frequently asked questions

Record now, polish later

Scroll up and click Start recording: it takes a few seconds and costs nothing. When you want the video to look finished, open it in the ZoomCap editor and add zooms, a background and captions. The editor is free to try, and $29 once (or $12.49 a month) removes the watermark.