How to Record Streaming Video for Free in 2024

If you’re a streamer, you might want to save your streaming video. Check out our list of streaming video capture software. The list includes an online screen recorder that lets you record a streaming video for free.

The next category is desktop programs that help record live streams on PC.

Why would you install a recording program on your computer? First, desktop recorders are much more reliable than online tools, with fewer bugs and decent customer support. Second, these programs have many additional features that can expand your recording options. For example, before saving your recording, you can rip streaming videos or use a special audio ripper to save a podcast. The cons for desktop tools are a long launch process and fees for full versions.

Here are some of the best streaming video recorders for your PC.

Best for: recording separate streams

OS: Windows, macOS

Price: free trial; $44.95/year; $59.95/lifetime

G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars, 49 reviews

Movavi Screen Recorder is convenient to use if you’re recording separate streams. It captures screen and audio simultaneously or separately and offers a wide choice of exporting formats.

In addition to the basic recording features, you can also schedule recording sessions, highlight the cursor, add effects to mouse clicks, and much more. Though there are plenty of settings, they are designed in a user-friendly way, so you can understand how the program works.

Movavi Screen Recorder has two versions – free and paid. There are almost no limitations in the free version, except for a watermark on the recording. To remove the watermark, you can purchase the program, and it’s not expensive.

Features:

• Drawing tools
• Option to show keystrokes and mouse
• Editing tools
• Several export formats

Advantages:

• User-friendly interface
• Advanced recording settings
• High-quality output video and audio

Disadvantages:

• Watermark in the free version

Best for: recording for video clip creation

OS: Windows, macOS, Linux

Price: free

TechRadar rating: 4 out of 5 stars

OBS is a well-known program among professional video makers. It offers many video-editing tools so that you can create films from your recordings. You can compose scenes from different media formats, edit sound with advanced audio mixing, add transitions, and much more.

The program is free to use, but it has a challenging interface. Get ready to spend some time searching for the appropriate settings. If you’re not an experienced user, you may get lost in all the functions.

Features:

• Capture from several sources
• An unlimited number of scenes
• Audio mixer

Advantages:

• Advanced editing tools for creating professional video
• Customizable settings

Disadvantages:

• Complicated interface
• Overloaded with settings

Download OBS

We’ll start by explaining how to capture a streaming video online because it’s one of the quickest ways. You don’t need to install anything – just open the web page, set up recording parameters, and grab the live stream. No wasting time on pre-recording procedures.

Best for: recording in Incognito mode

OS: any, works online

Price: free with a watermark; $9.95/month; $39.95/year

Trustpilot rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars, 522 reviews

Screen Capture is an online tool with a simple interface and clear settings. No need to spend time learning how to use it.

The service doesn’t limit recording time. You can record non-stop streams and save them at high quality. The best part is that you can do this even in Incognito mode if you don’t trust your browser’s privacy.

But there are some disadvantages. First, if you use the free app, a watermark will be embedded in all videos. The second disadvantage is the lack of choice in output formats. You can’t choose the format for your output file, so you have to convert it with a third-party app.

Features:

• Capture of webcam, system sounds, and microphone
• Option to record a selected browser tab
• Fast video saving in HD

Advantages:

• Clear settings
• Can be used in Incognito mode

Disadvantages:

• No choice of export options
• Watermark in the free version

Best for: editing videos during online recording

OS: any, works online

Price: free

TechRadar rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder is one of the best tools for recording screencasts in real time. The best feature is the option to edit videos during the recording. You can highlight the most interesting parts of the stream and add annotations.

Apowersoft supports many formats for exporting files that even desktop programs don’t always have. After you’re done with recording, you can upload the video to Vimeo, YouTube, Dropbox, or Google Drive. Considering all these options, we’d say it’s one of the best online solutions you can find.

The only potential downside is that you have to install a special launcher to activate the recorder. But you only need to do this once – when you use the stream recorder for the first time.

Features:

• No time limit for recording
• Customized capture area
• Editing during recording

Advantages:

• Wide choice of online video-editing tools
• Many output formats
• Simple interface

Disadvantages:

• Requires installation of a special launcher
• No audio-editing tools

Go to Apowersoft Free Online Screen Recorder

One more approach you can try is to record an online video using browser extensions. The main advantage of extensions is that you can launch them in one click. You don’t need to open a web page or launch stream-recording software on the desktop. The extension icon is always in your browser wherever you go on the Internet.

On the other hand, they are even less reliable than online tools. Users complain that browser extensions have many more crashes during recording than other types of recording software.

Note, too, that each browser has specific requirements for using extensions. If you have a favorite extension in one browser, it may not work in another.

We can recommend three extensions that have high ratings and good reviews.

Best for: drawing on videos

OS: works in the Chrome browser

Price: free with limitations; $49/year

Chrome Web Store rating: 4 out of 5 stars, 11,708 reviews

Users: 10,000,000+

Screencastify has all basic recording features you might need for stream capture. You can record any tab in your browser, add voice comments with the microphone, and embed webcam images into the recording. It also enables you to draw on videos with a pen tool. You can download your recording to your computer in the MP4, MP3, or GIF format.

Though it looks like the perfect recording extension, users have complained that it’s laggy and glitchy. Some of the editing tools have also been poorly reviewed for not working correctly.

Features:

• Trimming and cropping
• Zooming in
• Option to capture a browser tab
• Annotation tools

Advantages:

• Online tools for drawing and editing
• Free for downloading recordings

Disadvantages:

• No customization of capture area size
• Sometimes can be laggy and glitchy

Download Screencastify

Best for: team collaboration

OS: works in the Chrome browser

Price: free

Chrome Web Store rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars, 10,047 reviews

Users: 4,000,000+

Loom is widely used among companies and work teams because it can be integrated with workspaces. There are also special offers for businesses, but they are still chargeable, of course.

Loom has integration with Slack, Gmail, Notion, Coda, Intercom, and Headway – some of the most popular services for team collaboration.

The extension has all the tools you might need for screen and audio recording. We would recommend this extension if you record streams for work projects and need to share them with teammates.

Features:

• Sharing with an instant link
• Notifications about views and comments
• Adjusting the playback speed
• Video transcript

Advantages:

• Integration for team work
• Wide range of sharing options

Disadvantages:

• Many limitations in the free version
• No screen or webcam recording
• Many crashes during internal audio recording

Download Loom

Best for: one-click recording

OS: works in the Chrome browser

Price: free with a watermark; $9.95/month

Chrome Web Store rating: 3.9 out of 5 stars

Users: 4,000+

With this browser extension, you can record your entire screen or a browser tab. The tool is easy-to-use thanks to its simple interface. You can capture your screen, system sounds, video from a webcam, and sound from a microphone. There’s also a convenient option to disable or enable the tab sound capture. The tool is perfect if you want simple recording. Unfortunately, the extension doesn’t have any editing tools, so you’ll need to use another program to make edits to your video.

Features:

• One-click recording
• Capture from different sources
• Option to capture tab sounds

Advantages:

• Simple interface
• Option to capture a browser tab

Disadvantages:

• No editing tools
• No option to choose the capture region

Download Movavi Screen Recorder for Chrome

There’s a chance you might want to record your stream on a smartphone. If so, do you know how to record streaming videos on your device?

Many of us get stuck answering this question. That’s why we’re going to tell you about the best streaming video recorders for mobile operating systems. Let’s start with iOS.

We should warn you that iOS apps are often laggy and glitchy. So even if the app works perfectly at first, it doesn’t mean it will always be like this. That’s why we recommend you install several apps and switch between them in case one stops working correctly.

Best for: adding facecam reactions to a recording

OS: iOS

Price: free with in-app purchases

App Store rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars, 269,000 reviews

This app records any chosen tab on your iPhone. But be aware that it grabs the entire screen with all the icons and backgrounds.

You can add a voice commentary to the recording or edit the video before saving it. But the coolest feature is adding facecam reactions. You can customize the reaction shape, size, and position and embed it into videos. It’s a great way to share your reactions to the stream.

It’s also possible to share the recording, but only if the video is under three minutes. To share longer videos, you have to buy the Pro version.

Features:

• Personalization of reactions
• Option to record audio commentaries
• Video filters
• Trimming and rotation
• Different sharing options

Advantages:

• Editing tools and facecam reactions
• Intuitive interface

Disadvantages:

• Slow export
• Limitations in the free version
• Crashes during external audio recording

Download Record it!

Best for: short video recordings

OS: iOS

Price: free with in-app purchases

App Store rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars, 57,200 reviews

This app is pretty similar to the last one. It records your device screen with sound and offers simple editing tools. You can also add facecam reactions.

You should try this app if Record it! doesn’t work on your device. It’s a good alternative, especially if you don’t need to record long streams.

Features:

• Facecam reactions
• Audio commentaries
• Editing tools

Advantages:

• Simple interface
• Perfect for making short recordings

Disadvantages:

• Glitchy recording button
• Video saving errors

Download Go Record

The last thing we’d like to talk about is how to screen-record streaming services on Android. You’ll be pleased to learn that Android recording apps have far fewer crashes and bugs than iOS programs. That’s why you don’t need to download multiple apps – just choose one and enjoy!

Here are the two apps with the best reviews and most installations.

Best for: making high-quality mobile recordings

OS: Android

Price: free with in-app purchases

Google Play rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars, 1,572,007 reviews

AZ Screen Recorder lets you grab your phone screen and save a streaming video in Full HD. It also has advanced recording options, such as microphone grabber, frame rate settings, countdown timer, clicks display, and much more. All these features are free. But the app also has a chargeable Pro version with functions that are really unique for mobile recorders.

The only problem that users might encounter is some bugs in the audio recording capabilities, but this is usually only a problem with older versions of Android.

Features:

• Drawing while recording
• Conversion to GIF
• Adding subtitles
• Adding music
• Cropping and rotation

Advantages:

• High-quality output
• Wide range of recording features
• No ads

Disadvantages:

• Sound recording crashes on old Android versions

Download AZ Screen Recorder

Best for: making short recordings on Android

OS: Android

Price: free with in-app purchases

Google Play rating: 4 out of 5 stars, 3,000,000+ reviews

Mobizen is an alternative to AZ Screen Recorder. It has video-editing capabilities and facecam display, and the output quality is also satisfactory.

But there are ads inside the app that users may find annoying. There’s also a watermark on recordings which, if you cut it out, damages the video resolution.

Features:

• HD screen recording

• Facecam function

• Trimming and splitting

Advantages:

• Simple app with all the necessary recording features

Disadvantages:

• Advertisements in the app

• Doesn’t always launch correctly the first time

Download Mobizen

If you want to record your streaming video for free, we recommend you start with an online screen recorder. It’s one of the best ways to capture streaming video online because you don’t need to install any software to grab a live stream on your PC.

Follow this guide to capture your video stream.

If you’re not sure which screen-recording tool to choose, consider the following factors.

Features: you might need an option to record a browser tab or a certain part of your screen, so check if the app has these features. If you also want to edit the recorded video, make sure your screen recorder includes editing tools.

Ease of use: you don’t want to spend much time learning to navigate the app, so choose the tool that is simple for you.

OS: it’s important to check if a screen recorder is compatible with the OS of your device.

Support: it’s better to use software that offers technical support. It’ll be very helpful in case you encounter some problems with the app.

Reviews: it’s always a good idea to read user reviews before buying a copy of software. This way you can learn about potential bugs and disadvantages of the program.

As you can see, there are different types of screen recorders. We hope our reviews and tips will help you find the best screen-recording option for your needs.