So, you’re after a Camtasia alternative, right?
I can guarantee you love the look of Camtasia, but you are put off by the relatively hefty price tag of around $249.
Yep, I had that feeling too when I was just starting out with screen recorders (however, I bit the bullet and invested in Camtasia – it was a very good decision!).
Camtasia is the best all-in-one screen recorder and video editor. Record your screen, add video effects, transitions and more. Software available on Windows and Mac. Try for free today! Camtasia is the go-to video solution for creating professional-looking software demonstrations, product tutorials, online lessons, and recorded presentations- no. Aug 19, 2020 Camtasia Studio is a comprehensive tool to create professional videos with ease.It’s a powerful software packed with plenty of features. Using Camtasia Studio, you can easily create stunning visuals within minutes.The program provides you with a wide range of features to edit and create all kinds of videos, including slideshows, tutorials, and more.
But, don’t worry. I’ve put together a sweet list of the best Camtasia alternatives, some even have free options.
I hope you find it useful. Be sure to let me know in the comments below what Camtasia alternative you have.
What to look for in a Camtasia alternative?
To me, the best Camtasia alternatives should have the following five features:
- Competitive pricing
- Flexible screen recording
- Strong editing capabilities
- Annotations and/or cursor effects
- Pan and zoom
Note, not all of the software listed below contain all of the above. But, they will contain the majority of these features.
- Python API for Camtasia projects. The package also installs a command-line program called pytsc which exposes a lot of the API. You can get help on pytsc with the “-h” flag: $ pytsc -h.
- Camtasia Studio gives you the tools to record your computer screen and then turn those recordings into professional-grade videos. And once you've edited and polished your creation, you can share.
Competitive pricing
In my eyes, an alternative software should be cheaper than its comparator. And, especially holds true in this case.
Ideally, you should be looking at combined screen recorders and video editors that are priced under $250.
Luckily, the majority of them are!
Flexible screen recording
One of the biggest perks of Camtasia is its powerful screen recording features.
Any alternative should also support custom screen recording sizes. This is when you can record a selected area instead of the whole screen.
Strong editing capabilities
Since Camtasia is also a video editor, any alternative should come with suitable editing tools.
These editing capabilities should include video trimming, for removing unwanted sections, and some audio track features at a minimum.
Annotations and/or cursor effects
I personally love Camtasia’s annotations and cursor effects. They really do improve the quality of screencasts to make them easier to follow.
The very best Camtasia alternatives should have some sort of annotation and/or cursor effect features.
Pan and zoom
To take screencasts to another level, the software should have some sort of pan and zoom capability – just like Camtasia.
Again, the benefit of controlling the camera movement is to make it easy for the viewer to follow along.
Best Camtasia alternatives
So, let’s get to it.
Below you will find a list of the best Camtasia alternatives available, in my opinion anyway, and some relevant detail for each one.
1. Filmora Scrn (#1 recommended)
Filmora Scrn by Wondershare is packed with features and, best of all, it is super cheap!
If you want the main features of Camtasia, but don’t want to pay TechSmith’s prices, then I urge you to seriously consider Filmora Scrn.
With Filmora Scrn, you can set a custom screen recording field and simultaneously record your screen and camera with audio.
Recordings can be even captured in 120 frames per second (FPS), so your recordings are super smooth (note, Mac users are limited to 60 FPS).
In the editing side, it’s possible to change the appearance of the cursor (size, shape and color) and add annotations.
Unfortunately, there is no pan and zoom ability. If you need this, then check out Filmora below.
The great news for you guys is that there is a free Filmora Scrn trial available. So, there is no excuse to try it yourself.
If you’re already sold on Filmora Scrn, then you can grab it for $19.99 for a 1-year licence or just $29.99 for a lifetime licence.
Surely, it’s a no-brainer to go with the latter for just an extra $10!
- Related:Filmora Scrn Review: A Simple But Effective Screen Recorder
Filmora Scrn
✔️ Free trial
✔️ Custom size screen recording
✔️ Annotations/cursor effects
✔️ Windows and Mac systems
✔️ Custom size screen recording
✔️ Annotations/cursor effects
✔️ Windows and Mac systems
2. ScreenFlow
ScreenFlow is a respected Mac only screen recorder and video editor.
This one’s for all you Mac fans out there. Sorry Windows guys, you’ll have to skip over this one.
ScreenFlow has a powerful set of screen recording features, including custom size screen recording and the ability to record multiple monitors at once. If you also want to record your iPhone or iPad screen, you can with ScreenFlow, simply connect the device to your computer and the software will capture it.
There’s easy video editing to be found too. You can add zoom and pan effects, trim clips, adjust audio and more. There’s also a variety of annotations, including freehand.
Another notable feature of ScreenFlow is that there are cursor effects, such as radars for clicks. You can change the size, color and duration of the effect and even apply a blur.
Coming in at $129, ScreenFlow certainly isn’t the cheapest Camtasia alternative on this list. However, it’s certainly ranked near the top in terms of features and capabilities.
Similar to Camtasia, ScreenFlow’s price does not include future software upgrades. This is just something the keep in mind if you’re thinking of purchasing.
If you’re interested, then you can grab a fully functional free trial. The only limitation is that exported videos will be watermarked, so you can certainly see everything ScreenFlow has to offer by just playing around with the trial.
How to reset casio calculator. ScreenFlow
✔️ Free trial
✔️ Custom size screen recording
✔️ Annotations/cursor effects
✔️ Pan and zoom
✔️ Mac system only
✔️ Custom size screen recording
✔️ Annotations/cursor effects
✔️ Pan and zoom
✔️ Mac system only
3. Filmora
Filmora is Filmora Scrn’s bigger brother, with all the editing bells and whistles.
If you like the look of FilmoraScrn, but want more advanced editing capabilities and fancy transitions, then you may want to consider Filmora.
Filmora can edit and export in up to 4K resolution and has up to 100 media layers! This may seem overkill, but if you want to add a lot of snazzy effects, then it certainly comes in handy.
As expected with a strong video editor, there is also pan and zoom effect within Filmora.
With over 800 stylish effects to pick from, you can certainly make your videos stand out from the rest. New effects are also added every month for those that purchase the Annual Bundle Plan ($99.87 per year).
Obviously, these additional editing features come with a higher cost, compared with its little sibling FilmoraScrn. Expect to pay an additional $40 for a lifetime licence, or you get can it for $39.99 per year.
Interested? Then take advantage of their free offer to see what Filmora can do for you.
Filmora
✔️ Free trial
✔️ Custom size screen recording
✔️ Annotations/cursor effects
✔️ Pan and zoom
✔️ Windows and Mac systems
✔️ Custom size screen recording
✔️ Annotations/cursor effects
✔️ Pan and zoom
✔️ Windows and Mac systems
4. Movavi Video Suite
Movavi’s Video Suite is an all-in-one screen recorder video editor and converter that even looks similar to Camtasia.
On first glance, you may mistake Movavi’s Screen Recorder for Camtasia; their interfaces are so alike!
Sure enough, everything you need in a screen recorder can be found. You can capture your desired area and record audio and video. Applying cursor highlights and on-click sound effects is also super easy.
In terms of video editing, the Movavi Video Suite has a large selection of creative assets including titles, filers, effects and transitions. You can also add in callouts (annotations).
The good news is that there is a free 7-day trial available so that you can really give the Video Suite a good test drive. Notable limitations of the trial include screen recording restrictions (5 minutes maximum) and watermarks on exported videos.
It’s worth noting that the Video Suite is only available for Windows users, but a Mac version is expected to drop in June 2020 – so watch this space!
Movavi Video Suite
✔️ 7-day free trial
✔️ Custom size screen recording
✔️ Annotations/cursor effects
✔️ Pan and zoom
✔️ Windows systems
✔️ Custom size screen recording
✔️ Annotations/cursor effects
✔️ Pan and zoom
✔️ Windows systems
5. Create
Create by Vidello is an excellent option for those that want to pay a one-time fee.
Many of you have probably not heard of Create before, but it is certainly worth checking out if you are after a cheaper Camtasia alternative.
Coming in at half the price of a standard Camtasia licence, Create’s pricing is one-off. So, no recurring fees – yay!
With Create you can record a custom area of your screen, zoom in to the recordings, add shapes and even funky animated emojis.
If you don’t have access to a microphone or you are super shy to record your own voice, there is also a text-to-speech voiceover narration feature. Simply add in your text, select a voice style and Create will generate a voiceover for you.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a free trial, but you do get a 30-day, money-back guarantee should you change your mind about it within the first month.
Create
✔️ Custom size screen recording
✔️ Annotations
✔️ Zoom feature
✔️ Windows and Mac systems Cyberlink power media player free download.
✔️ Annotations
✔️ Zoom feature
✔️ Windows and Mac systems Cyberlink power media player free download.
6. ActivePresenter
ActivePresenter is one of the most expensive Camtasia alternatives, but has a lot going for it.
With a strong focus on elearning and interactive videos, there are a lot of features under ActivePresenter’s hood.
As expected, screen recording can be full screen or a custom size. Camera and audio can also be captured simultaneously.
Cursor effects, annotations and zoom and pan are also available in ActivePresenter. You can even add a spotlight onto areas of the screen, just like in Camtasia.
There are a lot of tutorials on their website to get you up to speed with most of the features.
In terms of cost, there are a few licences that you can get for ActivePresenter: Free, Standard and Pro.
Thier Free licence is only for personal and non-commercial use. So, if you’re going to be making videos for commercial work, then you need one of their premium plans.
![Camptasia Camptasia](https://www.videohelp.com/softwareimages/camtasia_studio_807-2.jpg)
The downside is the price of these unrestricted licences. At $199 for their Standard or $399 for their Pro licence, it certainly doesn’t come cheap.
Download their Free version to see what ActivePresenter has going for it.
ActivePresenter
✔️ Free version
✔️ Custom size screen recording
✔️ Annotations/cursor effects
✔️ Pan and zoom
✔️ Windows and Mac systems
✔️ Custom size screen recording
✔️ Annotations/cursor effects
✔️ Pan and zoom
✔️ Windows and Mac systems
7. Free Cam
Free Cam is one of the best, completely free Camtasia alternatives.
Got no money? Well, don’t worry! Free Cam may be the answer you’re looking for. Note, Free Cam is only available on Windows machines – sorry to burst your bubble Mac users.
Free Cam, as the name suggests has a completely free version, which does contain the majority of Camtasia alternative features. For enhanced functionality, then you may want to consider upgrading to their Pro account ($227 per year).
Unlike most free screen recorders and video editors, Free Cam does not place any video length restrictions or applies watermarks to your videos.
However, it is only possible to simultaneously record your screen and audio. Capturing your camera alongside these is enabled in their Pro account.
Camtasia Tutorial
Basic video editing features are also found in the free version. You can easily trim unnecessary sections of video, remove background noise from audio and apply fade-in and -out audio effects.
There is also some cursor effects that can be found as standard. This includes highlighting the cursor and applying sound click effects. Annotations can only be found only in their Pro version.
Certainly give Free Cam a download if you’re interested. After all, it’s free!
Free Cam
✔️ Completely free option
✔️ Custom size screen recording
✔️ Cursor effects
✔️ Annotations (Pro version)
✔️ Windows systems
✔️ Custom size screen recording
✔️ Cursor effects
✔️ Annotations (Pro version)
✔️ Windows systems
8. Screencast-O-Matic
ScreenCast-O-Matic has a range of inexpensive pricing plans available to suit everyone, including a free plan!
The great thing about Screencast-O-Matic is that there are 3 price plans: Free, Deluxe ($1.65 per month) and Premier ($4.00 per month).
The basic Free plan, as you would expect, has a limited offering of recording and editing capabilities. Custom size screen recording is as standard to capture only regions of interest.
However, you can only trim videos with their Free plan. Videos are also limited to 15 minutes and have a watermark applied during export.
For additional editing features and to remove those pesky restrictions, then you need to have one of their reasonably priced memberships (Deluxe or Premier). Dora la casa de dora.
With the paid plans you get access to various Camtasia-like features, such as customizing the cursor (change color of cursor halo), annotations and zoom in/out.
If you want to record with a green screen background, there is also a green screen filter option to jazz up your surroundings.
Screencast-O-Matic
✔️ Free version
✔️ Custom size screen recording
✔️ Cursor effects (paid version)
✔️ Annotations (paid version)
✔️ Zoom in/out (paid version)
✔️ Windows, Mac, Android and Chromebook systems
✔️ Custom size screen recording
✔️ Cursor effects (paid version)
✔️ Annotations (paid version)
✔️ Zoom in/out (paid version)
✔️ Windows, Mac, Android and Chromebook systems
FAQs
1. What is the best Camtasia alternative?
For me, the answer to this is Filmora Scrn.
Sure, there is no pan and zoom feature in Filmora Scrn; you will need Filmora for that. But, there is custom screen recording, the ability to add annotations and change the appearance of the cursor.
The biggest factor in my decision is the price. At just $29.99 for a life-time licence, that’s a saving of over $200 compared with Camtasia!
And since most people looking at Camtasia alternatives are concerned about costs, Filmora Scrn is competitively priced and comes with the majority of features you want.
2. What is the best free Camtasia alternative?
The answer to this depends on your situation.
If you’re planning on using the software for personal and non-commercial use only, then I would say ActivePresenter for sure.
Otherwise, I suggest checking out Free Cam (Windows only).
Wrapping up
I hope this list of best Camtasia alternatives is useful for you. On reflection, there are some serious contenders here for the title of best screen recorder and video editor.
Have I missed anything? If you have any further suggestions, then please let me know in the comments below.
Further reading on SideHustleTeach.com
For more information on Filmora Scrn, then check out my detailed review. If you are just after a screen recorder without the fancy video editing capabilities, then have a look at my list of best screen recorder software. To see what you’re missing out with Camtasia, then read my Camtasia review.
Developer(s) | TechSmith | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Initial release | 28 October 2002; 17 years ago | ||||
Stable release(s) | |||||
| |||||
Operating system | Windows 10 1607 or later, macOS 10.13 or later[3] | ||||
Type | Screencasting and video editing software | ||||
License | Proprietary | ||||
Website | www.techsmith.com/video-editor.html |
Camtasia (/kæmˈteɪʒə/) (formerly Camtasia Studio) is a software suite, created and published by TechSmith, for creating video tutorials and presentations directly via screencast, or via a direct recording plug-in to Microsoft PowerPoint. The screen area to be recorded can be chosen freely, and audio or other multimedia recordings may be recorded at the same time or added separately from any other source and integrated in the Camtasia component of the product. Both versions of Camtasia started as enhanced screen capture programs and have evolved to integrate screen capture and post-processing tools targeted at the educational and information multimedia development marketplace.
Camtasia consists of two major components:
- Camtasia Recorder - a separate tool for capturing screen audio and video
- Camtasia editor - the component for which the entire product is named, which is now a multimedia authoring tool with the industry standard 'timeline' interface for managing multiple clips in a stacked track form plus enhancements summarized below.
Camtasia Recorder[edit]
In Camtasia Recorder, the presenter can start and stop recording with a hotkey combination at any time, at which point the recording can be halted and Camtasia Recorder can render the input that has been captured into a CAMREC format. The CAMREC file can be saved to disk or directly imported into the Camtasia component for editing. Camtasia Recorder allows audio recording while screen-capturing is in progress, so the presenter can capture live narration during a demonstration or presentation. Camtasia also supports dubbing in other audio tracks or voiceover during post-capture editing. Users may also download an add-in for Microsoft Power Point that will allow them to initiate recording of a presentation from within Power Point itself.
In Camtasia editor, multimedia objects of various formats can be imported into the clip library and arrange them in time order and stacked tracks using the timeline form of user controls. Overlays of various types may be added, including user-defined settings, such as when and how to display the cursor and pan-and-zoom effects such as the Ken Burns effect. Camtasia for Windows v8 and Camtasia for Mac v2 offer options to enhance sections of the recorded screen to draw attention via a cursor or drawn-in pointer to highlight section(s) of the screen or to better illustrate the actions of the presenter on the screen. Another feature is the ability to save media clips within the library tab, keeping a user from having to repeatedly import commonly-used media clips/files.
Camtasia 8
Versions[edit]
Version | Date | Update 1 | Update 2 |
---|---|---|---|
8.0.0 for Windows | 19 June 2012 | v8.6.0 of 25 August 2015[4] | |
9.0.0 | 11 October 2016 | 9.1.2 of 13 March 2018 | 9.1.5 of 7 May 2019 |
2018.0.0 | 19 June 2018 | 2018.0.8 of 7 May 2019 | |
2019.0.0 | 30 April 2019 | ||
2020.0.1 (macOS)[5]/2020.0.2 (Windows)[6] | 28 April 2020/7 May 2020 |
Post-production[edit]
Camtasia Studio Trial
After capturing a presentation in the Camtasia Recorder, the Camtasia component can be used to modify audio and video displayed as tracks by using the timeline control and object library interface with an integrated preview window. The image in the infobox to the right is a screen capture of the timeline interface. In addition, Camtasia allows automatic captions (speech-to-text), voice overlay for the presenter or editor, as well as the ability to add sound effects in many different formats, including music formats into the clip bin and arrange anywhere on the timeline.
Many presenters prefer to wait until they have finished the screen-capture and then record the narration from a script as the application is playing back the recorded capture. They can do so in the Camtasia editor and overlay the original recorded audio.
Rendering and deployment[edit]
The Camtasia program allows import of various types of multimedia video and audio files including MP4, MP3, WMV, WMA, AVI, WAV and many other formats into the Camtasia proprietary CAMREC format, which is readable by Camtasia. The CAMREC format is a single container for potentially hundreds of multimedia objects including video clips, still images, document screen shots and special effect containers. Camtasia also allows entire projects under development to be exported as one zip file for portability to other workstations with Camtasia or other video editing software. The created video can be exported to common video formats including MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV, AVI, and Adobe Flash. There are preset output formats that can be read by software available on most current mobile devices, desktop, and laptop computers without requiring any Camtasia software or license. Camtasia Player v8.2 is an additional component included in the Microsoft Windows version only, which can be freely shared and supports replay of a variety of video formats on computers running Windows.
Reviews[edit]
Camtasia's shortcomings noted in the PC World review of January 17, 2013 and CNET review of June 19, 2012 are as follows:
- Rotation of objects is applied via a dialog rather than interactively, though many lower-priced video editors do provide interactive rotation and manipulation of objects such as text and video frames
- Recording live from a DV camera is not supported
- Still potentially overwhelming for the introductory user, tempered by the tutorial material available. NOTE the V8 release is a complete rewrite so much of the prior tutorial material written for the popular Camtasia v6 and v7 software for Microsoft Windows is not usable with this release.
- Audio handling has minimal capabilities and no integration with other packages compared to some competitors in this price range
- Lacks any video-clip manipulation or integration with other packages that have such capabilities
PC World noted that 'Camtasia has evolved from being the go-to program for software demonstrators to a full-featured education/information video tool' from this 4 1/2 star review. An earlier 2005 review is still relevant, which states that, though 'powerful,' Camtasia can be 'a little overwhelming at the start' to new users, though the learning curve is easily manageable.[7][8][9]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'Camtasia (Windows) Version History'. techsmith.com. TechSmith. 3 September 2020.
- ^'Camtasia (Mac) Version History'. techsmith.com. TechSmith. 3 September 2020.
- ^'System Requirements'. techsmith.com. TechSmith. 3 September 2020. Archived from the original on 26 July 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
- ^'Camtasia (Windows) Version History'. TechSmith Support. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- ^'Camtasia (Mac) Version History'. techsmith.com. TechSmith. 28 April 2020.
- ^'Camtasia (Windows) Version History'. techsmith.com. TechSmith. 7 May 2020.
- ^Wiener Grotta, Sally; Grotta, Daniel (17 January 2013). 'Review: Camtasia Studio 8 raises the bar on interactive video creation'. PC World. IDG.
- ^Parker, Jason (19 June 2012). 'Camtasia 8 vastly improves screencast frame rates'. CNET. CBS Interactive.
- ^Bass, Steve (31 August 2005). 'Tips & Tweaks: Podcasts and Screencasts'. PC World. IDG.
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Camtasia&oldid=976650332'