[opensourcedex]

best-of ranking · updated nightly

Best Open Source Screen Capture & Recording Tools

Ranked by GitHub stars — actual adoption, not editorial taste. All 4 are free, open source and self-hostable; license and last activity on every entry.

  1. 1
    OBS Studio ★ 76K

    Free, open-source software for video recording and live streaming

    GPL-2.0 C pushed 2026-09-17 details →
  2. 2
    ShareX ★ 40K

    Powerful screen capture and file sharing tool for Windows

    GPL-3.0 C# pushed 2026-09-16 details →
  3. 3
    Kap ★ 19K

    Effortless screen recording for macOS

    MIT TypeScript pushed 2024-11-12 details →
  4. 4
    Snapify ★ 1.0K

    Self-hosted screen recording for seamless collaboration

    AGPL-3.0 TypeScript pushed 2024-11-25 details →
method stars desc · snapshot from github api refresh nightly related Input & Dictation, Office Suites, Email & Communication, Password & Secret Management, Design & Visualization, Time & Task Management

Related best-of lists

best Input & Dictation →best Office Suites →best Email & Communication →best Password & Secret Management →best Design & Visualization →best Time & Task Management →

last updated nightly · ranking method: github stars, live-tracked

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best open source Screen Capture & Recording tool in 2026?

OBS Studio leads the ranking with 76,325 GitHub stars, ahead of ShareX. Rankings use live GitHub star counts, refreshed nightly.

How is this list of Screen Capture & Recording tools ranked?

By GitHub stars — a proxy for adoption and community size. Each entry also shows its licence, primary language and last commit date, so you can judge maintenance activity rather than trusting the ranking alone.

Are the best Screen Capture & Recording tools free?

Every project on this list is open source and free to self-host. Some also offer paid managed hosting, but the software itself carries no licence fee.