Alternatives to Kap
Open source Mac screen capture
Kap ranks #9 of 11 in Screen recording, with an Alt Score of 50. It is licensed under MIT, free and available on macOS. 5 of 9 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Designers, developers, and project managers on macOS who need to record and share quick screen captures, such as demos, bug reports, or tutorials.
Kap is a free, open-source screen recorder for macOS built on web technology. It exports recordings as GIF, MP4, WebM, or APNG, with optional audio, and lets you highlight mouse clicks and trim footage before exporting. A plugin system extends it with direct sharing to services like Giphy, Streamable, and Vercel.
Select an area of the screen and start recording, then trim the clip and add click highlights in the built-in editor before exporting to your chosen format or sharing it via a plugin.
Why people leave Kap
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
How Kap compares with its alternatives, feature by feature.
| Screen recording checklist | Kap | Tella | Camtasia | Cap | Screen Studio | ScreenFlow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Max resolution & fps | ||||||
| Webcam overlay | ||||||
| System + mic audio | ||||||
| Editing included | ||||||
| Instant share link | ||||||
| Watermark on free | ||||||
| Annotation during recording | ||||||
| GIF export | ||||||
| Cursor effects |
Every fact and feature listed for Kap is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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License MIT verified 2026-07-11
MIT License
https://github.com/wulkano/Kap/blob/main/LICENSE.md -
Pricing model Free verified 2026-07-11
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
https://github.com/wulkano/Kap/blob/main/LICENSE.md -
Platforms macOS verified 2026-07-11
of the macOS versions your plugin supports
https://github.com/wulkano/Kap/blob/main/docs/plugins.md -
Max resolution & fps Yes verified 2026-07-11
fps: record60fps ? 60 : 30,
https://github.com/wulkano/Kap/blob/main/main/aperture.ts -
System + mic audio Partial verified 2026-07-11
Kap needs access to the microphone to be able to record audio for screen recordings.
https://github.com/wulkano/Kap/blob/main/package.json -
Editing included Partial verified 2026-07-11
The edit service receives an `mp4` file which is generated from the recording after trimming the duration and adjusting the size.
https://github.com/wulkano/Kap/blob/main/docs/plugins.md -
GIF export Yes verified 2026-07-11
The file formats you support. Can be: `gif`, `mp4`, `webm`, `apng`
https://github.com/wulkano/Kap/blob/main/docs/plugins.md -
Cursor effects Yes verified 2026-07-11
record60fps, showCursor, highlightClicks, recordAudio } = settings.store;
https://github.com/wulkano/Kap/blob/main/main/aperture.ts
FAQ
Yes. Cap, Streamlabs and Loom have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Cap, Streamlabs and OBS Studio — every license claim links its source.