Screen Recording vs. Cap
Cap and Screen Recording make similar promises. Your recordings are yours, and privacy is the default. That makes the differences worth stating precisely. Cap is open source and cross-platform, with an optional cloud service you can even self-host. Screen Recording is macOS-only and has no cloud service at all.
Note. Pricing and limit figures are as of August 2026. Check them again before publish.
| Screen Recording | Cap | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29 once, all features | Free (personal, 5-min cap); $29/yr desktop license; Pro $12/user/mo |
| Recording length on free/base tier | No limit | 5 minutes, including local recordings |
| Commercial use | Included | Requires the paid license |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Platforms | macOS | macOS, Windows |
| Transcription, titles, summaries | On device, included | Cap Pro, runs in Cap's cloud |
| Edit video by editing transcript | Yes | No |
| Sharing backend | User's iCloud | Cap's cloud, or self-hosted S3 |
| Works offline | Fully | Recording yes; AI features no |
| Account required | No | For cloud features |
The AI difference
Cap's ownership model does not extend to its AI features. Transcription, auto-titles, summaries, and chapters require Cap Pro and run on Cap's servers. Screen Recording's transcription runs on your Mac, and so does everything built on it, including transcript editing, captions, and filler-word removal. All of it is included in the $29 price and works offline. If the reason you're choosing an ownership-focused recorder is that your recordings are sensitive, the AI pipeline is the part you most need to keep on the machine.
The storage difference
Both products keep you out of a vendor-controlled library, by different routes. Cap lets you point sharing at your own S3 bucket or self-hosted instance, which gives you full control but requires setup. Screen Recording uses the iCloud account already on your Mac. Share a link and the file goes to your storage. Revoke it and it's gone. There is no infrastructure to run.
When Cap is the better fit
Choose Cap if you need Windows, want the code to be open source and auditable, or want to self-host the sharing backend on infrastructure you run. Those are things Screen Recording doesn't offer.
Choose Screen Recording if you're on a Mac and want unlimited recording, on-device AI, and transcript editing for $29 once, with nothing to configure and no subscription attached to any feature.
Screen Recording is coming soon. It will start with a 7-day free trial and need no account.