Limelight
Free ways to record your screen on a Mac
You can record your Mac screen for free, right now, with tools you already have — and step up to cinematic recording when you need it. Here are the best free options and what each is good for.
The simplest free screen recorder is already on your Mac. Press ⇧⌘5 to open the Screenshot toolbar, choose to record the whole screen or a selection, set your microphone under Options, and click Record. It saves a .mov to your Desktop with no watermark and no time limit. QuickTime Player (File → New Screen Recording) does the same with a window-based workflow.
If you need scenes, overlays, or live streaming, OBS Studio is free and open-source. It is far more capable than the built-ins, at the cost of a steeper setup. All three of these are genuinely free and watermark-free — perfect for raw captures, bug reports, and simple walkthroughs.
What the free tools do not do is make a recording look produced. There is no automatic zoom, no cursor smoothing, no on-screen keystrokes, and no built-in editor. For a tutorial or demo, that is the difference between a clip people skip and one they watch. Limelight adds exactly that layer: it is free to start with a cursor spotlight, and Pro recording — auto-zoom, smoothed cursor, keystrokes baked in, mp4 and 9:16 export — is $2.99/month or a $34 one-time license, far less than a $20/month subscription.
Why Limelight
- ▸Free & built-in: ⇧⌘5 toolbar and QuickTime Player — no watermark, no time limit
- ▸Free & advanced: OBS Studio for streaming and multi-source setups
- ▸Limelight: free to start (cursor spotlight); cinematic Pro recording from $2.99/mo or $34 once
- ▸Everything records locally — nothing uploaded
Cursor spotlight free · from $2.99/mo or $34 lifetime · macOS 14+
Or get Pro — from $2.99/mo · See how it works →
free to start, then go Pro from $2.99/mo or a $34 one-time lifetime license. macOS 14+, notarized by Apple.
FAQ
- How do I record my Mac screen for free?
- Press ⇧⌘5, choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion, set your microphone in Options, and click Record. It saves a free, watermark-free .mov to your Desktop. QuickTime Player works too.
- Is there a free Mac screen recorder with no watermark?
- Yes — the built-in ⇧⌘5 toolbar, QuickTime Player, and OBS Studio all record without a watermark. Limelight is also free to start with a cursor spotlight.
- Is Limelight free?
- Limelight is free to start with a cursor spotlight. The full cinematic recorder — auto-zoom, smoothed cursor, on-screen keystrokes, and mp4/9:16 export — is Pro, at $2.99/month or a $34 one-time lifetime license.