Screen Recording vs. QuickTime
For a quick clip, press Shift-Command-5 to use the free recorder built into your Mac. Screen Recording adds transcript editing, automatic captions, a camera bubble, and pause and resume.
Built-in recorder facts are from Apple's How to record the screen on Mac as of September 2026.
| What matters | Screen Recording | Built-in Mac recorder |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free, included with macOS |
| Editing | Transcript-based cuts, filler-word removal, timeline trims | Trim start/end in QuickTime |
| Transcript and captions | Automatic, on your Mac | No |
| Sharing | MP4 through the macOS share menu, or MP4 export up to 4K | A .mov file on your desktop |
| Watermark / time limit | None | None |
Recording and export details
| What matters | Screen Recording | Built-in Mac recorder |
|---|---|---|
| Capture modes | Full screen, window, drawn area | Full screen, window, drawn area |
| Microphone | Yes | Yes |
| System audio | Yes, on a separate track | macOS 27 or later, with Include System Audio |
| Camera bubble | Yes, movable and resizable | No |
| Pause and resume | Yes | No |
| Keyboard shortcut to start and stop | Yes, configurable | Yes, Shift-Command-5 |
| Click highlights and keystroke display | Yes, applied at export | Click circles with Show Mouse Clicks, no keystrokes |
What Screen Recording adds
Both record your screen and microphone. Screen Recording also captures system audio on a separate track, lets you pause and resume, and adds a movable camera bubble. The built-in recorder captures system audio only on macOS 27 or later, with Include System Audio.
QuickTime can trim the start and end. Screen Recording lets you cut mistakes from the middle by editing the transcript, remove filler words, and add automatic captions.
The built-in recorder saves a .mov file. Screen Recording shares an MP4 through the Mac share menu. You can also open the built-in recorder from QuickTime Player’s File > New Screen Recording.
The built-in recorder
macOS includes a free screen recorder, opened with Shift-Command-5. For step-by-step instructions, see How to screen record on a Mac.
Screen Recording is free too. See pricing.