The Best Free Screen Recorder for Mac
Need to record your Mac screen without paying or hitting a watermark? Here's what the built-in recorder does, where it stops, and the best free way to record to MP4 or GIF.
Does macOS have a free screen recorder?
Yes. macOS has a built-in screen recorder — press Shift + Cmd + 5 (or use QuickTime) to record the full screen or a selected region to a .mov video. It's genuinely free and fine for a quick capture, but it only outputs .mov, can't export a GIF, and gives you no frame-rate control.
What the built-in recorder can't do
- ✕ Export an animated GIF
- ✕ Choose a frame rate (24 / 30 / 60 fps)
- ✕ Save straight to a shareable MP4 or GIF, no conversion
- ✕ Capture screenshots and stills in the same tool
- ✕ Keep a history of your recordings
What Shotstrix adds — for free
- ✓ Record the full screen or any region you select
- ✓ Save to MP4 or animated GIF
- ✓ Choose 24, 30, or 60 fps
- ✓ One app for both screenshots and screen recordings
- ✓ No account, no watermark, no time limit
How to record your screen with Shotstrix
- 1 Open the recorder
Start a screen recording from Shotstrix and choose MP4 or GIF.
- 2 Pick full screen or a region
Record everything, or drag to select just the part you want.
- 3 Choose a frame rate
24, 30, or 60 fps — lower keeps the file smaller.
- 4 Record and share
Stop when you're done; the file is saved, ready to drop into a chat, doc, or issue.
MP4 or GIF — which should you pick?
Use MP4 for longer or higher-quality clips, and a GIF for short, silent, drop-anywhere clips. Shotstrix does both, so you can match the format to where it's going. For a GIF-first walkthrough, see how to record your screen as a GIF on Mac.
Get Shotstrix — free
Shotstrix is a free screenshot and screen-recording tool for macOS — scrolling capture, OCR, annotation, blur, GIF recording, and share-ready backdrops, with no account and no watermark.
Free · Universal (Apple Silicon + Intel) · macOS 14 Sonoma or later
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free screen recorder for Mac with no watermark? +
Yes — macOS's built-in recorder and Shotstrix are both free with no watermark. Shotstrix adds GIF export, frame-rate control, and region recording in one tool.
Can I record just a region of my screen? +
Yes — both the built-in recorder and Shotstrix let you record a selected region rather than the whole screen. Shotstrix also saves it as MP4 or GIF.
How do I record my screen as an MP4 on Mac? +
Use Shift + Cmd + 5 (which saves a .mov) or Shotstrix, which records straight to MP4 or GIF at the frame rate you choose.