Alternatives
Best Screencastify Alternatives in 2026 for Education and Chrome
By John Mikhail · Updated · 11 min read
Screencastify became the default screen recorder in schools because it lived in Chrome, worked on a Chromebook, and was free. In 2026 it is still a solid Chrome extension for recording a tab, a window or the desktop with a webcam bubble, and its video questions and Google Classroom integration are genuinely useful for teachers. The free plan now allows 10 videos of up to 30 minutes each, with a watermark. Starter is $7 per user per month billed annually ($19 monthly), Pro is $10 per user per month annually ($25 monthly), and school and district pricing is quoted by sales.
The reasons people look elsewhere are the watermark and the 10-video cap on the free plan, the lack of any automatic zoom or focus, and the fact that a raw recording of a busy browser is hard for students to follow. This list covers alternatives that work in Chrome or on a Chromebook, lead with their free plans, and say clearly what each one does to the video after you stop recording. For the direct comparison, see Recordio vs Screencastify; every other comparison is on the compare page.
How we picked
- It works in Chrome or on a Chromebook, because that is what most classrooms and school IT departments run.
- It has a free plan that a teacher or student can use without a card, and we say whether it watermarks.
- 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 Screencastify alternatives
1. Recordio
Recordio is a cloud-based screen recorder that runs as a Chrome extension (Edge and Brave too) with a web app, so it works on Chromebooks as well as Mac, Windows and Linux. It was built for product walkthroughs, and that turns out to suit lessons and tutorials: auto zoom reads the page and frames the field or menu you are using, auto spotlight lifts the element you click, a simplified toolbar hides your tabs and bookmarks, and Smart AutoCut removes the pauses while you think. The free plan has no watermark, includes 1080p downloads and allows 5 active projects with videos kept for 7 days. Pro adds AI captions, cloud rendering, share links with view counts and watch time, and a team library where colleagues watch for free.
Not for you if: You need to record outside the browser, or your school does not allow students to create accounts. Recordio needs a free account and records browser tabs.
Best for: Teachers and trainers recording walkthroughs of web tools, and school teams that share a library.
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 Screencastify comparison
2. Screenity
Screenity is a free, open-source Chrome extension licensed under GPLv3. It records a tab, a window or the whole screen, and while you record you can draw with a pen, add arrows, shapes and text, and blur anything private. Its editor turns your clicks into zooms. The extension needs no account, and the recording stays on the device until you download it, which many school IT teams prefer. A Pro editor at $10 per month adds scenes, captions, share links and exports. See Recordio vs Screenity for the differences.
Best for: Schools that cannot create student accounts and want annotation while recording.
Pricing: Extension is free. Pro editor is $10 per month. (checked September 22, 2026)
3. Loom
Loom records from a Chrome extension, a desktop app or a phone and gives you a link the moment you stop, with comments and view counts. The free Starter plan allows 25 videos of up to 5 minutes each and does not watermark. Business is $15 per user per month billed annually ($18 monthly) and Business + AI is $20 ($24 monthly). For a teacher sending a two-minute answer to a class, the free plan is enough. For a full lesson, the 5-minute cap bites. More in best Loom alternatives.
Best for: Short replies and feedback videos that need a link and comments.
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. ScreenPal
ScreenPal, formerly Screencast-O-Matic, has been an education favourite for years. It records from Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iOS and Android, hosts videos, and includes quizzes, interactive storyboards and a full editor on paid plans. The free plan caps recordings at 15 minutes and hosts 10 videos. Deluxe is $4 per month billed annually, Max is $10 per month billed annually with AI captions and text-to-speech, and Team Business is $8 per user per month billed annually with a three-creator minimum. Its long-standing education discounts are quoted by sales.
Best for: Teachers who want quizzes and a video editor in one place.
Pricing: Free with 15-minute recordings and 10 hosted videos. Deluxe $4 per month annual. Max $10 per month annual. Team Business $8 per user per month annual, three-creator minimum. (checked September 22, 2026)
5. Vimeo Record
Vimeo's screen recorder runs in the browser and as a Chrome extension, and it is free with a Vimeo account on every plan. You record screen and camera, and the video lands in your Vimeo library with a share link and privacy controls. The free plan limits each recording to 30 minutes, and Free and Basic recordings show a Vimeo watermark when embedded. It suits schools that already host on Vimeo and want recordings to live in the same place.
Best for: Schools and departments that already keep video on Vimeo.
Pricing: Free with a Vimeo account. 30 minutes per recording on the free plan. (checked September 22, 2026)
6. ChromeOS Screen Capture
Every Chromebook ships with a screen recorder. Open Quick Settings and choose Screen capture, or press Shift + Ctrl + Show windows, then pick full screen, a window or a region, turn on the microphone or camera if you want them, and record. The file saves as WebM in your Downloads. There is no watermark, no time cap, no account and nothing to install, which makes it the safest recommendation for a locked-down school device. It does nothing after the capture, so you will need Google Drive or a video tool to share and edit. We cover the whole workflow on our screen recorder for Chromebook page.
Best for: Students on managed Chromebooks who need a quick, free recording.
Pricing: Free, built into ChromeOS. (checked September 22, 2026)
7. Clipchamp
Clipchamp is Microsoft's browser-based video editor with a built-in screen, camera and voice recorder. The free plan exports watermark-free at up to 1080p and includes trimming, cropping, AI editing tools and animated text. Premium adds 4K export, premium stock and a brand kit and is bundled with Microsoft 365 Personal and Family rather than sold on its own. It runs in Chrome and Edge, so it works on a Chromebook, and it is a better fit than Screencastify when the video needs real editing afterwards.
Best for: Students and teachers who want to edit the recording, not just capture it.
Pricing: Free with 1080p export and no watermark. Premium is included with Microsoft 365 Personal and Family. (checked September 22, 2026)
8. OBS Studio
OBS Studio is free, open source and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, though not on a Chromebook. It records the full desktop, any window or a game with no cap and no watermark, and it can stream a lesson live. It belongs on this list for teachers who record from a laptop rather than a Chromebook and want to capture desktop software or a document camera. It takes setup and gives you a raw file. See Recordio vs OBS.
Best for: Teachers recording desktop software or live-streaming lessons from a laptop.
Pricing: Free and open source. No paid tier. (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 ChromeOS, macOS, Windows, Linux | 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 |
| Screenity | Chrome on any OS | Extension is free | Click-based, in editor | Pro | Pro | No | $0, Pro $10 per month |
| Loom | Chrome, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | 25 videos, 5 min each | Cursor-based (AI plan) | Yes | Yes | Yes | $0, Business $15 per user per month annual |
| ScreenPal | Windows, macOS, Chromebook, iOS, Android | 15 min recordings, 10 hosted | No | Paid plans | Yes | Team plan | $0, Deluxe $4 per month annual |
| Vimeo Record | Web and Chrome on any OS | Yes, 30 min per video | No | Paid Vimeo plans | Yes | Vimeo library | $0 |
| ChromeOS Screen Capture | ChromeOS | Everything is free | No | No | No | No | $0 |
| Clipchamp | Web (Chrome, Edge), Windows | Yes, 1080p, no watermark | No | Yes | Export or OneDrive | No | $0 |
| OBS Studio | Windows, macOS, Linux | Everything is free | No | No | No | No | $0 |
Which one should you pick
- You manage locked-down student Chromebooks: ChromeOS Screen Capture or Screenity. Neither needs an account. The built-in tool is zero-install; Screenity adds drawing and blur.
- You want a free plan with a link and no watermark: Loom for short videos, Recordio for lessons. Loom caps free videos at 5 minutes. Recordio has no per-video cap on the free plan and auto zooms so students can follow along.
- Your department shares recordings and wants them to look finished: Recordio. Auto zoom, spotlight and AutoCut are applied for you, and Pro gives you a team library with free viewer seats and view analytics at $12 per seat per month annual.
The bottom line
Screencastify still does the basics well, and its Classroom integration matters if you live in Google Workspace. If the watermark, the 10-video cap or the plain output is the problem, the built-in ChromeOS recorder and Screenity are free and need no account, and the Recordio free plan gives you a lesson that zooms to the right thing without editing. If you are comparing against other tools, read best Loom alternatives or best Camtasia alternatives.
