4K video resolution refers to ultra-high definition (UHD) video, four times the resolution of 1080p HD video. With 4K videos, every frame contains more details, resulting in sharper images, even on large displays. As a result, there is a great demand for 4K screen recorders to help users make crystal-clear screen recordings.

Unfortunately, not all screen recording programs on the market support 4K video capture. To assist you in finding the right tool, this post introduces and compares ten reliable 4K screen recorders for Windows and macOS. Choose the best tool for your needs and start recording videos in real 4K resolution!

	OS	Editing tools	Screenshot capture	Cloud storage
Awesome Screenshot & Recorder	Windows & macOS	✓	✓	✓
OBS Studio	Windows, macOS & Linux	✓	✓	x
Camtasia	Windows & macOS	✓	✓	x
Bandicam	Windows	x	✓	x
QuickTime Player	macOS	✓	✓	x
Readygo	Windows	x	✓	x
ShadowPlay	Windows	x	✓	x
Action!	Windows	✓	✓	x
ShareX	Windows	✓	✓	x
Icecream Screen recorder	Windows	✓	✓	✓

1. Awesome Screenshot & Recorder

Reason for recommendation: A feature-rich 4k screen recorder with cloud storage

Compatible OS: Windows, macOS

Lifetime free trial: Available

Pricing: Free, $5/month for Basic plan, $6/month for Professional plan

Awesome Screenshot & Recorder is our top recommendation for users who need a cloud 4K screen recorder. Just as its name implies, it is a screen recording and screenshot capture tool that integrates a video editor and cloud storage.

It is a browser extension compatible with Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari, allowing you to make 4K video recordings anytime, anywhere. This 4K screen recording tool allows you to choose from 3 video resolutions: 720P, 1080P, and 4K.

It won’t add any watermark to your UHD recordings. If you want to download one program, just have it.

Awesome Screenshot & Recorder

One extension for all your screen recordings & screenshots

Record screen and capture screenshots easily
Edit videos/images quickly
Store videos/images to the cloud and share instantly

Features

Allows you to record screen up to 4K resolution and take screenshots
Offers options to save your 4K videos locally or to the cloud
Provides built-in video editor and image annotator
Enables you to host and share your screen recording

How to screen record 4K videos with Awesome Screenshot & Recorder

Step 1. Download and install Awesome Screenshot & Recorder to your browser. Launch it, sign in or create a new account.

Step 2. Select “Record” and choose from 4 recording modes: “Desktop”, “Camera Only”, “This Tab” or “Custom(This Tab)” based on your needs. Set the video resolution as 4K and choose whether to open the webcam or microphone sound.

awesome screenshot recorder 4k

Step 3. Once the setting is done, you can click “Start Recording” to proceed with the recording. If you have chosen the “Desktop” mode, you will be asked to select the page or window to record before the recording starts. If you have chosen the “Custom(This Tab)” mode, you will need to drag to select the recording area and then let the recording start.

Step 4. When you want to end the recording, you can click the Awesome Screenshot & Recorder icon, then click the “Stop” button.

stop recording with awesome screenshot and recorder

Step 5. Your 4K video will be saved to the cloud automatically. You can check it in “My Items”. It also allows you to edit it online or generate a shareable link in a snap.

2.OBS Studio

Reason for recommendation: The best free and open-source 4k screen recorder for gamers and live streamers

Compatible OS: Windows, macOS, Linux

Lifetime free trial: Available

Pricing: Free

Next on the list of 4K screen recorders is Open Broadcaster Software, also known as OBS. It is an entirely free and open-source screen recording and live streaming software. Although it won’t cost you a penny, it offers numerous robust features you can expect from any paid screen recording program. That’s why professionals like YouTubers and live streamers love it!

However, all the powerful features are packed into a complicated interface requiring many learning curves. You might find it hard to use if you are a green hand. But if you love to learn, there are many user-generated tutorials for you.

obs studio

Pros

Free, open-source, and cross-platform
Records 4K screen at up to 60 FPS
Captures high-quality videos from multiple sources
Allows you to live stream to various sites directly
Lets you customize it based on your needs

Cons

Requires high learning curves
Lags when capturing screen at a high frame rate

3. Camtasia

Reason for recommendation: The best easy-to-use 4k screen recorder with powerful video editing features

Compatible OS: Windows, macOS

Lifetime free trial: No

Pricing: Starts from $299.99

Camtasia is a professional, all-in-one 4K screen recorder and video editor for individuals and enterprises. Surprisingly, it provides tons of helpful features and organizes them well in a super easy-to-use interface. Although its price tag stops many users, it won’t disappoint you if you have enough budget.

With the ability to record your screen and webcam in 4K resolution, it is ideal for making online lessons, meeting recordings, product demos, video presentations, and many more! Once the recording is done, you can further edit it by adding special effects, transitions, animations, texts, and annotations.

camtasia

Pros

Easy-to-use
Records 4K videos with ease
Comes with a powerful video editor
Enables speech-to-text translation
Allows users to upload videos to YouTube, Vimeo, etc quickly

Cons

Adds a watermark to recordings of the free trial version
Does not provide cloud storage
Way too pricey

4. Bandicam

Reason for recommendation: An easy-to-use screen recorder to capture 4K videos from a screen and any devices

Compatible OS: Windows

Lifetime free trial: Yes

Pricing: Starts from $36.95/year

Bandicam is an easy-to-use, lightweight 4K screen recording software that runs on any Windows system. It enables users to capture 4K videos from the screen of their computers, webcams, or external HDMI devices. Many gamers love to use Bandicam, which also allows them to record or live-stream gameplay.

This program helps users record videos with a high compression ratio without compromising quality. The recorded quality video can be saved in AVI or MP4 file format.

bandicam

Pros

Captures 4K videos from a screen or any video devices
Allows multi-screen recording
Provides schedule recordings
Lets you add animations while recording
Enables users to share the recorded videos directly to YouTube, Facebook, etc

Cons

Requires you to download an additional tool for video editing
Doesn’t support macOS
The free version has a 10-minute recording limit
The free version adds a watermark to your recordings

5. QuickTime Player

Reason for recommendation: An entirely free 4K screen recorder on macOS

Compatible OS: macOS

Lifetime free trial: Available

Pricing: Free

QuickTime Player is the pre-installed media player on macOS with screenshot capturing and screen recording features. It is ideal for users who need to record 4K videos but don’t want to install any extra apps on their Mac computers.

This native 4K recorder allows you to record the entire screen or selected area with microphone audio. To start a new screen recording quickly, you can press Shift + Command + 5 keys on your Mac keyboard.

quicktime player interface Pros

Lets you record screen, audio, and webcam
Free and easy to use
Can be used offline
No downloads needed

Cons

Cannot record internal audio if you don’t install audio rerouting software
Doesn’t support Windows

6. Readygo

Reason for recommendation: An entirely free 4K screen recorder on macOS

Compatible OS: Windows

Lifetime free trial: Available

Pricing: Free, $25, $35

Readygo is a lightweight tool to help you record the screen with audio and take screenshots in 4K on Windows 10/8/7. It allows you to record high-quality video from the full screen, a selected region, or an online game up to 60 fps.

It allows you to set up recording time and then shut down your computer automatically after finishing recording. Although it doesn’t offer as many additional features as other screen recording applications do, it is as easy to use as you can imagine.

readygo Pros

Lightweight and easy-to-use
Allows recording 4K screen at 60fps even for the free trial version

Cons

No video editing features
No real-time drawing tool
Cannot hide automatically when a recording starts

7. ShadowPlay

Reason for recommendation: The best 4K game recorder for a hardcore player

Compatible OS: Windows

Lifetime free trial: Available

Pricing: Free

Developed by NVIDIA GeForce, ShadowPlay is a free 4K gameplay screen recorder integrated with the GeForce Experience app. It requires you to have a GTX 600 to work with ShadowPlay.

It allows you to record 4K videos at 60 fps and 8K at 30 fps. Surprisingly, it offers NVIDIA Highlights, an exclusive feature, to automatically capture kills and highlight moments from gameplay. In addition to game video recording, it can also take screenshots and stream live videos over YouTube and Twitch.

shadowplay Pros

Free, no watermark
Records gameplay up to 8K resolution
Allows you to share recordings directly to social media
Enables you to customize settings for quality, resolution, frame rate, and bitrate

Cons

Available only on Windows PC with high-end NVIDIA processors
Lags due to heavy loads on GPUs

8. Action! Screen Recorder

Reason for recommendation: The best 4K screen recorder for webcam recording

Compatible OS: Windows

Lifetime free trial: Available

Pricing: Free, $29.95 for the full version

Action! Screen Recorder is a powerful screen recording software to capture any screen activities on Windows. It also lets users record videos directly from the webcam. You can record the screen in 4K resolution and save it as multiple file formats. It has a built-in video editor to help you edit whatever you record.

This 4K screen recorder also supports screenshot capture and live streaming.

action screen recorder

Pros

Easy-to-use interface
Records screen, audio, and webcam
Offers in-depth video editing features
Low CPU usage

Cons

Offers limited features for the free trial version
Doesn’t allow you to adjust the bitrate
Doesn’t let you customize the frame rate

9. ShareX

Reason for recommendation: The best 4K screen recording and capture tool

Compatible OS: Windows

Lifetime free trial: Available

Pricing: Free

ShareX is a free and open-source 4K screen recorder and screenshot maker for Windows. You can record 4K videos from your screen or the webcam. It lets users upload text, images, and other files to the recorded video.

In addition to screen recording, it allows users to take screenshots of the entire screen, any selected area, or a scrolling page. It offers an automatic capture feature that helps in taking screenshots at regular intervals. Therefore, it is an excellent choice for capturing time-lapse activities.

sharex capture option

Pros

Records 4K videos from the entire screen, any selected area or a specific region
Allows you to capture videos as GIF
Enables you to share recordings and screenshots over cloud services and social platforms

Cons

No game recording mode
Outdated interface

10. Icecream Screen Recorder

Reason for recommendation: An simple 4K screen recorder for desktop and mobile

Compatible OS: Windows, macOS and Android

Lifetime free trial: Available

Pricing: Free, starts from $29.95 per year

Icecream Screen Recorder is an easy-to-use screen recording software that allows you to record any area of the screen up to 4K resolution. It provides annotation tools to add arrows, text, shapes, and watermarks to the recordings. It also features basic video editing tools that can help you cut off unwanted parts of the video.

You can use this 4K screen recording tool to record the screen, take screenshots, capture gameplay, and record audio. It provides a scheduled recording feature that lets the recording start/stop as you set it.

icecream screen recorder

Pros

Provides a variety of recording options
Allows you to annotate the recordings
Offers schedule recording feature

Cons

Requires you to upgrade to the paid version to use the advanced features
Provides only basic video editing tools

Conclusion

Are you ready to pick one from the ten best 4K screen recorders we listed? If you still cannot decide, try Awesome Screenshot & Recorder, as it is the only UHD screen recorder that offers cloud storage, among other applications in the list.

Top 10 Best 4K Screen Recorder for PC/Mac

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