Free Screen Recorders for Windows 8

Capable of more than just basic screen recording, Movavi Screen Recorder is one of the best programs available for Windows 8. With this software, you can easily record your computer screen on your desktop computer or on a laptop. After recording a clip, you'll be able to save it in Full HD or stunning 4K resolution. The software was designed to be both easy-to-use and powerful. Setting up recording parameters, recording both video and audio, editing videos, and saving the results are all a breeze thanks to the intuitive interface of the Movavi screen-recording tool.

Although an excellent option for basic needs, the free version of Movavi Screen Recorder has some limitations. However, when you upgrade to the paid version, you get features that go above and beyond a basic screen recording. You'll be able to create screencasts, capture a webcam, pull from multiple streams at the same time, schedule recordings to start and stop at a particular time, share videos quickly, or even take simple screenshots.

For more advanced editing features, Movavi Screen Recorder integrates nicely with Movavi Video Editor, a professional-quality video editor that also features an easy-to-use and intuitive interface.

Main features:

• Capture your mouse and keyboard inputs
• Draw on screen while recording
• Record video and sound in high quality to enhance video tutorials and presentations
• Schedule recording of late-night webinars or live events when you’re away
• Create training videos, interactive instructions, and engaging podcasts by grabbing webcam footage and the audio stream

Open Broadcaster Software Studio, or OBS, is another popular screen recorder for Windows 8. YouTubers and Twitch streamers often use the software because of its focus on production quality. Besides high-performance real-time video and audio capture, OBS lets you add options such as text or graphic overlays, webcam footage, and other media, all while streaming live to your favorite video platform.

The power of the software comes from the ability to set up scenes, which are made up of a mixture of video and audio streams arranged on the screen with graphic elements. For example, a podcaster may have one scene with all the guests at once and a separate scene for each guest individually. During the stream or recording session, scenes can be easily switched between using custom transitions. Because it allows multiple sources, OBS also features a basic audio mixer to ensure that various audio sources play nicely together.

All of this power is nice, but it can be overkill for most needs and comes at the cost of a steep learning curve.

Main features:

• High performance
• Video broadcasting
• Audio mixer

Download OBS Studio

Perfect for users who are interested in a simple and reliable method to record their screens and share the results, ScreenPal is another solid option on the list. With this software, you'll be able to record your computer screen or use it for video capture of your webcam. It also allows you to record audio so that you can add voice-overs to your screen capture.

The free version of the software is somewhat limited. The deluxe version includes some basic editing abilities, such as adding text, overlays, or basic animations along with transitions to move between scenes seamlessly. However, if you want to upload videos longer than 15 minutes, you'll need to purchase the premier edition. The premier addition also gives you access to a stock library to make the most of the software.

Main features:

• Can capture a part of the screen
• Offers stock library with images and videos

Download ScreenPal

If you've watched many YouTube videos, you've likely seen the logo from the free version of Bandicam on some of them. It is a popular option for screen-recording on Windows 8 due to its longevity and dependability. The software is top-rated among users who record video game footage, partly because it markets itself to that audience. If you have a capture card, you can even record footage from your Xbox or Playstation video game console. Other supported external devices include USB cameras. Bandicam lets you record the entire screen or only a portion of it and capture both system audio and audio from a microphone.

In addition to just screen recording, the software lets you draw and outline your video or screenshot in real-time, add a webcam overlay to your screen capture, complete with Chroma Key support, and schedule recording for a specific time and date.

For basic editing, cutting, and splicing of the recorded video, Bandicam integrates with another product by the same company called Bandicut.

Main features:

• Can record video from video game consoles
• Integrates with Bandicut
• Supports Chroma Key

Download Bandicam

For a Windows 8 program that allows you to capture video from various sources, including your screen, webcam, or recording devices such as IP cameras, Debut Video Capture is an excellent option. It allows you to record either your entire screen or just a portion of it. You'll be able to adjust the colors, add simple effects or captions, and save the videos in several different file formats. The software can capture audio as well, from either your microphone or the computer's speakers. Debut Video Capture is easy-to-use and offers several excellent features, but it does have an interface that looks dated even on a Windows 8 computer.

Debut Video Capture makes it easy to get your video in the right size for your target device by having built-in presets for the most popular options. It also gives you some control over the final output size by letting you adjust the frame rate. If you have more than one monitor, you can record all of them at once.

Main features:

• Customizable captured window size
• Can record webcam
• Can change the output file size

Download Debut Video Capture

Another excellent program for Windows 8.1 that offers both screen recording capabilities and simple editing features is Flashback Express. With the editing features and the fact that the software puts no limitations on how long your recordings can be, it's easy to create short videos but also easy to create longer videos such as tutorials and podcast episodes. The editing tools allow you to trim videos, add text captions, create graphics overlays and add audio such as music or narration recorded from your microphone. After you've finished recording, you can upload your video to YouTube or save it in one of many popular video formats.

The free version of the software has no time limits or watermarks but is limited in other ways. There are no editing features available, and while you can record commentary from your microphone, you can't add external audio to the project. The pro version of the software also saves to more formats than the free version, which is limited to just three popular options.

Main features:

• Plenty of formats to save your video in
• Can add sounds and images to the video
• Webcam capture

Download Flashback Express

With Screencapture.com, the limitations of web-based options are gone. When you record a video from this site, you'll be able to capture the audio from your computer's speakers as well as from its microphone. You also won't need to download any external helper applications to use Screencapture.com, simply click on the record button, and you are ready to go. Like the other options, you'll be able to add footage from your webcam to your recording session. The tools will record your videos securely and privately and allow you to download them in full HD resolution.

From the website, you'll also find a bonus Screenshot extension that you can add to Firefox or Chrome. With this extension, you'll be able to quickly grab a screenshot of an entire webpage without the need for scrolling.

The video capture portion of the site is free and unlimited, although you'll need to pay a small monthly fee if you'd like to remove the watermark from the recording.

Main features:

• Microphone sound capture
• Can record webcam
• Option to choose a part of the screen to record

Go to Screencapture.com

Like all web-based options, ApowerSoft Free Online Screen Recorder makes for a quick and effective tool for recording your screen. Using the tool is as easy as pointing your favorite web browser to the site and clicking a single button to start the recording process. You can record for an unlimited amount of time and capture an unlimited amount of screencasts. When you are done, the site will give you the option to download the finished file to your computer's hard drive or upload it to popular video sites such as YouTube or the cloud storage service, RecCloud.

Despite being web-based, the tool has many of the same features you'd find in simple desktop screen recorders. You can record your entire screen, a hand-drawn portion of the screen, or select a particular window to record. You can even capture your webcam to overlay on top of the screen capture. ApowerSoft Free Online Screen Recorder allows you to record audio and video at the same time.

Editing features in the software are quite limited, and this is one of the web-based tools that require you to download a helper application before you can use it.

Main features:

• Basic editing features
• Flexible screen capture

Go to the ApowerSoft Online Recorder website

If you were put off by the need to download a launcher to use ApowerSoft Free Online Screen Recorder, you might want to give Screenapp.io a try instead. This web-based tool is completely free without limits and requires no additional downloads to work. With Screenapp.io, you'll be able to record your entire screen, choose a particular application window to capture or record a browser tab. After recording, you will be given the option to make very simple edits, such as trimming the unwanted sections from your captured file.

For audio, Screenapp.io allows you to record sound from the browser or the microphone. This means if you are recording an application window and want to capture the audio for it, you'll likely want to look for another tool instead. To avoid patent fees, the developers have also restricted the output formats only to support WebM files at the moment. This may be a problem if other software in your toolchain doesn't support that format.

Main features:

• Can capture webcam
• Option to trim your recording before downloading

Go to Screenapp.io

Loom is as easy-to-use as nearly any browser extension. It is marketed mainly towards business users who will use it to create video messages for coworkers, presentations for management, or perhaps training videos for new hires. Despite the marketing, it makes for a useful tool regardless of your reason for recording a screen capture. With Loom, you'll have all the features you'd expect from a tool marketed to working professionals, such as the ability to add your webcam to the screen capture, audio capture through the microphone so that you can add voice-overs, and the ability to quickly share your recordings with others.

Main features:

• Video library shared across devices
• Users can leave time-based comments
• Can record both internal and microphone audio

Download Loom

Capable of both taking screenshots and creating screencasts, Nimbus Capture has unique features that make it worth checking out. For screenshots, the software features optical character recognition (OCR) that will turn the image into editable text. Because it's designed for work, it also features collaboration via workspace and decent annotation and editing features. The software can upload to standard video services, including Nimbus Note, a cloud-based storage service designed to help you bring information from multiple places into a single cohesive place that you can use to build better documents.

Main features:

• Convert videos to GIF
• Quickly share videos online

Download Nimbus Capture

Screencastify is another Chrome-based extension that is popular and easy to use. It has basic editing features that allow you to create interactive lectures or tutorials quickly. Despite being a browser plugin, the software doesn't require you to be online to use it. Once you are done creating and editing your video, it is easy to upload it to various popular video hosting sites.

There are some meaningful limitations in the free version of the plugin. Unless you pay for the premium version, you'll be limited to record for only 10 minutes at a time and will have a watermark on the final video file.

Main features:

• Interactive recording via stickers and pen tool
• Can merge videos

Download Screencastify