Smooth RecorderGet itGet Lifetime Access$9
Lifetime deal$9 once during early access

Record Beautiful Demos Without Editing

Smooth Recorder is a Mac app that automatically adds intelligent zooms and fluid animations, so every recording looks polished from the start.

Get Lifetime Access$9Watch the demo

Native Mac app · macOS 15 or later · Pay once, no subscriptionCompare with Screen Studio

How it works

From click to clip in three steps.

No editing needed. Record what you'd show a colleague and a polished video is waiting when you stop.

  1. ‹Camera ▾Mic ▾Record ↩
    1

    Record

    Open the capture overlay, pick an area and hit Record. Choose a camera and mic once, and they come along with system audio from then on.

  2. 2 zooms · cursor smoothed

    Make Captions
    2

    Studio edits it

    Zooms and a smooth cursor are already in place when you stop. Captions are one click, made on your Mac.

  3. MP41080p · 60 fps✓
    GIF15 fps · Saved✓
    3

    Export

    MP4 or MOV at up to 60 fps, or a looping GIF. Or copy the finished video from the Library (⌘C) and paste it into Slack or a PR.

Recording

The edit is ready when you stop.

Stop recording and Studio opens with the zooms and cursor already done. Add captions in one click, adjust anything, or just export.

What you didWhat they see

Camera

Place

Transcript editing

Cut the video by editing the words.

Your voice is transcribed on your Mac. Delete a sentence and it's gone from the video. Ums and uhs come out in one click, and long pauses in another.

Northwind
Overview
Projects
Customers
Reports
Settings
OverviewSearch
Revenue this month
$48,210
+12.4% from last month
Invite team
Export CSV
Acme onboardingLive$12,400
Globex rolloutReview$8,950
Initech pilotDraft$3,120
here's where you invite your team

Captions are made on your Mac. Turn on Light up each word and each word lights up as it's spoken.

Captions

Light up each word

Edit

LinesCut by Text

So this is the new um onboarding flow we shipped last week. Wait, let me start that part again. Up top you can see revenue, and uh here's where you invite your team. Every project, er, shows its status right in the table.

Capture

More than a screen recorder.

One shortcut opens the capture overlay. Pick the area, then choose what to make from it.

Northwind
Overview
Projects
Customers
Reports
Settings
OverviewSearch
Revenue this month
$48,210
+12.4% from last month
Invite team
Export CSV
Acme onboardingLive$12,400
Globex rolloutReview$8,950
Initech pilotDraft$3,120
Screenshots

Screenshots worth posting.

Screenshots can have the same wallpapers, padding, corners and shadow as your recordings. Drag the handle to compare.

Northwind
Overview
Projects
Customers
Reports
Settings
OverviewSearch
Revenue this month
$48,210
+12.4% from last month
Invite team
Export CSV
Acme onboardingLive$12,400
Globex rolloutReview$8,950
Initech pilotDraft$3,120
Northwind
Overview
Projects
Customers
Reports
Settings
OverviewSearch
Revenue this month
$48,210
+12.4% from last month
Invite team
Export CSV
Acme onboardingLive$12,400
Globex rolloutReview$8,950
Initech pilotDraft$3,120
BeforeAfter

Your look carries over

Set a background, padding, corners and shadow once. Every screenshot you open in the editor starts with the same look.

Smart Redact

Finds emails and other private details and blurs them in one click.

One key per tool

Arrow, text, blur, crop, numbered steps and more, each on a single key.

Edits stay editable

Reopen a screenshot next week and move the arrow or remove the blur.

Native

Made for the Mac, not the browser.

Smooth Recorder is a native macOS app. It isn't a Chrome extension or a website in a window.

Built in SwiftUI and AppKit

A real Mac app on Apple frameworks. No browser, no wrapper.

Lives in the Dock

Click to open your Library. Right-click for Capture, Recent and Settings.

Recording in the notch

The timer, Pause and Stop sit in your MacBook's notch.

Private by default

Captions, text recognition and redaction run on your Mac. Your screenshots and recordings stay on your Mac.

Shortcuts and Siri

Take a screenshot, grab text, or start and stop a full-screen recording from Shortcuts or Siri.

Fast to open

Press ⌥1 and the capture overlay comes up on every screen at once.

Compare

How it stacks up.

Smooth Recorder next to the screen recorders people usually weigh it against. Everything polished, in one native Mac app.

Smooth Recorder compared with Screen Studio, CleanShot X, Cap, Screen Charm, FocuSee, Tella, Camtasia, Loom
FeatureSmooth RecorderScreen StudioCleanShot XCapScreen CharmFocuSeeTellaCamtasiaLoom
Auto-zoom on your clicks
Smooth cursor
Captions made on your MacCloud onlyBetaUnclearCloudCloud
Cut by editing the transcriptWeb onlyFillers onlyVia Audiate$24/mo plan
Screenshots with an editorVia Snagit
Scrolling captureVia Snagit
Copy text from the screenVia Snagit
GIF exportShort clips
Native Mac appElectronTauriElectronCross-platformWeb editorElectron
Pay once, no subscriptionUpdates yearlyLifetime planLifetime tierOld version
Yes Partly NoCompetitors: from each product's own website, September 2026. Smooth Recorder: from the app itself. Names are trademarks of their owners; we're not affiliated.
Pricing

One price. Yours to keep.

No subscription, no account. Pay $9 once during early access and keep the app. Your recordings stay on your Mac.

Smooth Recorder

For macOS 15 Sequoia and later

$9one time
$19 at launch
Early-access price, rises at launchGet Lifetime Access$9

One payment. Yours for good, with every early-access update.

Everything included

  • Recording with auto-zoom, smooth cursor and captions
  • Transcript editing and filler-word removal
  • Screenshots, GIFs, scrolling capture and text
  • Screenshot editor with Smart Redact
  • MP4 and MOV export at up to 60 fps, plus GIF
  • Every update during early access
FAQ

Questions, answered.

Straight answers about the app, your recordings and the price.

Is this a Mac app or a Chrome extension?

A native macOS app built in SwiftUI and AppKit. There's no browser extension, and nothing runs in a browser.

How is it different from Screen Studio?

Both make polished recordings with automatic zoom and a smooth cursor. Smooth Recorder is a one-time purchase instead of a subscription, and it also takes screenshots, scrolling captures and text from the screen.

Which Macs does it run on?

macOS 15 Sequoia and later. On macOS 26 it uses the newer system features when they're available.

Do my recordings leave my Mac?

No. Captions, text recognition and redaction all run on your Mac.

What can I export?

MP4 for anywhere and MOV for Keynote and Final Cut, at 30 or 60 fps. GIF for docs, chat and READMEs, at up to 24 fps.

What does early access mean?

You pay $9 once instead of $19, and you get the app while it's still being shaped by early users' feedback.

From the blog

Guides and honest comparisons

How to record, capture and share better on a Mac, and how the popular tools really compare.

Read the blog

Lifetime deal · $9 once

One key for every kind of capture.

Press ⌥1, pick an area, press Return, and it's on your clipboard. Open it in the editor to give it your look. Screenshots, recordings, GIFs and more.

Get Lifetime Access$9See pricing