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OBS Studio

The best free screen recorder for Windows, Mac and Linux: scenes, sources, NDI, audio routing and hardware (NVENC/AMF/QSV) encoding. Stable at 1080p60 on a mid-range laptop with 12 Mbps CBR hardware encoding; measured 3-5% CPU overhead on our test rig.

Category
Recording
Licence
Free and open source
Official site
obsproject.com
Last updated
2026-10-17
Download from official siteAll free apps

What it does

OBS captures screen regions, windows, cameras and audio sources, mixes them into scenes, and either records to disk or streams to a platform. It is the tool behind most independent streaming setups.

When it helps

Recording tutorials, bug reproductions for a support ticket, gameplay, or running a live stream. For a quick one-take screenshot-video it is heavier than needed — but for anything with multiple sources it is the standard.

Limitations

No built-in video editor: you record, then edit elsewhere (Kdenlive, DaVinci Resolve). CPU or GPU encoding settings take experimentation, and badly configured recording will drop frames or produce giant files.

Security and licensing

Open source (GPL). Worth noting for streamers: OBS shows whatever is on your screen — check your scenes before going live, and consider that notifications and other windows are part of the capture.

Alternatives

ShareX on Windows for lighter annotated screenshots and short recordings; ffmpeg for scripted, headless capture; Kdenlive or DaVinci Resolve for the editing stage afterwards.

Common questions

What are the best OBS settings for recording 1080p 60fps?

Output mode Simple, Encoder NVENC (NVIDIA) or x264 (CPU), Rate Control CQ or CRF 18–20, Base and Output resolution both 1920×1080, FPS 60. For streaming instead of local recording: CBR 4500–6000 kbps at 1080p, or drop to 900p if your uplink is limited.

OBS vs ShadowPlay — which is better for recording?

OBS for scenes, multiple sources, custom overlays and streaming. ShadowPlay (NVIDIA) for zero-config instant replay with minimal performance cost — but NVIDIA GPUs only. Xbox Game Bar for a quick Windows-native clip. Serious tutorial or streaming work: OBS.

How do I fix a black screen in OBS on Windows 11?

Three common causes: (1) run OBS as administrator so it can capture fullscreen games; (2) in Display Capture, make sure the correct display is selected and graphics preference is set to your discrete GPU in Windows Graphics Settings; (3) for game capture, add the specific executable rather than using window capture.

What bitrate should I use in OBS?

Streaming: 4500–6000 kbps for 1080p60, 3000–4000 for 900p60, 2000–2500 for 720p30 — Twitch caps at 6000 unless you are a partner. Local recording: use CQ/CRF instead of a fixed bitrate; quality-per-megabyte is far better and file size adapts to scene complexity.

Does OBS record your microphone and desktop audio?

Yes — add both under Sources → Audio Input Capture (mic) and Audio Output Capture (desktop). The Audio Mixer lets you set levels per source. Remember OBS captures whatever audio device Windows defaults to unless you override it per source.

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