Mac screen recorders, honestly compared
Five tools designers actually reach for, and the one question that separates them: is the take performed, or is it authored?
Most macOS screen recorders capture a live performance and polish it afterwards. Viewport does the opposite - you place scrolls, clicks and hovers on a timeline and the app replays them identically every time. That makes it narrower than the tools below and better than all of them at one job: recording a website so the motion is smooth and the take can be produced again after the design changes.
All five, side by side
| Tool | Pricing model | Platform | How a take is made |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viewport | $9.99 once, no subscription | macOS 13.1+ | Authored on a timeline, replayed identically |
| Screen Studio | Subscription for new customers | macOS 13.1+ | Live performance, smoothed automatically afterwards |
| Loom | Free tier, then per-seat subscription | macOS, Windows, Chrome, iOS, Android | Live performance, recorded as-is |
| CleanShot X | One-time, with paid update renewals | macOS | Live capture of whatever is on screen |
| QuickTime Player | Free, bundled with macOS | macOS | Live performance, recorded as-is |
| OBS Studio | Free and open source | macOS, Windows, Linux | Live performance, recorded as-is |
Pricing models are structural and change rarely; the figures behind them do not. Each comparison below carries the exact terms with a source and the date they were checked.
The full comparisons
Both make screen recordings look deliberate. They disagree about when the deliberation happens.
Loom is for the message you send today. Viewport is for the video that stays on your portfolio.
One is the fastest way to capture what is on screen. The other is the way to compose what happens on it.
Free, already installed, and genuinely fine - right up to the point where the recording is the deliverable.
OBS will out-feature anything on this page. It will not make your scroll smooth.
Choosing a Mac screen recorder
Ready to show your work the way you designed it?
7-day free trial, no card needed · macOS 13.1 or later