Best Screen Recorder for Mac with Audio (2026)

Recording your Mac screen is straightforward. Recording it with audio is not. macOS does not expose system audio to screen recording APIs. When you hit record in QuickTime or the Screenshot toolbar, you get silence — no YouTube video, no Zoom call, no notification sounds. The visual capture works perfectly; the audio pipeline does not exist.

This is a deliberate design decision by Apple. Core Audio isolates application output from input capture to prevent apps from eavesdropping on each other. The consequence is that every screen recorder on macOS has to solve the audio problem on its own — either by bundling a virtual audio driver, shipping a kernel extension, using Apple's newer ScreenCaptureKit API (macOS 13+), or asking you to install a third-party audio routing tool.

The six tools below represent every major approach to this problem. Some handle it invisibly. Others require 20 minutes of setup before you hear a single sound in your recording.

Quick Comparison

Why Mac Audio Recording Is Tricky

On Windows, WASAPI loopback capture lets any application grab whatever audio is playing through the speakers. On macOS, no equivalent exists at the user level.

Before macOS 13 Ventura, the only solutions were virtual audio drivers — kernel extensions that create a fake audio device, then route system output through it so a recording app can capture it as "input." BlackHole and Soundflower are the most well-known examples. They work, but they require System Extension approval, occasionally break after macOS updates, and confuse users who don't understand audio routing.

macOS 13 introduced ScreenCaptureKit, which finally provides an API for capturing both screen and audio in a single pipeline — no kernel extension needed. Applications built on ScreenCaptureKit can record system audio directly. But the app has to be built (or rebuilt) to use it. Older tools still rely on virtual drivers.

This is the reason the same question — "how do I record screen with audio on Mac" — has completely different answers depending on which tool you pick.

Screenify Studio

Screenify Studio uses ScreenCaptureKit on macOS 13+ to capture system audio natively. No virtual audio driver. No BlackHole. No Multi-Output Device configuration. You click record, and system audio appears in the recording.

How audio capture works: When you start a recording, Screenify requests both screen and audio streams through ScreenCaptureKit. System audio and microphone audio are captured as separate tracks, which means you can adjust their volumes independently during editing or mute one entirely without affecting the other.

Strengths:

• Zero audio setup — system audio works out of the box on macOS 13+
• Separate audio tracks for system sound and microphone
• Built-in editor lets you adjust audio levels, trim silence, or mute sections after recording
• AI-generated captions sync to the audio track automatically
• Metal-accelerated export keeps audio and video in sync even on long recordings

Limitations:

• macOS only — no Windows or Linux version
• Requires macOS 13 Ventura or later for system audio (older macOS versions get microphone only)
• No ASIO or multi-device audio routing for pro audio setups

Best audio scenario: Recording a product demo where you need to capture both the app's sound effects and your voiceover narration, then edit the balance before sharing.

OBS Studio + BlackHole

OBS is the free, open source workhorse. It handles system audio on Mac through a virtual audio driver — typically BlackHole, a free open source driver that creates a loopback device.

Setup process:

1. Download and install BlackHole (2ch or 16ch) from existential.audio
2. Open Audio MIDI Setup (built into macOS, found in /Applications/Utilities/)
3. Create a Multi-Output Device that combines your speakers/headphones and BlackHole
4. Set this Multi-Output Device as your system output
5. In OBS, add an Audio Input Capture source pointed at BlackHole
6. Now OBS captures whatever plays through your system

Strengths:

• Completely free — OBS and BlackHole both cost nothing
• Works on macOS 11 and earlier where ScreenCaptureKit doesn't exist
• Full control over audio mixing — separate sources for desktop audio, mic, browser, game
• Can monitor audio in real-time through OBS's audio meters
• Plugin ecosystem adds noise suppression (RNNoise), compressor, VST support

Limitations:

• The Multi-Output Device setup confuses first-time users — the steps involve system-level audio routing that most people have never touched
• If you forget to switch your output device back after recording, all your audio goes through BlackHole silently
• macOS updates occasionally break BlackHole and require reinstalling it
• No built-in editor — audio levels are baked into the exported file
• OBS's audio mixer is powerful but assumes familiarity with gain staging and filters

Best audio scenario: Recording a coding livestream where you need to capture terminal sounds, background music from Spotify, your mic, and Discord all on separate mixer channels.

macOS Screenshot Toolbar + BlackHole

The built-in Screenshot toolbar (Command + Shift + 5) can record your screen without installing any third-party recording app. But it cannot capture system audio on its own. Pairing it with BlackHole gives you a completely free, no-app-download solution — at the cost of extra setup.

Setup process:

1. Install BlackHole
2. In Audio MIDI Setup, create a Multi-Output Device (speakers + BlackHole)
3. Set the Multi-Output Device as your system output
4. Open Screenshot toolbar (Cmd + Shift + 5)
5. Click Options and select BlackHole as the microphone input
6. Record — BlackHole routes system audio into the mic input channel

Strengths:

• No third-party recording app needed — Screenshot toolbar is built into macOS
• Free with BlackHole (also free)
• Recordings save as MOV files that work in iMovie, Final Cut, or any editor
• Minimal CPU overhead since it uses Apple's native recording engine

Limitations:

• System audio comes through the microphone channel, so it's mixed with your mic input — you cannot separate them after recording
• Audio quality depends on how BlackHole and the Multi-Output Device are configured — sample rate mismatches cause crackling
• No visual recording indicator besides a small menu bar icon
• No editing, no trimming, no annotations — just a raw MOV file
• If you use headphones, you won't hear system audio while recording unless the Multi-Output Device includes both your headphones and BlackHole

Best audio scenario: A quick one-off capture where you need to show someone what's happening on your screen and the audio matters, but you don't need to edit the result.

Screen Studio

Screen Studio is a Mac-native commercial recorder built specifically for polished product demos and social media videos. It captures system audio through its own ScreenCaptureKit integration, similar to Screenify Studio.

Strengths:

• System audio capture works natively without drivers or configuration
• Automatic zoom effects that follow your cursor — designed for product walkthroughs
• Exports directly to social media aspect ratios (vertical, square, widescreen)
• Beautiful default aesthetics — wallpapers, rounded corners, shadows around the recording window
• Audio waveform visualization in the timeline editor

Limitations:

• $229 one-time purchase — significantly more expensive than most alternatives
• No free tier or trial with export capability (watermarked trial only)
• Focused on short, polished clips — less suited for hour-long tutorials or lectures
• No live streaming capability
• Limited audio editing — you can trim, but advanced per-track mixing isn't available
• macOS only, Apple Silicon optimized

Best audio scenario: Recording a 90-second product walkthrough for a landing page where the click sounds and UI audio feedback need to sound crisp alongside a voiceover.

Kap

Kap is a free, open source screen recorder for macOS. It's lightweight, minimal, and designed to produce GIFs and short video clips fast. However, it cannot capture system audio at all.

Strengths:

• Free and open source
• Extremely lightweight — minimal CPU and memory footprint
• Fast GIF export with quality controls
• Plugin system for custom export formats (WebM, APNG, etc.)
• Clean, distraction-free interface — record, stop, export

Limitations:

• No system audio capture — only microphone input
• No ScreenCaptureKit integration for audio (as of 2026)
• No built-in editor beyond basic trim
• No cursor effects, zoom, or annotations
• GIF-focused — video output quality is acceptable but not optimized for high-fidelity recordings
• Development pace has slowed — fewer updates in recent months

Best audio scenario: None involving system audio. Kap works when audio doesn't matter — quick GIFs for Slack, GitHub issue reproductions, or visual-only bug demonstrations.

SoundSource + Any Recorder

SoundSource by Rogue Amoeba is a standalone audio routing utility for macOS. It doesn't record anything itself — instead, it gives you per-app volume controls and the ability to route any app's audio to any output, including virtual devices. Pair it with any screen recorder (even Screenshot toolbar) and you get system audio capture.

How it works: SoundSource installs its own audio routing layer (ACE, Audio Capture Engine). Once active, you can route the audio from any specific app — say, Chrome or Figma — to a virtual device, then tell your recorder to capture from that device. You can also route all system audio at once.

Strengths:

• Per-app audio control — route only the app you want, not everything playing on the system
• Works with any recorder, not just specific ones
• Includes built-in EQ, compressor, and effects per app
• Handles complex routing scenarios that no screen recorder can match on its own (e.g., capturing Zoom audio but not Slack notification sounds)
• Rogue Amoeba is a well-established macOS audio company — their drivers are stable across OS updates

Limitations:

• $49 license cost, and you still need a separate screen recorder
• Requires installing Rogue Amoeba's ACE driver (system extension approval)
• Overkill for simple "record screen with audio" use cases — it's a pro audio routing tool
• Doesn't solve the recording side at all — you need another app for video capture
• Interface assumes familiarity with audio routing concepts

Best audio scenario: You're recording a podcast interview over Zoom and want to capture only Zoom's audio (not your system notifications or Spotify) alongside your screen, while monitoring through headphones at a different volume.

Best For Each Use Case

"I want it to just work"

Screenify Studio or Screen Studio. Both capture system audio natively through ScreenCaptureKit. No drivers, no Audio MIDI Setup, no confusion. Screenify has a free tier; Screen Studio costs $229.

"I need free and don't mind setup"

OBS + BlackHole. Takes 15-20 minutes to configure the first time, but once set up, it's a powerful, zero-cost solution that handles any audio scenario.

"I need per-app audio routing"

SoundSource + your preferred recorder. SoundSource gives you surgical control over which apps' audio gets captured. Nothing else matches this level of granularity on macOS.

"I don't need system audio"

Kap for GIFs and quick clips. Screenshot toolbar for basic screen recordings with mic narration. Both are free and require zero configuration.

"I record tutorials and need to edit afterward"

Screenify Studio. Separate audio tracks mean you can fix voiceover levels without affecting system audio, add AI captions synced to your narration, and export without re-recording.

"I'm on macOS 12 or earlier"

OBS + BlackHole is your only reliable option. ScreenCaptureKit-based tools (Screenify, Screen Studio) require macOS 13+. The virtual driver approach works all the way back to macOS 11 Big Sur.

FAQ

Q: Can QuickTime Player record system audio?

No. QuickTime Player can record your microphone alongside the screen, but it cannot capture system audio without a virtual audio driver like BlackHole. This limitation has existed since QuickTime Player X was introduced in macOS 10.6.

Q: Does BlackHole affect audio quality?

Not in a meaningful way. BlackHole passes audio as a digital loopback — there's no analog conversion or resampling. The main risk is sample rate mismatch: if your Multi-Output Device aggregates devices at different sample rates, you may hear crackling. Keep all devices at 48kHz or 44.1kHz consistently.

Q: Which tool has the lowest latency for audio sync?

Tools using ScreenCaptureKit (Screenify Studio, Screen Studio) keep audio and video in sync at the API level since both streams come from the same pipeline. BlackHole-based setups can introduce 5-20ms of latency depending on buffer size, though this is rarely perceptible in recordings.

Q: Can I record only one app's audio, not everything?

ScreenCaptureKit (macOS 14.2+) supports per-app audio capture. Screenify Studio and Screen Studio can limit audio recording to specific apps. For older macOS versions, SoundSource is the only reliable option for per-app routing.

Q: Do virtual audio drivers survive macOS updates?

Usually, but not always. Major macOS releases (like the jump from Monterey to Ventura) have historically broken kernel extensions. BlackHole is actively maintained and typically releases a compatible version within days. Soundflower, by contrast, is no longer maintained and breaks frequently.

Q: Is ScreenCaptureKit available on macOS 12?

No. ScreenCaptureKit was introduced in macOS 13 Ventura. If you're on macOS 12 Monterey or earlier, virtual audio drivers (BlackHole, SoundSource's ACE) are the only path to system audio capture.

Q: Can I record system audio and my microphone as separate tracks?

Screenify Studio records them as separate tracks by default. OBS can do this if you configure separate audio sources in the mixer and output to a multi-track container (MKV). Screen Studio and the Screenshot toolbar mix them into a single track.

Related Reading

• How to Screen Record on Mac with Audio — step-by-step guide covering multiple methods
• How to Record Internal Audio on Mac — focused specifically on system audio capture techniques
• Screenify Studio vs OBS: Which Should You Use? — deeper comparison of these two tools
• How to Screen Record on Mac — general screen recording guide for Mac users