High-performance Windows screen recorder and game capture with hardware acceleration
Bandicam is a Windows screen recorder specialising in high-performance game capture, DirectX/OpenGL/Vulkan rendering capture, and high-frame-rate screen recording. Its hardware-accelerated encoding (NVIDIA NVENC, AMD VCE, Intel Quick Sync) produces high-quality recordings of demanding 3D games and applications with minimal CPU impact — making it the preferred screen recorder for Windows gamers and technical content creators.
Bandicam is a strong fit if its core strengths match your workflow, budget, and support needs. Use the quick signals below before opening the full review.
Bandicam's specialisation is performance under load — specifically, recording high-framerate 3D games without introducing the stuttering and frame drops that CPU-based recording creates. Its hardware-accelerated encoding using NVIDIA NVENC, AMD VCE, and Intel Quick Sync offloads the encoding work from the CPU to the GPU, allowing demanding games to run at full performance while being recorded in high quality simultaneously.
Bandicam's Game Recording mode hooks directly into DirectX, OpenGL, and Vulkan rendering APIs — capturing frames at the source before display output rather than capturing the desktop like a standard screen recorder. This approach gives Bandicam access to frames at the native game resolution and framerate, producing recordings that accurately represent game performance without the desktop compositing overhead that affects other screen capture methods.
Bandicam supports recording at up to 480fps in compatible scenarios — a capability relevant for gaming channels that produce slow-motion analysis, martial arts/fighting game frame data content, or hardware benchmark journalism that shows frame delivery in detail. Standard screen recorders cap at 60fps or 120fps, missing this specific high-framerate content creator need.
Bandicam's lifetime licence at $39.95 grants perpetual use of the purchased version — the best value one-time price for a game-capable screen recorder in the Windows market. OBS Studio is free but requires more configuration; Bandicam's simplicity at a low one-time price is its advantage over OBS for gamers who want good results without configuration investment.
Score: 8.1/10 — Best Windows game capture recorder; Windows-only and gaming focus limit general-purpose use.
Free
Free billed annually
Bandicam is best for Windows gamers and gaming content creators who record gameplay for YouTube or Twitch highlight VODs, Hardware reviewers and PC benchmark journalists who need FPS overlay and performance data during screen capture, Game developers recording gameplay for QA, bug reporting, or promotional footage.
Yes. Bandicam currently lists a free plan in ToolRankr data.
It has a free plan.
Bandicam is reviewed using ToolRankr's scoring model for ease of use, value, features, support, and overall quality. Affiliate links may earn a commission, but sponsored labels do not change editorial scoring.
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