Skip to main content

A free, open-source Screen Studio alternative

OpenScreen is a free, MIT-licensed Screen Studio alternative for Windows, macOS and Linux. Like Screen Studio, it zooms in where your cursor goes, restyles the cursor after the take, adds backgrounds and on-device captions, and exports MP4 or GIF. Unlike Screen Studio, which runs only on macOS and needs a paid plan to export, it costs nothing and needs no account. Screen Studio is still the better choice if you share recordings as hosted links with comments, or record an iPhone or iPad.

This page is published by the OpenScreen project. The Screen Studio details come from screen.studio and were checked in September 2026. The sources are listed at the end.

At a glance​

OpenScreenScreen Studio
PriceFree, including commercial use$29/month billed monthly, or $9/month billed yearly (as of September 2026)
Export without payingYes, and no account is neededNo. Without an active plan, every feature works except exporting video files
Source codeOpen source, MIT licenseProprietary
PlatformsWindows 10 (1903 or later) and 11, x64. macOS 13 or later, Apple Silicon and Intel. Linux, x64macOS only, Ventura 13.1 or later (as of September 2026)
What it recordsA display or one window. Crop afterward in the editorA display, one window, or a selected area
Automatic zoomsYes, placed from the recorded cursorYes
CaptionsOn-device Whisper, one model of about 264 MB, downloaded once. Burned into the videoOn-device Whisper (Base, Small or Medium), or Apple Speech Recognition on macOS 26 or later. Transcript can be exported as a file
Caption translation15 languages, through an AI provider you connectNo translation step in its captions guide
Multi-clip timelineYes"Multi-clip recordings" listed as planned on its roadmap
Text, arrow and image annotationsYes"Annotations" listed as paused on its roadmap
ExportMP4 (H.264 or H.265) or GIF, up to 60 fps, no watermarkMP4 or GIF, with frame rate, output size and quality settings. No codec setting documented
Hosted share linksNoYes, up to 30 minutes per recording (as of September 2026), with timestamped comments
iPhone and iPad recordingNoYes, over USB, with device frames
Command-line interfaceYesNone in its guide

What both apps do​

Both apps cover the following. None of it is unique to either one.

  • Automatic zooms. Both zoom in on the action. In OpenScreen, Auto-enhance → Automatic zooms places the zooms from the recorded cursor movement, with no network call and no model. Manual zooms at six depths sit alongside them. More on auto-zoom.
  • A cursor you can change afterward. Both let you resize, smooth or hide the cursor after the take and add click effects. By default, OpenScreen records the pointer apart from the video to do this.
  • Backgrounds and framing. Both add a background, padding and a shadow, and output horizontal or vertical video. OpenScreen offers wallpapers, solid colors, gradients or your own image, and aspect ratios including 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1.
  • Webcam, microphone and system audio in the same recording.
  • Trims, cuts, speed changes and motion blur on a timeline.
  • Voice-over and music. Both add a voice-over and background music. Screen Studio ships a music library. OpenScreen records the voice-over on its timeline and imports your own audio files.
  • Transcription on your machine. Both run Whisper locally, show the captions over the video, and let you correct the transcript. More on captions.
  • Hiding sensitive content. Screen Studio blurs sensitive data with masks. OpenScreen has blur regions, Gaussian or mosaic.
  • Notes while you record. Both have speaker notes. On Windows and macOS, OpenScreen's notes window also has a teleprompter mode.
  • Local processing. Screen Studio says it never sends data about your recordings to its servers. OpenScreen has no account, no server of its own and no analytics. The FAQ lists the few connections it still makes.

Where OpenScreen differs​

Price, license and platforms​

  • Free, with nothing held back. No plan, no account, no locked export, and commercial use is allowed.
  • MIT-licensed source. The code is on GitHub. Screen Studio is proprietary.
  • Windows and Linux, not only macOS. Screen Studio's FAQ says there are no near-future plans for a Windows version. OpenScreen ships a Windows installer and a Microsoft Store listing, .dmg files for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, and an AppImage, .deb, .rpm and .pacman for Linux, plus a Nix flake. See the Windows, macOS and Linux pages.

Editing​

  • Several clips in one project. Import recordings or existing videos (MP4, MOV, MKV and others), reorder them, and set in and out points and a crop for each clip. Screen Studio can start a project from one existing video, and its roadmap lists merging several recordings into one project as planned. See Media library.
  • Annotations. Text with six animations, arrows in eight directions, images, and blur regions. Screen Studio's roadmap lists "Annotations", described as visual or textual descriptions of clicks, as paused. See Editing & timeline.
  • Webcam background. Remove, blur or replace the camera background without a green screen, in the stable release. Screen Studio lists camera background removal as a beta feature.

Export and automation​

  • Codec choice. MP4 exports in H.264 or H.265. Screen Studio's export guide does not document a codec setting. See Export.
  • A command-line interface. Scripts, CI and coding agents can drive OpenScreen from its command line. Screen Studio's guide has no command-line entry.
  • Optional chat editing with your own key. Connect Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, Mistral, OpenRouter, MiniMax or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, and describe cuts, zooms, speed changes or annotations in plain language. Each change lands as an ordinary undoable edit. It is off until you connect a provider, and the same provider translates captions into 15 languages. See AI editing.

When Screen Studio is the better choice​

  • You share by link. Screen Studio generates a hosted link for recordings up to 30 minutes, and viewers can leave comments tied to a timestamp. OpenScreen gives you a file to upload wherever you share.
  • You record an iPhone or iPad. Screen Studio records them over USB and adds device frames. OpenScreen records a Windows, macOS or Linux screen.
  • You need the transcript as a file. Screen Studio exports it. OpenScreen burns captions into the video.

Getting started​

  1. Download OpenScreen from the download page. On Windows, the Microsoft Store is the recommended route.
  2. Follow Installation. On macOS, grant the Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions before the first take.
  3. Make a first recording with the quick start, then run Auto-enhance → Automatic zooms on it.

Comparing other tools as well? See OpenScreen vs Cap, OpenScreen vs OBS Studio, the Camtasia alternative and the Loom alternative, or go back to the OpenScreen home page.

Sources​

Screen Studio facts, checked September 2026:

OpenScreen facts describe version 1.11.0 and link to its documentation above.

Screen Studio is a trademark of its owner. OpenScreen is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Screen Studio.

Last updated on