MotionShineShort answer: you have three ways to record a Mac screen without paying every month. Use a free recorder (the built-in one, OBS Studio, or MotionShine). Buy a one-time licence (Screenflick $35, CleanShot X Basic $35, CursorClip Lifetime $70, Cap Desktop $58, ScreenKite Pro $79.99 until 31 October 2026). Screen Studio, Loom Business, Camtasia and Snagit are on the other side: their pages list monthly or yearly billing, and for Screen Studio the page says one-time licences are no longer sold to new buyers.
Every price below was read from the maker's own page on 26 October 2026. Where a page did not say something, this guide writes "not found". This guide is by the maker of MotionShine, so MotionShine is in the list, and its section says who it is not for.
What "without a subscription" can mean
The phrase hides four different deals. Knowing which one you are looking at saves a bad surprise later.
- Free, no strings. You pay nothing and nothing expires. The built-in recorder and OBS Studio are here.
- Free with a quality cap. Everything works, but the free export is limited. MotionShine is here.
- Pay once, keep it. One payment, and the app keeps working. Some makers include only a year of updates, then charge to renew them.
- Pay once, with a catch. Free to record, but you pay to export, or the free version is for personal use only.
Read the second half of a "one-time" claim. CleanShot X Basic is a one-time $35, but its page says the price includes one year of updates, and updates can be renewed for $19 per year after that. The app does not stop working, but new versions need the renewal. That is still very different from a plan that locks your own recordings behind a monthly fee.
The price table
| App | How you pay | Price on the maker's page | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mac built-in (Shift-Command-5) | Free | $0 | Everything |
| OBS Studio | Free, open source | $0 | Everything |
| MotionShine | Free, or one-time Pro | Pro $49 launch price then $79; Pro Forever $99 launch price then $149 | Every feature, export up to 720p at 30 fps |
| Screenflick | One-time | $35 | Trial not found |
| CleanShot X Basic | One-time, 1 year of updates | $35, renewal $19 per year | No trial found, 30-day refund |
| Cap | Free, or $58 once, or $29 per year | Desktop licence $58 once | Free, personal use only |
| CursorClip | $70 once, $29 per year, or $9 per month | Lifetime $70, up to 3 Macs | Record and edit free, export needs a licence |
| ScreenKite | Free, or one-time Pro | Pro $79.99 until 31 Oct 2026, then $99.99 | Free, exports carry a watermark |
| ScreenFlow | $199 base price, no recurring fee listed | $199 | Trial not found |
| Screen Studio | Subscription | $9 per month billed yearly, or $29 per month | Free plan or trial not found |
| Loom | Subscription for paid plans | Business $18 per user per month | Starter: 25 videos, 5 minutes each, 720p |
| Camtasia | Yearly | Starter $39 per year, up to Pro $599 per year | Trial with limits, Starter editor output watermarked |
| Snagit | Yearly | $39 per user per year | Trial not found |
Sources, all read on 26 October 2026: support.apple.com/en-us/102618, obsproject.com, motionshine.com, araelium.com/screenflick/pricing, cleanshot.com/pricing, cap.so/pricing, cursorclip.com/pricing, screenkite.com/pricing, telestream.net/screenflow/store.asp, screen.studio, loom.com/pricing, techsmith.com/store/camtasia, techsmith.com/store/snagit. A cell that says "not found" means the page did not say, not that the answer is no.
The free recorders
The Mac's built-in recorder
Apple's Support page says you press Shift-Command-5 to open the Screenshot toolbar, then record the entire screen, a selected window (this needs macOS Tahoe 26 or later), or a selected portion. Under Options you can pick a microphone, set a timer, show a black circle around clicks and change where the file is saved. The page says system audio needs macOS 27 or later, and it does not mention a time limit or a watermark.
There is nothing to buy and nothing to sign up for. The steps are in how to screen record on Mac, and how to screen record on Mac with audio covers sound.
Keep the built-in recorder if you need a quick clip and do not mind a plain result.
Move on if you want zooms on clicks, a smoother cursor, or a real editor.
OBS Studio
OBS describes itself as "free and open source software for video recording and live streaming." Its home page says it supports macOS 13.0 or newer, offers Intel and Apple silicon builds, and mentions no usage limits. It has no editor after recording. You arrange scenes and sources first, then record.
Our guide to using OBS Studio on Mac walks through the setup, and the best OBS settings for screen recording on Mac lists the options that matter.
Keep OBS if you stream, record long sessions, or like to control every setting.
Move on if you want a polished tutorial without learning scenes first.
MotionShine (by the maker of MotionShine)
This is the app we make, so weigh this section with that in mind. MotionShine is a free Mac screen recorder. It records your display, a window or an area, and it can also record your camera, alone or as a movable bubble over the screen. Every click can become a zoom, the cursor is smoothed, and you can add click effects and motion blur. The editor has text, pictures, music lanes, a voice over and captions made on your Mac.
The free version has every feature, with no watermark and no time limit. Free exports go up to 720p at 30 fps. Pro unlocks 1080p, 1440p, 4K and 60 fps. Pro is a one-time price, not a subscription. On the site at the time of writing, Pro is $49 at the launch price and $79 after, for one person on one Mac, with 12 months of updates (the app keeps working after that). Pro Forever is $99 at the launch price and $149 after, for one person on three Macs, with every future version. The download page always has the current figures, so check it before you buy. It runs on macOS 13 and later. There are no share links.
Keep MotionShine if you want zooms, a clean cursor and an editor without paying every month, and 720p is enough while you try it.
Move on if you need a link to send a viewer, a Windows or Linux app, or a recorder that is open source.
The one-time licences
Screenflick
The maker's pricing page lists a Full License at $35 and says "No monthly or annual subscriptions, no expiration, just a one-time payment." Upgrading from version 2 costs $20, and purchases dated 1 January 2021 or later qualify for a free upgrade. It lists macOS 11 or later. A trial was not found on that page.
Keep Screenflick if you want an old-style, pay-once recorder and a low one-time price (CleanShot X Basic is the same $35).
Move on if you want automatic zoom and a modern editor. This guide did not check which of those it has, so look at its own page.
CleanShot X Basic
CleanShot's page calls Basic "pay once, use forever" at $35. It includes the Mac app, one year of updates and 1 GB of Cloud storage. After the first year, updates can be renewed for $19 per year. Pro is a separate subscription at $10 per user per month billed annually. The page lists a 30-day money-back guarantee and says it needs macOS 13.0 or newer.
Keep CleanShot X if screenshots matter as much as recordings.
Move on if you want a full video editor. Whether it has text, pictures and captions was not found on the page this guide read.
Cap
Cap's page lists a free plan, $0, "personal use only", with no time limit on local recordings. A Desktop licence, which includes commercial rights, costs $29 per year or $58 once. Cap Pro, the team tier, is $12 per user per month or $8.16 per month billed annually. The page is inconsistent about whether free local recording is unlimited, so test it before relying on it.
Keep Cap if you want a free personal recorder or a cheap one-time licence for work.
Move on if you want no cloud features at all. Cap's paid tiers are built around shareable links and cloud storage.
CursorClip
CursorClip's page lists Lifetime at $70 once for up to 3 Macs, $29 per year, or $9 per month. Recording and editing are free with no account and no time limit, but a paid plan is needed to export. Every plan has a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Keep CursorClip if you want a lifetime option and are happy to try the whole workflow before you pay.
Move on if you need to export for free, because that is the one thing the free tier does not do.
ScreenKite
ScreenKite's page lists a free plan where exports carry a watermark. Pro is a one-time, lifetime licence for 3 Macs, at a founder price of $79.99 until 31 October 2026 and $99.99 after. The page shows a 14-day refund. An Essential licence, shown as a regional offer, is $39 once for one Mac, with 12 months of updates and then an optional $19 per year.
Keep ScreenKite if you want a pay-once licence and will buy before 31 October to get the lower price.
Move on if you cannot accept a watermark while you are still deciding.
ScreenFlow
Telestream's store page lists ScreenFlow at $199 with no recurring charge for the base app. The page does not call it a one-time purchase in so many words. The Super Pak adds a Stock Media Library at $99 per year, which is a subscription, and you can skip it. A trial was not found on the page.
Keep ScreenFlow if you want a full desktop editor with no yearly fee and the price does not worry you.
Move on if you only need a recorder. At $199 you would pay for an editor you may not use.
The recorders that rent
These tools are good products. They are listed here so you know where the monthly bill comes from.
- Screen Studio. The page lists $9 per month billed yearly, or $29 per month. It says "purchasing one-time licences was possible in the past, but is no longer available for new purchases," and that existing one-time licences stay valid. It does not list a free plan or trial. See Screen Studio pricing for the detail.
- Loom. Starter is free with 25 videos, 5 minutes per screen recording and 720p. Business is $18 per user per month. See Loom pricing and is Loom free.
- Camtasia. The page lists only yearly billing: Starter $39 per year, Essentials $179.88, Create $249 and Pro $599. Monthly and one-time prices were not found. The Starter editor output is watermarked.
- Snagit. $39 per user per year on the page, with a 14-day money-back guarantee. A trial and a one-time price were not found. See the Snagit alternative for Mac.
What a subscription costs over three years
The arithmetic is simple, so here it is. Numbers use the prices above and assume you keep paying.
| Option | Cost over 3 years |
|---|---|
| Screen Studio, yearly billing ($9 x 12 = $108 per year) | $324 |
| Screen Studio, monthly billing ($29 x 12 = $348 per year) | $1,044 |
| Loom Business, 12 months of the listed monthly price ($18 x 12 = $216 per year) | $648 per user |
| Camtasia Starter ($39 per year) | $117 |
| Snagit ($39 per year) | $117 |
| Cap Desktop, yearly ($29 per year) | $87 |
| Cap Desktop, once | $58 |
| CursorClip, yearly ($29 per year) | $87 |
| CursorClip Lifetime | $70 |
| CleanShot X Basic ($35, then $19 per year for updates in years 2 and 3) | $73 |
The Loom row uses the monthly figure on the page, because the page did not list a separate annual price. The CleanShot row assumes you renew updates both times; if you do not, you pay $35 and keep the version you have.
The point is not that a subscription is wrong. A team that records every week and needs share links may find Loom worth it. The point is that a solo creator who records a few tutorials a month has other choices.
How to pick
- Quick clips, no setup: the built-in recorder.
- Streams and long sessions: OBS Studio.
- Zoomed, polished tutorials without paying every month: MotionShine, Screenflick, Cap, CursorClip or ScreenKite, depending on the price and the editor you want.
- Screenshots and recordings in one tool: CleanShot X Basic.
- A full editor with no yearly fee: ScreenFlow, if the price suits you.
- Share links for a team: a subscription may be the honest answer. See the best screen recorder for Mac for the wider list.
Before you pay for anything, run one real recording through it. A free or trial export tells you more than a feature list does. If the output looks right at the size you need, buy it. If it does not, you have lost an hour instead of a year of fees.
FAQ
Is there a free Mac screen recorder with no watermark?
Yes. The built-in recorder (Shift-Command-5) and OBS Studio are free, and the pages this guide read mention no watermark. MotionShine is free with no watermark and no time limit, with exports up to 720p at 30 fps. See free Mac screen recording software for the free tiers side by side.
Which Mac screen recorder has the lowest one-time price?
Of the apps in this guide, Screenflick and CleanShot X Basic are both $35 on the makers' pages. Note that CleanShot includes one year of updates, then lists $19 per year to renew them. Prices change, so check the page before you buy.
Is Screen Studio a one-time purchase?
Not for new buyers. Its pricing page lists $9 per month billed yearly or $29 per month, and says one-time licences are no longer available for new purchases. Existing one-time licences remain valid. Checked on 26 October 2026.
Is a one-time licence really forever?
Read the terms. Some are lifetime, like CursorClip Lifetime and ScreenKite Pro. Others, like CleanShot X Basic, include a year of updates and then offer paid renewals. In both cases the app you bought keeps running, but only the lifetime ones promise every new version.
Can I use a free recorder for work?
It depends on the tool. Cap's free plan is for personal use only, and its Desktop licence adds commercial rights. For the built-in recorder and OBS, the pages this guide read do not state a restriction. For anything else, read the licence on the maker's page.
Why do some free recorders add a watermark?
The maker uses the watermark to push you towards paying. ScreenKite's free exports carry one, and Camtasia's Starter editor output is watermarked. MotionShine's free export has none.
What is the catch with MotionShine's free version?
The export size. Free exports go up to 720p at 30 fps. Pro unlocks 1080p, 1440p, 4K and 60 fps. If 720p is enough, you can use every feature without paying.
