| Fact |  OBS StudioFree screen recording and live streaming with no limits or watermark |  ScreenFlowScreen recorder with a real multi-track editor attached, bought outright |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $199 |
| Licence | Open sourceNothing to buy; source published | Paid upgradesMajor versions cost again |
| The catch | No editor and no official support — scenes and macOS audio routing are yours to set up | Major versions are paid upgrades, and Telestream does not publish the upgrade price |
| Against a subscription | Replaces Loom Business$216 a year | 8 monthsAgainst Descript at $288 a year |
| Seats | not established | 1 MacActive on one computer at a time — deactivate it before activating on another. |
| Developer account | None needed | None needed |
| Works offline | Yes | Yes |
| Apple Silicon | Native | Native |
| Free trial | does not apply | Yes |
| On Setapp | No | No |
| Minimum macOS | macOS 12 | macOS 14 (Sonoma) |
| Get it | Buy direct |
Both prices read 22 Sep 2026, on the pages these buttons open. App Store rating is not established for either app, so that row is left out.
In their own right
OBS Studio
OBS Studio records and streams anything on a Mac: scenes built from window, display, camera and audio sources, filters, and a large plugin ecosystem. Free under the GPL, with no watermark, no length limit and no account.
ScreenFlow
Records screen, camera, microphone and system audio, then puts all of it on a multi-track timeline with callouts, cursor zoom and text animation for tutorial work. The licence is a purchase, not a plan.