Alternatives
Best Bandicam Alternatives in 2026 for Mac, Linux and Teams
By John Mikhail · Updated · 11 min read
Bandicam is a desktop capture tool that has been around since 2009. It is good at one thing: grabbing high-frame-rate video of a game or a screen and writing it to disk. It runs on Windows, and in 2026 there is a macOS build as well. A personal licence costs $33.26 a year at the current discount or $53.90 for a perpetual licence, and the free version caps each recording at 5 minutes. Raw free recordings are not watermarked, but anything you edit or export through Bandicam's tools is.
Where it falls short is everything after the capture. There is no Linux or ChromeOS version, no share link, no team library, no auto zoom and no captions. You end up with a large MP4 that you still have to edit somewhere else and upload somewhere else. This list is for people who hit that wall: Mac and Linux users, and teams who need to send a finished walkthrough rather than a raw file. If you only want the head-to-head, read Recordio vs Bandicam. The full set of comparisons is on the compare page.
How we picked
- It runs on at least one platform Bandicam misses, or does something with the recording Bandicam cannot.
- The free tier, where there is one, does not stamp a watermark on the video.
- Pricing is public and was read from the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown.
We build Recordio, so we list it first and say plainly who it is not for. Prices were read from each vendor's own pricing page on the date shown next to each entry.
The 8 best Bandicam alternatives
1. Recordio
Recordio is a cloud-based screen recorder for teams making product walkthroughs and demos. It runs as a Chrome extension (Edge and Brave too) with a web app, so it works the same on Mac, Linux, Windows and ChromeOS. Every recording gets auto zoom that reads the page and frames the input or menu you use, auto spotlight that lifts the element you interact with, a simplified toolbar that hides your tabs and bookmarks, and Smart AutoCut that trims silence but keeps typing pauses. Pro adds AI captions with word-level timing, 4K export, cloud rendering, share links with view counts and watch time, and a team library with unlimited free viewer seats. It also captures full-page screenshots you can annotate in the same web app.
Not for you if: You record games or anything outside the browser, or you do not want to create an account. Recordio needs a free account and captures browser tabs, not the desktop.
Best for: Product, support and customer success teams recording web apps on any OS.
Pricing: Free plan with 5 active projects and 1080p downloads. Pro is $12 per seat per month billed annually, or $15 monthly. (checked September 22, 2026)
See Recordio · Read the full Recordio vs Bandicam comparison
2. OBS Studio
OBS Studio is the closest thing to Bandicam on Mac and Linux. It is free, open source and captures the full screen, a window or a game with no time cap and no watermark. It handles multiple sources, scenes and audio mixing, and it streams as well as records. The cost is setup time. You configure encoders, bitrates and scenes yourself, and the output is still a raw file. Read our Recordio vs OBS page if you are choosing between them for demos rather than streams.
Best for: Game capture, streaming and anyone who wants full control on Linux or Mac.
Pricing: Free and open source. No paid tier. (checked September 22, 2026)
3. Loom
Loom is the default async video tool in many companies. It records the screen and webcam from a desktop app, a Chrome extension or mobile, then gives you a link the moment you stop. The free Starter plan allows 25 videos of up to 5 minutes each with no watermark. Business is $15 per user per month billed annually ($18 monthly), and Business + AI is $20 annually ($24 monthly). Loom's weakness is polish: zoom follows the cursor rather than the page, and most output looks like a plain recording. We cover that in best Loom alternatives.
Best for: Internal updates and quick replies where speed matters more than finish.
Pricing: Free Starter (25 videos, 5 minutes each). Business $15 per user per month annual or $18 monthly. Business + AI $20 annual or $24 monthly. (checked September 22, 2026)
4. Screen Studio
Screen Studio is a macOS desktop app that makes recordings look designed. Cursor-based zoom, smooth motion, backgrounds and device frames are all applied for you, and it exports crisp MP4 or GIF. It is a strong Bandicam replacement for a Mac user who records the desktop, not just a browser. There is no free plan and no Windows or Linux build. Pricing is $9 per month billed annually or $20 billed monthly. See Recordio vs Screen Studio for a feature-by-feature view.
Best for: Solo Mac users making marketing clips of desktop or web apps.
Pricing: $9 per month billed annually ($108 per year) or $20 per month billed monthly. No free plan. (checked September 22, 2026)
5. Kap
Kap is a small open-source recorder for macOS 12 and later. You drag a region, hit record, and export as GIF, MP4, WebM or APNG with optional audio, click highlights and trimming. It is the quickest way on a Mac to make a short clip for a pull request or a bug report, and it is free with no watermark. There is no editor beyond trimming, no cloud, and no Windows or Linux version.
Best for: Developers on a Mac who want a GIF or short MP4 in seconds.
Pricing: Free and open source. (checked September 22, 2026)
6. SimpleScreenRecorder
SimpleScreenRecorder is the Linux answer to Bandicam. It is free, GPL-licensed, and records the whole screen, a region or an OpenGL application directly, which is the same trick Bandicam uses for games. It is faster than recording through VLC or ffmpeg and has a Qt interface that shows frame rate and dropped frames live. It is Linux only and stops at the file. For a browser-based option that also runs on Ubuntu, see our screen recorder for Linux page.
Best for: Linux users who need reliable full-screen or game capture.
Pricing: Free and open source. (checked September 22, 2026)
7. Screenity
Screenity is a free, open-source Chrome extension under GPLv3. It records a tab, a window or the whole desktop, lets you draw on the screen while recording, blurs private areas, and turns clicks into zooms in its editor. The extension needs no account and keeps the recording on your device. A paid Pro tier at $10 per month adds an online editor with scenes, captions, share links and exports. It works anywhere Chrome runs, including Linux and ChromeOS. Our Recordio vs Screenity page covers the differences in more detail.
Best for: Anyone who wants a free browser recorder with drawing tools and no account.
Pricing: Extension is free. Pro editor is $10 per month. (checked September 22, 2026)
8. Tella
Tella is a browser-based recorder with native Mac and Windows apps and a Chrome extension. It records screen and camera in clips you can rearrange, adds backgrounds and layouts, and exports up to 4K. Pro is $13 per month billed annually and Premium is $19, both with team collaboration and analytics. Because the editor is in the browser, Linux users can use it too. There is no free plan listed on its pricing page. Compare it with Recordio on our Recordio vs Tella page.
Best for: Founders and marketers recording talking-head demos with layouts.
Pricing: Pro $13 per month billed annually. Premium $19 per month billed annually. No free plan listed. (checked September 22, 2026)
All 8 tools compared
| Tool | Platform | Free plan | Auto zoom | Captions | Share links | Team library | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recordio | Chrome, Edge, Brave on macOS, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS | Yes, 5 active projects, 1080p, no watermark | Yes, reads the page, editable keyframes | Yes, word-level (Pro) | Yes, with view analytics (Pro) | Yes (Pro) | $0, Pro $12 per seat per month annual |
| OBS Studio | Windows, macOS, Linux | Everything is free | No | No | No | No | $0 |
| Loom | Windows, macOS, Chrome, iOS, Android | 25 videos, 5 min each | Cursor-based (AI plan) | Yes | Yes | Yes | $0, Business $15 per user per month annual |
| Screen Studio | macOS | No | Yes, cursor-based | Yes | Yes | No | $9 per month annual |
| Kap | macOS | Everything is free | No | No | No | No | $0 |
| SimpleScreenRecorder | Linux | Everything is free | No | No | No | No | $0 |
| Screenity | Chrome on any OS | Extension is free | Click-based, in editor | Pro | Pro | No | $0, Pro $10 per month |
| Tella | Web, macOS, Windows, Chrome | No | Manual | Yes | Yes | Yes | $13 per month annual |
Which one should you pick
- You record games or the whole desktop: OBS Studio on any OS, or SimpleScreenRecorder on Linux. Both are free with no time cap and capture outside the browser, which is the one thing Bandicam does that the rest of this list does not.
- You are on a Mac and want a quick clip: Kap. Free, one keypress, GIF or MP4 out. Move to Screen Studio if you want polish and can pay $9 a month.
- You record web apps for a team: Recordio. Auto zoom, spotlight and AutoCut are applied for you, and Pro gives you a share link with analytics and a team library on Mac, Windows, Linux and ChromeOS.
The bottom line
Bandicam is still a fine capture tool if you are on Windows or Mac and want a raw file of a game. If you are on Linux or ChromeOS, or you need to hand a finished walkthrough to a colleague or a customer, the tools above cover every gap. For a browser recorder that does the editing and sharing for you, start with the Recordio free plan. If your team is coming from Loom or Screen Studio instead, read best Screen Studio alternatives or best Camtasia alternatives next.
