Camtasia vs OBS Studio
OBS Studio if you just need free screen recording or streaming; Camtasia if you want recording and editing in one paid app.
Pick Camtasia if…
Pick Camtasia if you make tutorials or training videos and want editing, captions and AI tools in the same app as the recorder. A free download lets you try it first, with watermarked exports.
Pick OBS Studio if…
Pick OBS Studio if you record your screen or live stream and don't need a built-in editor. It is free, open source and has no watermark.
Price
- Paid
- Free
- Open source
Starting price
Free plan
Open source
Works on
| Feature | Screen recorder and video editor from TechSmith, with AI editing tools, for Windows and macOS. | Free, open source software for video recording and live streaming. |
|---|---|---|
| Price |
|
|
| Starting price | $39.00 per year billed yearly (Starter); $179.88 per year billed yearly (Essentials, the cheapest plan listed without the Camtasia watermark) | — |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Works on | Windows, macOS | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Try Camtasia (opens the Camtasia website in a new tab) | Try OBS Studio (opens the OBS Studio website in a new tab) |
On price, OBS Studio is free and open source under the GNU GPL v2 or later. Camtasia's individual plans are billed yearly: Starter $39.00, Essentials $179.88, Create $249.00 and Pro $599.00 per year. Starter includes a watermarked Camtasia Editor and Snagit, so Essentials is the lowest listed plan that removes the Camtasia watermark. Teams and Business pricing is by contacting sales.
On features, OBS Studio focuses on live capture and mixing: unlimited scenes, a per-source audio mixer, Studio Mode, Multiview and a plugin API. Camtasia records screen, camera and audio as separate layers, then edits with text-based editing, zooms, callouts, captions and templates. Higher plans add AI voiceover and AI avatars.
On platforms, Camtasia runs on Windows 10 or 11 and macOS 14 or later. OBS Studio runs on Windows 10 and 11, macOS 13 or later, and Linux, which Camtasia does not list.
Many people pair OBS Studio with a separate editor. If you want one tool for both and will pay for it, Camtasia is the choice. If you only record or stream, OBS Studio covers it for free.
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Last updated 16 October 2026. How we make money