InFormation WelFare: Top 5 Free Screen Recording Software for Windows [Reviewed]

Sunday 26 March 2017

Top 5 Free Screen Recording Software for Windows [Reviewed]

1. Icecream Screen Recorder

Icecream Screen Recorder can record your entire computer screen or specific parts of the screen. With the software, you can shoot webinars, record video calls or conferences, gameplays, etc. via its intuitive and user-friendly interface.

Pros:

Records videos in MP4, MKV or WebM format
Allows audio recording along with the video
Offers webcam recording along with screen recording
Allows on-screen drawing (or annotating) while capturing the screen
Offers hotkey configuration to pause, record and stop the recording
Allows saving screenshots to the clipboard or in JPG or PNG extension
Offers Project History for quick access to previously captured pictures and videos

Cons:

Free users get a 10-minute cap of screen recording time
Offers limited functionalities and editing options in its free edition
Its recordings can’t be used for commercial purposes by free users

2. Ezvid Video Maker

Ezvid Video Maker is a useful desktop or screen recording software. With some clicks, you can record the computer screen to create high-resolution movies. Ezvid allows on-screen drawing and recording specific region [same as Icecream Screen Recorder]. You can also add title, description, keywords and other meta-info to your recordings.

Pros:

Auto-saves the videos during recording
Allows creating slideshows with the capturings
Offers audio recording and voice synthesis features
Allows on-screen annotating while recording the screen
Enables uploading the recorded videos to YouTube directly
Offers webcam recording

Cons:

Allows recording videos up to 45 minutes
Supports uploading videos directly on YouTube only
Offers no customizable settings for recording the screen

3. Atomi ActivePresenter

Atomi ActivePresenter is a powerful software that can capture all or part of your computer screen with superb video quality. Although it lacks various features (in its free edition) that are provided by its competitors, it’s a perfect minimalistic screen recorder for anyone looking forward to create high-resolution long-time screencasts

Pros:

No watermark and recording time limits — even for free users
Offers decorating the screencasts with styles, shadows and color effects
Allows adding transition effects like photo slides and annotations to your videos
Offers a range of post-recording editing options like video overlays, cutting and cropping videos, adjusting volume levels, adding blur and few more
Allows exporting recordings to MP4, FLV, AVI, WMV, WebM and MKV formats

Cons:

Can’t upload the recorded videos directly online
Its free version lacks various useful features available in its premium versions

4. Screenpresso

Screenpresso captures your desktop (as screenshots) and records the same to create HD videos. With all its advanced features, it’s one of the best premium screen recorders though it doesn’t offer much to free users. Nevertheless, you can capture the entire screen or specific areas and even manage your captures easily using its management features.

Pros:

Allows recording audio and webcam along with the screen
Allows using captures and recordings for commercial use — even in its free edition
Records the screen in lightweight MP4 format and allows changing the format to WMV, WebM and OGG
Offers ‘Quick Access‘ to your previous screenshots and recordings
Allows labeling, sorting and editing captures into custom folders and manages workspaces and libraries of your captures (photos & videos)
Offers sharing features for numerous services including Email, FTP, Evernote, Google Drive, OneDrive, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox and more

Cons:

No support for Android with its free edition
Recordings’ max. duration is just 3 minutes
Limits image editing features and mandates updates for the free users
Can’t remove watermarks from images, videos or documents in its free version

5. Bandicam Screen Recorder

Bandicam Screen Recorder is an easy-to-use recorder capable of capturing a specific area or the full screen. It lets you easily record flash games, streaming videos and more. The software offers several modes like gaming mode, screen recording mode and device recording mode for perfect recording.

Pros:

Saves the recorded videos in AVI or MP4 format
Offers real-time voice recording for creating screencasts
Offers live drawing while recording
Allows adding watermarks and overlaying webcam while recording
Allows adding mouse clicks’ effects or animations while recording screen
Bloats to optimize the recording process using hardware acceleration (if supported)