Free open-source screen recorder and live streaming software for Windows, Mac, and Linux
OBS Studio (Open Broadcaster Software) is the open-source screen recording and live streaming platform used by millions of gamers, streamers, educators, and professionals. Its scene-based composition system, unlimited source mixing, virtual camera output, and plugin ecosystem make it the most powerful free screen capture tool available — at the cost of a steeper configuration learning curve than consumer tools.
OBS Studio 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.
OBS Studio's position in the screen recording market is unique: it is free, open-source, cross-platform, and more powerful than any commercial screen recorder for its core strengths — scene composition, multi-source mixing, and streaming. Its limitation is not feature depth but approachability; OBS rewards users who invest time to understand it.
OBS's scene system allows multiple independent layouts — each containing different combinations of screen captures, webcam sources, images, browser sources, media files, and game captures — that can be switched instantly during recording or streaming. A presenter can have one scene showing full-screen slides, another showing slides with a camera overlay, and a third showing camera only, and switch between them with keyboard shortcuts. No commercial consumer screen recorder provides this compositional flexibility.
OBS's virtual camera makes any OBS scene available as a webcam source in any video conferencing application. Users can present a professionally composed scene (camera, slides, lower thirds, background removed) in Zoom or Teams without Zoom's built-in presentation features, feeding a curated visual experience to all participants.
OBS records at any resolution and frame rate the hardware supports, with hardware-accelerated encoding (NVENC, AMD VCE, Apple VideoToolbox) producing small file sizes at high quality. No watermarks, no time limits, no paywalls. For users who want maximum quality at zero cost and are willing to configure settings, OBS is unequivocally the best value in the category.
Score: 8.7/10 — Most powerful free screen recorder; configuration learning curve is the significant barrier for casual users.
Free
Free billed annually
OBS Studio is best for Streamers and content creators who need professional multi-source scene composition for live or recorded broadcasts, Developers and technical users who want maximum recording control — resolution, frame rate, codec, bitrate — at zero cost, Educators and presenters who want advanced scene layouts (slides + camera + countdown) without a commercial tool.
Yes. OBS Studio currently lists a free plan in ToolRankr data.
It has a free plan.
OBS Studio 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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