What is the Best Screen Recording App?

Contributor, Benzinga

You could be recording the screen on your phone for many reasons. You could be wanting to capture a moment while video chatting, recording a phone tutorial, or even streaming. Whatever the reason may be, you want to have the best quality for that moment and the built-in screen recorder doesn’t always cut it. So you want to find the best screen recording app for your endeavors. If you are not quite sure how to choose, we have a list of the best options out there as well as what to look for in each of them.

What to Look for in a Screen Recording App

If you need more out of your screen recording app but are not quite sure what it is you need to look for, we have these factors listed below that go into detail about what options you could seek. 

Privacy

Certain screen recording apps will have looser privacy terms and conditions than others. This could mean they get access to information in your contacts or they get information from other apps you use and so on. Just be careful on what you agree to, and if you’re not sure about the app, you can always delete it when you are finished using it. 

Video

Just like with any other video recording program, you want to know the quality of what you are working with. Not every screen recording app can allow you to record in high quality, much less let you set the quality. Having an app that can register the difference between vertical and horizontal video on a phone is also nice so it is one less thing you have to correct in editing. 

Audio

Find out which audio your screen recording app captures. On a phone, you can be limited in your choices, but there are 3 basic options for screen recording audio, the phone audio, the phone’s mic audio or both combined. If you can set an external mic for the source audio you will have better quality for your voice than with the built-in mic of the phone. 

Controls

Starting and stopping the video should be made easy for you. Some apps only allow you to start and stop recording from the app itself, which must remain open for the duration of the recording. Others offer a floating window that remains on the screen while you are in other apps. This makes it easy to start and stop at any point. Some apps will even take advantage of the motion capture feature of your device to allow you to move your phone a certain way to stop or pause the video. 

The Best Screen Recording Apps

Now that you have details and inside information, you can apply this to your screen recording app selection. Each of these choices is fantastic when it comes to capturing video on your screen. All you have to do is decide which meets your needs and preferences. 

AZ Screen Recorder

When it comes to both recording and streaming from your phone to Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube, AZ Screen Recorder has you covered. While it is paid, it provides a professional outcome worth the price. If you want to work with your recordings, it has a built-in video editor with simple but helpful tools. 

Pros:

  • Available for Apple and Android
  • Unlimited recording time

Cons:

  • Does not record off of external mics
  • Does not currently have privacy policies listed

Best for: Platform Diversity

Pricing:

  • $2.99 per week
  • $5.99 per month
  • $14.99 per 6months
  • $24.99 per year

Vidma Recorder

If you want to record videos on your phone with a picture of your face in the corner, Vidma can do it. The screen recorder is able to capture whatever you want however you need to. It even offers a built-in video editing program to trim your videos for you. And with its simple stop method of ending the recording by just shaking your phone, you can perfectly capture the moment. 

Pros:

  • Unlimited screen recording time
  • Easy controls
  • Floating control window
  • Built-in editor 

Cons:

  • Ads
  • Only available on Android

Best for: Editing on Android

Pricing: Free (with ads)

Screen Recorder +

No matter what app you want to use it on, Screen Recorder + has you covered for both audio and video. You can record audio through your mic while you play to keep your editing and commentary lined up and easy to edit afterward. If you get the premium version — Screen Recorder Pro — you get access to even higher-quality video as well as removing ads and watermarks. 

Pros:

  • Unlimited recording time
  • Timer for recording length
  • Video-editing studio

Cons:

  • Free version has watermarks on your video

Best for: iPhone users

Pricing:

  • Free
  • Premium: $3.99 per month

Twitch

If you like to stream while playing mobile games or do any sort of Vlogging and you have a Twitch account, you can easily capture everything that’s happening on your screen. While it doesn’t work for capturing video outside of stream time, you can take what you capture and add it to a YouTube channel or any other platform to promote your content.

Pros:

  • Free
  • Works on tablets

Cons:

  • Screen recording can only be done on iPhone

Best for: Stream Recording

Pricing: Free

Effortless Recording Made Easy

Now that you have set up your screen recording app, you can try out every tool it offers. If you are choosing to use a paid app make sure to take advantage of any free trial before you start to pay. You may find that a tool is not quite as good as you thought it would be. 

No matter what, you can easily find the right app and the best content will start flowing out. Just remember that the hardest part of the whole process should be the editing afterward and even that should be pretty easy. Set your goals for recording and stick to them no matter how long they take.

You could be recording the screen on your phone for many reasons. You could be wanting to capture a moment while video chatting, recording a phone tutorial, or even streaming. Whatever the reason may be, you want to have the best quality for that moment and the built-in screen recorder doesn't always cut it. So you want to find the best screen recording app for your endeavors. If you are not quite sure how to choose, we have a list of the best options out there as well as what to look for in each of them.

What to Look for in a Screen Recording App

If you need more out of your screen recording app but are not quite sure what it is you need to look for, we have these factors listed below that go into detail about what options you could seek. 

Privacy

Certain screen recording apps will have looser privacy terms and conditions than others. This could mean they get access to information in your contacts or they get information from other apps you use and so on. Just be careful on what you agree to, and if you’re not sure about the app, you can always delete it when you are finished using it. 

Video

Just like with any other video recording program, you want to know the quality of what you are working with. Not every screen recording app can allow you to record in high quality, much less let you set the quality. Having an app that can register the difference between vertical and horizontal video on a phone is also nice so it is one less thing you have to correct in editing. 

Audio

Find out which audio your screen recording app captures. On a phone, you can be limited in your choices, but there are 3 basic options for screen recording audio, the phone audio, the phone’s mic audio or both combined. If you can set an external mic for the source audio you will have better quality for your voice than with the built-in mic of the phone. 

Controls

Starting and stopping the video should be made easy for you. Some apps only allow you to start and stop recording from the app itself, which must remain open for the duration of the recording. Others offer a floating window that remains on the screen while you are in other apps. This makes it easy to start and stop at any point. Some apps will even take advantage of the motion capture feature of your device to allow you to move your phone a certain way to stop or pause the video. 

The Best Screen Recording Apps

Now that you have details and inside information, you can apply this to your screen recording app selection. Each of these choices is fantastic when it comes to capturing video on your screen. All you have to do is decide which meets your needs and preferences. 

When it comes to both recording and streaming from your phone to Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube, AZ Screen Recorder has you covered. While it is paid, it provides a professional outcome worth the price. If you want to work with your recordings, it has a built-in video editor with simple but helpful tools. 

Pros:

Cons:

Best for: Platform Diversity

Pricing:

If you want to record videos on your phone with a picture of your face in the corner, Vidma can do it. The screen recorder is able to capture whatever you want however you need to. It even offers a built-in video editing program to trim your videos for you. And with its simple stop method of ending the recording by just shaking your phone, you can perfectly capture the moment. 

Pros:

Cons:

Best for: Editing on Android

Pricing: Free (with ads)

No matter what app you want to use it on, Screen Recorder + has you covered for both audio and video. You can record audio through your mic while you play to keep your editing and commentary lined up and easy to edit afterward. If you get the premium version — Screen Recorder Pro — you get access to even higher-quality video as well as removing ads and watermarks. 

Pros:

Cons:

Best for: iPhone users

Pricing:

If you like to stream while playing mobile games or do any sort of Vlogging and you have a Twitch account, you can easily capture everything that’s happening on your screen. While it doesn’t work for capturing video outside of stream time, you can take what you capture and add it to a YouTube channel or any other platform to promote your content.

Pros:

Cons:

Best for: Stream Recording

Pricing: Free

Effortless Recording Made Easy

Now that you have set up your screen recording app, you can try out every tool it offers. If you are choosing to use a paid app make sure to take advantage of any free trial before you start to pay. You may find that a tool is not quite as good as you thought it would be. 

No matter what, you can easily find the right app and the best content will start flowing out. Just remember that the hardest part of the whole process should be the editing afterward and even that should be pretty easy. Set your goals for recording and stick to them no matter how long they take.