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"2024 Approved Streamline Your Vids with These 15 Royalty-Free Tracks Sites"
Streamline Your Vids with These 15 Royalty-Free Tracks Sites
15 Best Sites to Find & Download Royalty-Free Music for YouTube
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Choosing great royalty-free music for your YouTube videos will help put your audience in the right frame of mind, cover up flaws in your background audio, and help viewers feel more engaged with your content.
YouTube provides a free audio library, but since a lot of creators use it everyone’s videos can start to sound the same. Here are 15 alternative places where you can get royalty-free music for free! It’ll say at the beginning of every section whether they require attribution or allow commercial use.
Best Sites for Royalty-Free Music for YouTube Creators [Free Download]
If you are using Wondershare Filmora video editor , you will find there are some royalty-free music tracks and sound effects already pre-programmed in the Audio library. You will find different styles of music tacks, varying from Young & Bright to Electronic. Download Filmora, and you will get the royalty-free audio library and powerful video editing tools.
1. Audionautix
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. You must credit the site with ‘music by audionautix.com’ if you want to use this music (if you have a website, they ask that you include a link back to them).
Paid Options? No. All of the music on this site is free.
One of the first things you’ll see when you arrive on Audiionautix is a ‘YouTube Friendly’ button. They know that most people browsing their music library are looking for songs for YouTube videos, and that want you to know their music is safe from copyright claims.
All of the music in the Audionautix collection was created by one man, Jason Shaw, but there’s still a huge variety of tracks.
On the front page of Audionautix, there are three selections you can make to start your music search – genre, mood, and tempo. Genres range from hard rock to bluegrass to techno (there are 28 genres in total), and the moods include things like ‘uplifting’, ‘evil’, and ‘bouncy’ (there are 37 of those). The tempos are fast, medium, and slow. So, if you want a medium-tempo acoustic song with a calming mood, you can easily find all of the songs that meet those qualifications.
Not every combination will deliver results, so it can be easier to just choose two of the three search parameters.
2. Bensound
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. You must include one of the following in your video description: “Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music” or “Music: Song title - Bensound.com”
Paid Options? Yes. If you don’t want to credit Bensound (or can’t for some reason) then you need to purchase a license. Licensing starts at about $28 USD (price listed as €24) per track.
The most popular music from Bensound is displayed on the first page. Beyond the titles of the tracks, each has a short description that will give you a good idea of what to expect from the song before you listen. You’ll need to listen to a song to know if you want it, but the descriptions are a fast way to figure out if you don’t want something. For example, ‘A New Beginning’ could be anything based on that title, but the description lets you know it’s ‘punk rock’ with an ‘epic/achievement’ feeling.
You can narrow down the music you are shown by choosing a genre from the menu near the top of your page (there are 8 genres including cinematic, electronica, and corporate/pop). There’s also a search bar, and you can choose whether to display popular or new songs first.
All of the music on Bensound was created by Benjamin TISSOT, a composer based in France. He has been creating music for over 10 years.
3. dig.ccMixter
Commercial Use? Depends. Some songs are available for commercial use, some are not. It is easy to search only for songs which are.
Attribution Required? Yes. You must credit the musicians.
Paid Options? Yes. You can purchase licenses to get around commercial use or attribution restrictions. Personal licenses are $22 USD.
Musicians upload their work to ccMixter and make it available to creators like you at dig.ccMixter. Over 45,000 musicians have participated and this has resulted in a huge variety of music for you to discover.
Clicking ‘tag search’ at the top of the page is probably the best way to start your search. The ‘tags’ are displayed in three categories – genre, instrument, and style. You can click as many tags as you want from each category (i.e. you can check off ‘classical’ for the genre and then both bass and cello for instruments).
By default, your search will return results that have even just one of the tags you selected, but you can click ‘match all’ to see results that include all of your selected tags.
To the right of the screen, there’s a button called ‘filters’ and if you click it it’ll let you narrow your results by license (you can choose to only browse music that is free for commercial use). You can also specify if you only want instrumental songs.
If you do not use the ‘free for commercial use’ filter then you will need to click on songs to see whether their creative commons licenses allow commercial use.
If you’re an indie game developer, they have a Music for Video Games section for you too.
4. Free Music Archive
Commercial Use? Depends on the song.
Attribution Required? Depends on the song.
Paid Options? No. Everything is free.
There is a huge selection on Free Music Archive (they include songs curated by other sites, including other sites on this list), but using this site can be a bit trickier than using other sites because there are so many different licenses at play. There are even several licenses that do not allow songs to be used in YouTube videos (any Creative Commons license with ‘ND / No Derivatives’ will not allow for use in a video). You should read this page before downloading anything from the Free Music Archive to use on YouTube.
To start browsing Free Music Archive for music you can use for your videos, go to ‘Curators’ in the top menu, and select ‘Music for Video’. There’s no point in browsing music you might not be allowed to use for YouTube, and so the site has made it easy to find the music you can.
By default this screen will not include music you can use commercially, so you need to check ‘allows for commercial use’ in the side menu if that’s important to you. You can also select a genre and specify if you only want instrumental songs.
5. Free Stock Music
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? No.
Paid Options? No. Everything is free.
Simply choose a genre from the ‘Free Music’ drop-down menu to start browsing Free Stock Music’s collection. There are 10 genres including Pop, Hip Hop, and Corporate.
There are not a lot of ways to customize your search results on this site. You just can search for a keyword, like ‘happy’, but you can’t narrow your results down by things like instrument or mood like you can on some other sites. You just have to scroll through either your search results or the chosen genre until you find something.
To make it a bit easier, Free Stock Music has included detailed descriptions of each song you can read while your browsing and these descriptions do tend to include details about instruments and the moods of the songs.
You need to create a free account on Free Stock Music to access their songs.
6. Incompetech
Commercial Use? YouTube monetization allowed. Other kinds of commercial use may be restricted.
Attribution Required? Yes. You can put the attribution in your video description.
Paid Options? Yes. If you cannot (or do not want to) credit Incompetech then you can purchase a license instead. Licensing 1 piece of music costs $30.
Incompetech allows you to browse one of three ways. The ‘Full Search’ will be best for most people, but if you want to see every song in alphabetical order you can click on ‘Full List’, or you can browse collections like ‘Comedic’ in ‘View Collections’ (but not every piece of music on the site can be found in a collection).
If you go into ‘Full Search’ you’ll see a list of all the music and be able to filter it by feel, tempo, genre, and length. For example, you could set ‘Feels’ to ‘Grooving’ or ‘Length’ to ‘3:00-3:29’.
You can also use the search bar to look for an instrument or song title.
Clicking Expand All will reveal descriptions of all the songs and a ‘listen now’ button, but it will stretch the page a lot. You can see more details about individual songs, and listen to them, by clicking on the title. You won’t be taken to a new page, which is convenient.
You can also download all the music at once (by clicking ‘download all the music on this site at once’).
7. Josh Woodward
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. Attribution goes in your description box and it should look like this: Music - “SONG TITLE HERE” by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/
Paid Options? Yes. If you cannot give Josh credit for some reason you can buy a single-song license for $30.
Josh Woodward is a singer-songwriter who has chosen to allow the free use of all his music (although he does appreciate donations).
You’ll immediately see a list of music on Josh’s site (not everything, there are over 200 songs on this site), and you can change what is displayed by using the filters on the right of the page. The filters available are Playlist, Genre, Album, Tags, Tempo, and Length.
The playlists are songs that have been bundled together around a theme like ‘fun and fast’ or ‘popular in videos’.
There are nine genres to choose from including ‘dark acoustic’ and ‘Americana’.
The albums are albums that Josh has released.
You can also search the song titles and lyrics by typing keywords into the search bar.
At the top of the page, there’s a player you can use to preview the songs, and you can choose whether to browse vocal songs or songs with lyrics (the results below may not appear to change, but if you use the player you’ll hear the instrumental version instead of the version with vocals).
8. Looperman
Commercial Use? Allowed for loops, but they make no guarantees.
Attribution Required? Unclear. The site doesn’t address attribution so it may be up to whoever has uploaded the loop you want to use.
Paid Options? No.
Looperman is a community for musicians. The goal is to provide instrumental loops and acapella vocals to other musicians for their own projects. In theory, all of the music loops and sounds are completely free to use in your projects, but since it’s a community they cannot guarantee that a user hasn’t uploaded something they don’t own (they aren’t allowed to, so in theory you should be safe, but the site doesn’t make any guarantees).
If you want to use vocals it seems like you have to talk to the person who owns the vocals about whether you can use them commercially or whether you need to include attribution.
9. Moby Gratis
Commercial Use? Never allowed. You cannot make money from the project you use this music in any way, including YouTube monetization or through a service like Patreon.
Attribution Required? Yes. Put this in your video description: Music: [Track Name] by Moby courtesy of Mobygratis.com
Paid Options? No.
Moby is a Grammy-nominated, VMA-winning, artist whose work you have probably heard on the radio. Even if you aren’t familiar with Moby himself, he has co-written, produced, and remixed music for other major artists like David Bowie, Guns N’ Roses, and Daft Punk.
Moby has chosen to make a catalog of his work available to independent filmmakers for non-commercial projects. Not all of the music provided on the site is available for YouTube, only the music marked Unreleased (if it has been released, then it will be flagged by YouTube’s copyright system). There is a lot of music under the ‘Unreleased’ category, though.
In order to download songs, you will need to make an account, and it takes about 24 hours for your account to be approved.
10. Musopen
Commercial Use? Depends on the song.
Attribution Required? Depends on the song
Paid Options? No.
Musopen provides music that is either in the ‘public domain’, or protected by Creative Commons licenses. If it’s in the public domain that means that nobody owns the copyright and anyone can use it for anything (however, Musopen does warn that they do not review uploads from their users so it is possible that someone could upload something they claim is public domain and be lying or wrong).
Creative Commons licenses all have their own conditions. Some may block commercial use, some may require attribution. The ones you need to watch out for as a video creator are the ones marked ‘No Derivatives’, because you can’t use songs licensed this way in videos.
You can start using Musopen by typing a keyword into the search bar on the main page, or scrolling down to select ‘Browse royalty free music recordings’. Besides music recordings, Musopen provides sheet music. If you have some musical talent and want to record your own music for your videos then this might be useful. If not, you probably want to stick to the recordings.
If you click on the Music Discovery Tool you’ll be able to search the recordings not only by instrument, but by license (so you can make sure you’re only looking at music that is in the public domain, or make sure you’re not looking at anything with that ‘No Derivatives’ condition.
11. TeknoAXE
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes.
Paid Options? No.
All of the music on TeknoAXE is covered under a CC4.0 license, which means you can share and adapt the music for any purpose so long as you provide attribution.
TeknoAXE’s music is divided into four categories: electronic dance music, rock and metal music, orchestra and soundtrack, and miscellaneous. There are several sub-categories under every category.
Once you’ve clicked into subcategory you’ll see thumbnails for every song in the category. Click on one to be taken to the song’s page, where you can listen to it before you decide if you want to download.
There are tons of places where you can find great royalty-free music you can use on YouTube, so start hunting! Finding the perfect song for that cool montage you’ve got planned, your intro sequence, or the background of your vlog will take your content to a new level of quality.
12. PacDV
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. Music by <www.pacdv.com/sounds/>
Paid Options? No.
PacDV is primarily a sound effects site, but they have a music section as well (just click Music in the menu to the left under Sound Effects. ‘Free Music’ under resources is a completely different site). There is no way to filter down the music, and there is no search function.
There is a column in the list of music for ‘moods/emotions’, so you can get an idea of which songs you might want to listen to before you click to their pages.
13. Partners In Rhyme
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. Credit them in your video description.
Paid Options? Yes. You can’t buy a license for free songs to get around attribution, but they do offer paid music. At $100 or more per song, their paid music is outside the budget of most YouTubers.
Partners In Rhyme is mostly a paid site, and they’re at the pricier end of the spectrum for paid sites. The reason they’re included on this list is that they have kindly curated a selection of free music for use on YouTube or in projects like podcasts (the link above will take you to the free page, not the site in general).
There isn’t a search function for the free music, or a way to narrow down what’s displayed, but you can click the play button next to any title to hear what the song sounds like. To download, just right click and choose ‘save file’ or ‘save target as’.
14. Purple Planet Music
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. Put ‘Music: http://www.purple-planet.com’ in your video description.
Paid Options? Yes. If you want to use the music for anything besides YouTube, or if you don’t want to give them credit, then you can buy a license for $5.
Purple Planet Music is a team of three people, two of whom compose, perform, record, and produce all of the music you’ll find on this site (the third is the studio manager).
From the home page of Purple Planet choose one of the categories listed under ‘Royalty Free Music’. The categories are more related to moods than genres and include things like ‘cute’, ‘sneaky’, and ‘reflective’. Because they know you may want to use this music in film projects, you can even find categories like ‘dark backgrounds’.
Once you click into a category everything is listed, you can’t narrow your results. There’s not an overwhelming number of songs in each category, though, so it’s easy to choose something just by reading descriptions and listening to what’s there.
15. Sounds Crate
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? No.
Paid Options? Yes. You can upgrade to a Pro account for $49 per year to access more content.
Sounds Crate has music and sound effects. After you click into music, you’ll see thumbnails for sections related to a number of themes such as action music, corporate music, and hip hop. You’ll be able to preview and download all the songs in the category once you’re on the category page.
You are only allowed 5 downloads per day while you’re using Sounds Crate for free. They also request a $10 annual donation from free users, but it’s optional.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Choosing great royalty-free music for your YouTube videos will help put your audience in the right frame of mind, cover up flaws in your background audio, and help viewers feel more engaged with your content.
YouTube provides a free audio library, but since a lot of creators use it everyone’s videos can start to sound the same. Here are 15 alternative places where you can get royalty-free music for free! It’ll say at the beginning of every section whether they require attribution or allow commercial use.
Best Sites for Royalty-Free Music for YouTube Creators [Free Download]
If you are using Wondershare Filmora video editor , you will find there are some royalty-free music tracks and sound effects already pre-programmed in the Audio library. You will find different styles of music tacks, varying from Young & Bright to Electronic. Download Filmora, and you will get the royalty-free audio library and powerful video editing tools.
1. Audionautix
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. You must credit the site with ‘music by audionautix.com’ if you want to use this music (if you have a website, they ask that you include a link back to them).
Paid Options? No. All of the music on this site is free.
One of the first things you’ll see when you arrive on Audiionautix is a ‘YouTube Friendly’ button. They know that most people browsing their music library are looking for songs for YouTube videos, and that want you to know their music is safe from copyright claims.
All of the music in the Audionautix collection was created by one man, Jason Shaw, but there’s still a huge variety of tracks.
On the front page of Audionautix, there are three selections you can make to start your music search – genre, mood, and tempo. Genres range from hard rock to bluegrass to techno (there are 28 genres in total), and the moods include things like ‘uplifting’, ‘evil’, and ‘bouncy’ (there are 37 of those). The tempos are fast, medium, and slow. So, if you want a medium-tempo acoustic song with a calming mood, you can easily find all of the songs that meet those qualifications.
Not every combination will deliver results, so it can be easier to just choose two of the three search parameters.
2. Bensound
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. You must include one of the following in your video description: “Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music” or “Music: Song title - Bensound.com”
Paid Options? Yes. If you don’t want to credit Bensound (or can’t for some reason) then you need to purchase a license. Licensing starts at about $28 USD (price listed as €24) per track.
The most popular music from Bensound is displayed on the first page. Beyond the titles of the tracks, each has a short description that will give you a good idea of what to expect from the song before you listen. You’ll need to listen to a song to know if you want it, but the descriptions are a fast way to figure out if you don’t want something. For example, ‘A New Beginning’ could be anything based on that title, but the description lets you know it’s ‘punk rock’ with an ‘epic/achievement’ feeling.
You can narrow down the music you are shown by choosing a genre from the menu near the top of your page (there are 8 genres including cinematic, electronica, and corporate/pop). There’s also a search bar, and you can choose whether to display popular or new songs first.
All of the music on Bensound was created by Benjamin TISSOT, a composer based in France. He has been creating music for over 10 years.
3. dig.ccMixter
Commercial Use? Depends. Some songs are available for commercial use, some are not. It is easy to search only for songs which are.
Attribution Required? Yes. You must credit the musicians.
Paid Options? Yes. You can purchase licenses to get around commercial use or attribution restrictions. Personal licenses are $22 USD.
Musicians upload their work to ccMixter and make it available to creators like you at dig.ccMixter. Over 45,000 musicians have participated and this has resulted in a huge variety of music for you to discover.
Clicking ‘tag search’ at the top of the page is probably the best way to start your search. The ‘tags’ are displayed in three categories – genre, instrument, and style. You can click as many tags as you want from each category (i.e. you can check off ‘classical’ for the genre and then both bass and cello for instruments).
By default, your search will return results that have even just one of the tags you selected, but you can click ‘match all’ to see results that include all of your selected tags.
To the right of the screen, there’s a button called ‘filters’ and if you click it it’ll let you narrow your results by license (you can choose to only browse music that is free for commercial use). You can also specify if you only want instrumental songs.
If you do not use the ‘free for commercial use’ filter then you will need to click on songs to see whether their creative commons licenses allow commercial use.
If you’re an indie game developer, they have a Music for Video Games section for you too.
4. Free Music Archive
Commercial Use? Depends on the song.
Attribution Required? Depends on the song.
Paid Options? No. Everything is free.
There is a huge selection on Free Music Archive (they include songs curated by other sites, including other sites on this list), but using this site can be a bit trickier than using other sites because there are so many different licenses at play. There are even several licenses that do not allow songs to be used in YouTube videos (any Creative Commons license with ‘ND / No Derivatives’ will not allow for use in a video). You should read this page before downloading anything from the Free Music Archive to use on YouTube.
To start browsing Free Music Archive for music you can use for your videos, go to ‘Curators’ in the top menu, and select ‘Music for Video’. There’s no point in browsing music you might not be allowed to use for YouTube, and so the site has made it easy to find the music you can.
By default this screen will not include music you can use commercially, so you need to check ‘allows for commercial use’ in the side menu if that’s important to you. You can also select a genre and specify if you only want instrumental songs.
5. Free Stock Music
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? No.
Paid Options? No. Everything is free.
Simply choose a genre from the ‘Free Music’ drop-down menu to start browsing Free Stock Music’s collection. There are 10 genres including Pop, Hip Hop, and Corporate.
There are not a lot of ways to customize your search results on this site. You just can search for a keyword, like ‘happy’, but you can’t narrow your results down by things like instrument or mood like you can on some other sites. You just have to scroll through either your search results or the chosen genre until you find something.
To make it a bit easier, Free Stock Music has included detailed descriptions of each song you can read while your browsing and these descriptions do tend to include details about instruments and the moods of the songs.
You need to create a free account on Free Stock Music to access their songs.
6. Incompetech
Commercial Use? YouTube monetization allowed. Other kinds of commercial use may be restricted.
Attribution Required? Yes. You can put the attribution in your video description.
Paid Options? Yes. If you cannot (or do not want to) credit Incompetech then you can purchase a license instead. Licensing 1 piece of music costs $30.
Incompetech allows you to browse one of three ways. The ‘Full Search’ will be best for most people, but if you want to see every song in alphabetical order you can click on ‘Full List’, or you can browse collections like ‘Comedic’ in ‘View Collections’ (but not every piece of music on the site can be found in a collection).
If you go into ‘Full Search’ you’ll see a list of all the music and be able to filter it by feel, tempo, genre, and length. For example, you could set ‘Feels’ to ‘Grooving’ or ‘Length’ to ‘3:00-3:29’.
You can also use the search bar to look for an instrument or song title.
Clicking Expand All will reveal descriptions of all the songs and a ‘listen now’ button, but it will stretch the page a lot. You can see more details about individual songs, and listen to them, by clicking on the title. You won’t be taken to a new page, which is convenient.
You can also download all the music at once (by clicking ‘download all the music on this site at once’).
7. Josh Woodward
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. Attribution goes in your description box and it should look like this: Music - “SONG TITLE HERE” by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/
Paid Options? Yes. If you cannot give Josh credit for some reason you can buy a single-song license for $30.
Josh Woodward is a singer-songwriter who has chosen to allow the free use of all his music (although he does appreciate donations).
You’ll immediately see a list of music on Josh’s site (not everything, there are over 200 songs on this site), and you can change what is displayed by using the filters on the right of the page. The filters available are Playlist, Genre, Album, Tags, Tempo, and Length.
The playlists are songs that have been bundled together around a theme like ‘fun and fast’ or ‘popular in videos’.
There are nine genres to choose from including ‘dark acoustic’ and ‘Americana’.
The albums are albums that Josh has released.
You can also search the song titles and lyrics by typing keywords into the search bar.
At the top of the page, there’s a player you can use to preview the songs, and you can choose whether to browse vocal songs or songs with lyrics (the results below may not appear to change, but if you use the player you’ll hear the instrumental version instead of the version with vocals).
8. Looperman
Commercial Use? Allowed for loops, but they make no guarantees.
Attribution Required? Unclear. The site doesn’t address attribution so it may be up to whoever has uploaded the loop you want to use.
Paid Options? No.
Looperman is a community for musicians. The goal is to provide instrumental loops and acapella vocals to other musicians for their own projects. In theory, all of the music loops and sounds are completely free to use in your projects, but since it’s a community they cannot guarantee that a user hasn’t uploaded something they don’t own (they aren’t allowed to, so in theory you should be safe, but the site doesn’t make any guarantees).
If you want to use vocals it seems like you have to talk to the person who owns the vocals about whether you can use them commercially or whether you need to include attribution.
9. Moby Gratis
Commercial Use? Never allowed. You cannot make money from the project you use this music in any way, including YouTube monetization or through a service like Patreon.
Attribution Required? Yes. Put this in your video description: Music: [Track Name] by Moby courtesy of Mobygratis.com
Paid Options? No.
Moby is a Grammy-nominated, VMA-winning, artist whose work you have probably heard on the radio. Even if you aren’t familiar with Moby himself, he has co-written, produced, and remixed music for other major artists like David Bowie, Guns N’ Roses, and Daft Punk.
Moby has chosen to make a catalog of his work available to independent filmmakers for non-commercial projects. Not all of the music provided on the site is available for YouTube, only the music marked Unreleased (if it has been released, then it will be flagged by YouTube’s copyright system). There is a lot of music under the ‘Unreleased’ category, though.
In order to download songs, you will need to make an account, and it takes about 24 hours for your account to be approved.
10. Musopen
Commercial Use? Depends on the song.
Attribution Required? Depends on the song
Paid Options? No.
Musopen provides music that is either in the ‘public domain’, or protected by Creative Commons licenses. If it’s in the public domain that means that nobody owns the copyright and anyone can use it for anything (however, Musopen does warn that they do not review uploads from their users so it is possible that someone could upload something they claim is public domain and be lying or wrong).
Creative Commons licenses all have their own conditions. Some may block commercial use, some may require attribution. The ones you need to watch out for as a video creator are the ones marked ‘No Derivatives’, because you can’t use songs licensed this way in videos.
You can start using Musopen by typing a keyword into the search bar on the main page, or scrolling down to select ‘Browse royalty free music recordings’. Besides music recordings, Musopen provides sheet music. If you have some musical talent and want to record your own music for your videos then this might be useful. If not, you probably want to stick to the recordings.
If you click on the Music Discovery Tool you’ll be able to search the recordings not only by instrument, but by license (so you can make sure you’re only looking at music that is in the public domain, or make sure you’re not looking at anything with that ‘No Derivatives’ condition.
11. TeknoAXE
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes.
Paid Options? No.
All of the music on TeknoAXE is covered under a CC4.0 license, which means you can share and adapt the music for any purpose so long as you provide attribution.
TeknoAXE’s music is divided into four categories: electronic dance music, rock and metal music, orchestra and soundtrack, and miscellaneous. There are several sub-categories under every category.
Once you’ve clicked into subcategory you’ll see thumbnails for every song in the category. Click on one to be taken to the song’s page, where you can listen to it before you decide if you want to download.
There are tons of places where you can find great royalty-free music you can use on YouTube, so start hunting! Finding the perfect song for that cool montage you’ve got planned, your intro sequence, or the background of your vlog will take your content to a new level of quality.
12. PacDV
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. Music by <www.pacdv.com/sounds/>
Paid Options? No.
PacDV is primarily a sound effects site, but they have a music section as well (just click Music in the menu to the left under Sound Effects. ‘Free Music’ under resources is a completely different site). There is no way to filter down the music, and there is no search function.
There is a column in the list of music for ‘moods/emotions’, so you can get an idea of which songs you might want to listen to before you click to their pages.
13. Partners In Rhyme
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. Credit them in your video description.
Paid Options? Yes. You can’t buy a license for free songs to get around attribution, but they do offer paid music. At $100 or more per song, their paid music is outside the budget of most YouTubers.
Partners In Rhyme is mostly a paid site, and they’re at the pricier end of the spectrum for paid sites. The reason they’re included on this list is that they have kindly curated a selection of free music for use on YouTube or in projects like podcasts (the link above will take you to the free page, not the site in general).
There isn’t a search function for the free music, or a way to narrow down what’s displayed, but you can click the play button next to any title to hear what the song sounds like. To download, just right click and choose ‘save file’ or ‘save target as’.
14. Purple Planet Music
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. Put ‘Music: http://www.purple-planet.com’ in your video description.
Paid Options? Yes. If you want to use the music for anything besides YouTube, or if you don’t want to give them credit, then you can buy a license for $5.
Purple Planet Music is a team of three people, two of whom compose, perform, record, and produce all of the music you’ll find on this site (the third is the studio manager).
From the home page of Purple Planet choose one of the categories listed under ‘Royalty Free Music’. The categories are more related to moods than genres and include things like ‘cute’, ‘sneaky’, and ‘reflective’. Because they know you may want to use this music in film projects, you can even find categories like ‘dark backgrounds’.
Once you click into a category everything is listed, you can’t narrow your results. There’s not an overwhelming number of songs in each category, though, so it’s easy to choose something just by reading descriptions and listening to what’s there.
15. Sounds Crate
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? No.
Paid Options? Yes. You can upgrade to a Pro account for $49 per year to access more content.
Sounds Crate has music and sound effects. After you click into music, you’ll see thumbnails for sections related to a number of themes such as action music, corporate music, and hip hop. You’ll be able to preview and download all the songs in the category once you’re on the category page.
You are only allowed 5 downloads per day while you’re using Sounds Crate for free. They also request a $10 annual donation from free users, but it’s optional.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Choosing great royalty-free music for your YouTube videos will help put your audience in the right frame of mind, cover up flaws in your background audio, and help viewers feel more engaged with your content.
YouTube provides a free audio library, but since a lot of creators use it everyone’s videos can start to sound the same. Here are 15 alternative places where you can get royalty-free music for free! It’ll say at the beginning of every section whether they require attribution or allow commercial use.
Best Sites for Royalty-Free Music for YouTube Creators [Free Download]
If you are using Wondershare Filmora video editor , you will find there are some royalty-free music tracks and sound effects already pre-programmed in the Audio library. You will find different styles of music tacks, varying from Young & Bright to Electronic. Download Filmora, and you will get the royalty-free audio library and powerful video editing tools.
1. Audionautix
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. You must credit the site with ‘music by audionautix.com’ if you want to use this music (if you have a website, they ask that you include a link back to them).
Paid Options? No. All of the music on this site is free.
One of the first things you’ll see when you arrive on Audiionautix is a ‘YouTube Friendly’ button. They know that most people browsing their music library are looking for songs for YouTube videos, and that want you to know their music is safe from copyright claims.
All of the music in the Audionautix collection was created by one man, Jason Shaw, but there’s still a huge variety of tracks.
On the front page of Audionautix, there are three selections you can make to start your music search – genre, mood, and tempo. Genres range from hard rock to bluegrass to techno (there are 28 genres in total), and the moods include things like ‘uplifting’, ‘evil’, and ‘bouncy’ (there are 37 of those). The tempos are fast, medium, and slow. So, if you want a medium-tempo acoustic song with a calming mood, you can easily find all of the songs that meet those qualifications.
Not every combination will deliver results, so it can be easier to just choose two of the three search parameters.
2. Bensound
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. You must include one of the following in your video description: “Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music” or “Music: Song title - Bensound.com”
Paid Options? Yes. If you don’t want to credit Bensound (or can’t for some reason) then you need to purchase a license. Licensing starts at about $28 USD (price listed as €24) per track.
The most popular music from Bensound is displayed on the first page. Beyond the titles of the tracks, each has a short description that will give you a good idea of what to expect from the song before you listen. You’ll need to listen to a song to know if you want it, but the descriptions are a fast way to figure out if you don’t want something. For example, ‘A New Beginning’ could be anything based on that title, but the description lets you know it’s ‘punk rock’ with an ‘epic/achievement’ feeling.
You can narrow down the music you are shown by choosing a genre from the menu near the top of your page (there are 8 genres including cinematic, electronica, and corporate/pop). There’s also a search bar, and you can choose whether to display popular or new songs first.
All of the music on Bensound was created by Benjamin TISSOT, a composer based in France. He has been creating music for over 10 years.
3. dig.ccMixter
Commercial Use? Depends. Some songs are available for commercial use, some are not. It is easy to search only for songs which are.
Attribution Required? Yes. You must credit the musicians.
Paid Options? Yes. You can purchase licenses to get around commercial use or attribution restrictions. Personal licenses are $22 USD.
Musicians upload their work to ccMixter and make it available to creators like you at dig.ccMixter. Over 45,000 musicians have participated and this has resulted in a huge variety of music for you to discover.
Clicking ‘tag search’ at the top of the page is probably the best way to start your search. The ‘tags’ are displayed in three categories – genre, instrument, and style. You can click as many tags as you want from each category (i.e. you can check off ‘classical’ for the genre and then both bass and cello for instruments).
By default, your search will return results that have even just one of the tags you selected, but you can click ‘match all’ to see results that include all of your selected tags.
To the right of the screen, there’s a button called ‘filters’ and if you click it it’ll let you narrow your results by license (you can choose to only browse music that is free for commercial use). You can also specify if you only want instrumental songs.
If you do not use the ‘free for commercial use’ filter then you will need to click on songs to see whether their creative commons licenses allow commercial use.
If you’re an indie game developer, they have a Music for Video Games section for you too.
4. Free Music Archive
Commercial Use? Depends on the song.
Attribution Required? Depends on the song.
Paid Options? No. Everything is free.
There is a huge selection on Free Music Archive (they include songs curated by other sites, including other sites on this list), but using this site can be a bit trickier than using other sites because there are so many different licenses at play. There are even several licenses that do not allow songs to be used in YouTube videos (any Creative Commons license with ‘ND / No Derivatives’ will not allow for use in a video). You should read this page before downloading anything from the Free Music Archive to use on YouTube.
To start browsing Free Music Archive for music you can use for your videos, go to ‘Curators’ in the top menu, and select ‘Music for Video’. There’s no point in browsing music you might not be allowed to use for YouTube, and so the site has made it easy to find the music you can.
By default this screen will not include music you can use commercially, so you need to check ‘allows for commercial use’ in the side menu if that’s important to you. You can also select a genre and specify if you only want instrumental songs.
5. Free Stock Music
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? No.
Paid Options? No. Everything is free.
Simply choose a genre from the ‘Free Music’ drop-down menu to start browsing Free Stock Music’s collection. There are 10 genres including Pop, Hip Hop, and Corporate.
There are not a lot of ways to customize your search results on this site. You just can search for a keyword, like ‘happy’, but you can’t narrow your results down by things like instrument or mood like you can on some other sites. You just have to scroll through either your search results or the chosen genre until you find something.
To make it a bit easier, Free Stock Music has included detailed descriptions of each song you can read while your browsing and these descriptions do tend to include details about instruments and the moods of the songs.
You need to create a free account on Free Stock Music to access their songs.
6. Incompetech
Commercial Use? YouTube monetization allowed. Other kinds of commercial use may be restricted.
Attribution Required? Yes. You can put the attribution in your video description.
Paid Options? Yes. If you cannot (or do not want to) credit Incompetech then you can purchase a license instead. Licensing 1 piece of music costs $30.
Incompetech allows you to browse one of three ways. The ‘Full Search’ will be best for most people, but if you want to see every song in alphabetical order you can click on ‘Full List’, or you can browse collections like ‘Comedic’ in ‘View Collections’ (but not every piece of music on the site can be found in a collection).
If you go into ‘Full Search’ you’ll see a list of all the music and be able to filter it by feel, tempo, genre, and length. For example, you could set ‘Feels’ to ‘Grooving’ or ‘Length’ to ‘3:00-3:29’.
You can also use the search bar to look for an instrument or song title.
Clicking Expand All will reveal descriptions of all the songs and a ‘listen now’ button, but it will stretch the page a lot. You can see more details about individual songs, and listen to them, by clicking on the title. You won’t be taken to a new page, which is convenient.
You can also download all the music at once (by clicking ‘download all the music on this site at once’).
7. Josh Woodward
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. Attribution goes in your description box and it should look like this: Music - “SONG TITLE HERE” by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/
Paid Options? Yes. If you cannot give Josh credit for some reason you can buy a single-song license for $30.
Josh Woodward is a singer-songwriter who has chosen to allow the free use of all his music (although he does appreciate donations).
You’ll immediately see a list of music on Josh’s site (not everything, there are over 200 songs on this site), and you can change what is displayed by using the filters on the right of the page. The filters available are Playlist, Genre, Album, Tags, Tempo, and Length.
The playlists are songs that have been bundled together around a theme like ‘fun and fast’ or ‘popular in videos’.
There are nine genres to choose from including ‘dark acoustic’ and ‘Americana’.
The albums are albums that Josh has released.
You can also search the song titles and lyrics by typing keywords into the search bar.
At the top of the page, there’s a player you can use to preview the songs, and you can choose whether to browse vocal songs or songs with lyrics (the results below may not appear to change, but if you use the player you’ll hear the instrumental version instead of the version with vocals).
8. Looperman
Commercial Use? Allowed for loops, but they make no guarantees.
Attribution Required? Unclear. The site doesn’t address attribution so it may be up to whoever has uploaded the loop you want to use.
Paid Options? No.
Looperman is a community for musicians. The goal is to provide instrumental loops and acapella vocals to other musicians for their own projects. In theory, all of the music loops and sounds are completely free to use in your projects, but since it’s a community they cannot guarantee that a user hasn’t uploaded something they don’t own (they aren’t allowed to, so in theory you should be safe, but the site doesn’t make any guarantees).
If you want to use vocals it seems like you have to talk to the person who owns the vocals about whether you can use them commercially or whether you need to include attribution.
9. Moby Gratis
Commercial Use? Never allowed. You cannot make money from the project you use this music in any way, including YouTube monetization or through a service like Patreon.
Attribution Required? Yes. Put this in your video description: Music: [Track Name] by Moby courtesy of Mobygratis.com
Paid Options? No.
Moby is a Grammy-nominated, VMA-winning, artist whose work you have probably heard on the radio. Even if you aren’t familiar with Moby himself, he has co-written, produced, and remixed music for other major artists like David Bowie, Guns N’ Roses, and Daft Punk.
Moby has chosen to make a catalog of his work available to independent filmmakers for non-commercial projects. Not all of the music provided on the site is available for YouTube, only the music marked Unreleased (if it has been released, then it will be flagged by YouTube’s copyright system). There is a lot of music under the ‘Unreleased’ category, though.
In order to download songs, you will need to make an account, and it takes about 24 hours for your account to be approved.
10. Musopen
Commercial Use? Depends on the song.
Attribution Required? Depends on the song
Paid Options? No.
Musopen provides music that is either in the ‘public domain’, or protected by Creative Commons licenses. If it’s in the public domain that means that nobody owns the copyright and anyone can use it for anything (however, Musopen does warn that they do not review uploads from their users so it is possible that someone could upload something they claim is public domain and be lying or wrong).
Creative Commons licenses all have their own conditions. Some may block commercial use, some may require attribution. The ones you need to watch out for as a video creator are the ones marked ‘No Derivatives’, because you can’t use songs licensed this way in videos.
You can start using Musopen by typing a keyword into the search bar on the main page, or scrolling down to select ‘Browse royalty free music recordings’. Besides music recordings, Musopen provides sheet music. If you have some musical talent and want to record your own music for your videos then this might be useful. If not, you probably want to stick to the recordings.
If you click on the Music Discovery Tool you’ll be able to search the recordings not only by instrument, but by license (so you can make sure you’re only looking at music that is in the public domain, or make sure you’re not looking at anything with that ‘No Derivatives’ condition.
11. TeknoAXE
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes.
Paid Options? No.
All of the music on TeknoAXE is covered under a CC4.0 license, which means you can share and adapt the music for any purpose so long as you provide attribution.
TeknoAXE’s music is divided into four categories: electronic dance music, rock and metal music, orchestra and soundtrack, and miscellaneous. There are several sub-categories under every category.
Once you’ve clicked into subcategory you’ll see thumbnails for every song in the category. Click on one to be taken to the song’s page, where you can listen to it before you decide if you want to download.
There are tons of places where you can find great royalty-free music you can use on YouTube, so start hunting! Finding the perfect song for that cool montage you’ve got planned, your intro sequence, or the background of your vlog will take your content to a new level of quality.
12. PacDV
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. Music by <www.pacdv.com/sounds/>
Paid Options? No.
PacDV is primarily a sound effects site, but they have a music section as well (just click Music in the menu to the left under Sound Effects. ‘Free Music’ under resources is a completely different site). There is no way to filter down the music, and there is no search function.
There is a column in the list of music for ‘moods/emotions’, so you can get an idea of which songs you might want to listen to before you click to their pages.
13. Partners In Rhyme
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. Credit them in your video description.
Paid Options? Yes. You can’t buy a license for free songs to get around attribution, but they do offer paid music. At $100 or more per song, their paid music is outside the budget of most YouTubers.
Partners In Rhyme is mostly a paid site, and they’re at the pricier end of the spectrum for paid sites. The reason they’re included on this list is that they have kindly curated a selection of free music for use on YouTube or in projects like podcasts (the link above will take you to the free page, not the site in general).
There isn’t a search function for the free music, or a way to narrow down what’s displayed, but you can click the play button next to any title to hear what the song sounds like. To download, just right click and choose ‘save file’ or ‘save target as’.
14. Purple Planet Music
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. Put ‘Music: http://www.purple-planet.com’ in your video description.
Paid Options? Yes. If you want to use the music for anything besides YouTube, or if you don’t want to give them credit, then you can buy a license for $5.
Purple Planet Music is a team of three people, two of whom compose, perform, record, and produce all of the music you’ll find on this site (the third is the studio manager).
From the home page of Purple Planet choose one of the categories listed under ‘Royalty Free Music’. The categories are more related to moods than genres and include things like ‘cute’, ‘sneaky’, and ‘reflective’. Because they know you may want to use this music in film projects, you can even find categories like ‘dark backgrounds’.
Once you click into a category everything is listed, you can’t narrow your results. There’s not an overwhelming number of songs in each category, though, so it’s easy to choose something just by reading descriptions and listening to what’s there.
15. Sounds Crate
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? No.
Paid Options? Yes. You can upgrade to a Pro account for $49 per year to access more content.
Sounds Crate has music and sound effects. After you click into music, you’ll see thumbnails for sections related to a number of themes such as action music, corporate music, and hip hop. You’ll be able to preview and download all the songs in the category once you’re on the category page.
You are only allowed 5 downloads per day while you’re using Sounds Crate for free. They also request a $10 annual donation from free users, but it’s optional.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Choosing great royalty-free music for your YouTube videos will help put your audience in the right frame of mind, cover up flaws in your background audio, and help viewers feel more engaged with your content.
YouTube provides a free audio library, but since a lot of creators use it everyone’s videos can start to sound the same. Here are 15 alternative places where you can get royalty-free music for free! It’ll say at the beginning of every section whether they require attribution or allow commercial use.
Best Sites for Royalty-Free Music for YouTube Creators [Free Download]
If you are using Wondershare Filmora video editor , you will find there are some royalty-free music tracks and sound effects already pre-programmed in the Audio library. You will find different styles of music tacks, varying from Young & Bright to Electronic. Download Filmora, and you will get the royalty-free audio library and powerful video editing tools.
1. Audionautix
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. You must credit the site with ‘music by audionautix.com’ if you want to use this music (if you have a website, they ask that you include a link back to them).
Paid Options? No. All of the music on this site is free.
One of the first things you’ll see when you arrive on Audiionautix is a ‘YouTube Friendly’ button. They know that most people browsing their music library are looking for songs for YouTube videos, and that want you to know their music is safe from copyright claims.
All of the music in the Audionautix collection was created by one man, Jason Shaw, but there’s still a huge variety of tracks.
On the front page of Audionautix, there are three selections you can make to start your music search – genre, mood, and tempo. Genres range from hard rock to bluegrass to techno (there are 28 genres in total), and the moods include things like ‘uplifting’, ‘evil’, and ‘bouncy’ (there are 37 of those). The tempos are fast, medium, and slow. So, if you want a medium-tempo acoustic song with a calming mood, you can easily find all of the songs that meet those qualifications.
Not every combination will deliver results, so it can be easier to just choose two of the three search parameters.
2. Bensound
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. You must include one of the following in your video description: “Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music” or “Music: Song title - Bensound.com”
Paid Options? Yes. If you don’t want to credit Bensound (or can’t for some reason) then you need to purchase a license. Licensing starts at about $28 USD (price listed as €24) per track.
The most popular music from Bensound is displayed on the first page. Beyond the titles of the tracks, each has a short description that will give you a good idea of what to expect from the song before you listen. You’ll need to listen to a song to know if you want it, but the descriptions are a fast way to figure out if you don’t want something. For example, ‘A New Beginning’ could be anything based on that title, but the description lets you know it’s ‘punk rock’ with an ‘epic/achievement’ feeling.
You can narrow down the music you are shown by choosing a genre from the menu near the top of your page (there are 8 genres including cinematic, electronica, and corporate/pop). There’s also a search bar, and you can choose whether to display popular or new songs first.
All of the music on Bensound was created by Benjamin TISSOT, a composer based in France. He has been creating music for over 10 years.
3. dig.ccMixter
Commercial Use? Depends. Some songs are available for commercial use, some are not. It is easy to search only for songs which are.
Attribution Required? Yes. You must credit the musicians.
Paid Options? Yes. You can purchase licenses to get around commercial use or attribution restrictions. Personal licenses are $22 USD.
Musicians upload their work to ccMixter and make it available to creators like you at dig.ccMixter. Over 45,000 musicians have participated and this has resulted in a huge variety of music for you to discover.
Clicking ‘tag search’ at the top of the page is probably the best way to start your search. The ‘tags’ are displayed in three categories – genre, instrument, and style. You can click as many tags as you want from each category (i.e. you can check off ‘classical’ for the genre and then both bass and cello for instruments).
By default, your search will return results that have even just one of the tags you selected, but you can click ‘match all’ to see results that include all of your selected tags.
To the right of the screen, there’s a button called ‘filters’ and if you click it it’ll let you narrow your results by license (you can choose to only browse music that is free for commercial use). You can also specify if you only want instrumental songs.
If you do not use the ‘free for commercial use’ filter then you will need to click on songs to see whether their creative commons licenses allow commercial use.
If you’re an indie game developer, they have a Music for Video Games section for you too.
4. Free Music Archive
Commercial Use? Depends on the song.
Attribution Required? Depends on the song.
Paid Options? No. Everything is free.
There is a huge selection on Free Music Archive (they include songs curated by other sites, including other sites on this list), but using this site can be a bit trickier than using other sites because there are so many different licenses at play. There are even several licenses that do not allow songs to be used in YouTube videos (any Creative Commons license with ‘ND / No Derivatives’ will not allow for use in a video). You should read this page before downloading anything from the Free Music Archive to use on YouTube.
To start browsing Free Music Archive for music you can use for your videos, go to ‘Curators’ in the top menu, and select ‘Music for Video’. There’s no point in browsing music you might not be allowed to use for YouTube, and so the site has made it easy to find the music you can.
By default this screen will not include music you can use commercially, so you need to check ‘allows for commercial use’ in the side menu if that’s important to you. You can also select a genre and specify if you only want instrumental songs.
5. Free Stock Music
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? No.
Paid Options? No. Everything is free.
Simply choose a genre from the ‘Free Music’ drop-down menu to start browsing Free Stock Music’s collection. There are 10 genres including Pop, Hip Hop, and Corporate.
There are not a lot of ways to customize your search results on this site. You just can search for a keyword, like ‘happy’, but you can’t narrow your results down by things like instrument or mood like you can on some other sites. You just have to scroll through either your search results or the chosen genre until you find something.
To make it a bit easier, Free Stock Music has included detailed descriptions of each song you can read while your browsing and these descriptions do tend to include details about instruments and the moods of the songs.
You need to create a free account on Free Stock Music to access their songs.
6. Incompetech
Commercial Use? YouTube monetization allowed. Other kinds of commercial use may be restricted.
Attribution Required? Yes. You can put the attribution in your video description.
Paid Options? Yes. If you cannot (or do not want to) credit Incompetech then you can purchase a license instead. Licensing 1 piece of music costs $30.
Incompetech allows you to browse one of three ways. The ‘Full Search’ will be best for most people, but if you want to see every song in alphabetical order you can click on ‘Full List’, or you can browse collections like ‘Comedic’ in ‘View Collections’ (but not every piece of music on the site can be found in a collection).
If you go into ‘Full Search’ you’ll see a list of all the music and be able to filter it by feel, tempo, genre, and length. For example, you could set ‘Feels’ to ‘Grooving’ or ‘Length’ to ‘3:00-3:29’.
You can also use the search bar to look for an instrument or song title.
Clicking Expand All will reveal descriptions of all the songs and a ‘listen now’ button, but it will stretch the page a lot. You can see more details about individual songs, and listen to them, by clicking on the title. You won’t be taken to a new page, which is convenient.
You can also download all the music at once (by clicking ‘download all the music on this site at once’).
7. Josh Woodward
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. Attribution goes in your description box and it should look like this: Music - “SONG TITLE HERE” by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/
Paid Options? Yes. If you cannot give Josh credit for some reason you can buy a single-song license for $30.
Josh Woodward is a singer-songwriter who has chosen to allow the free use of all his music (although he does appreciate donations).
You’ll immediately see a list of music on Josh’s site (not everything, there are over 200 songs on this site), and you can change what is displayed by using the filters on the right of the page. The filters available are Playlist, Genre, Album, Tags, Tempo, and Length.
The playlists are songs that have been bundled together around a theme like ‘fun and fast’ or ‘popular in videos’.
There are nine genres to choose from including ‘dark acoustic’ and ‘Americana’.
The albums are albums that Josh has released.
You can also search the song titles and lyrics by typing keywords into the search bar.
At the top of the page, there’s a player you can use to preview the songs, and you can choose whether to browse vocal songs or songs with lyrics (the results below may not appear to change, but if you use the player you’ll hear the instrumental version instead of the version with vocals).
8. Looperman
Commercial Use? Allowed for loops, but they make no guarantees.
Attribution Required? Unclear. The site doesn’t address attribution so it may be up to whoever has uploaded the loop you want to use.
Paid Options? No.
Looperman is a community for musicians. The goal is to provide instrumental loops and acapella vocals to other musicians for their own projects. In theory, all of the music loops and sounds are completely free to use in your projects, but since it’s a community they cannot guarantee that a user hasn’t uploaded something they don’t own (they aren’t allowed to, so in theory you should be safe, but the site doesn’t make any guarantees).
If you want to use vocals it seems like you have to talk to the person who owns the vocals about whether you can use them commercially or whether you need to include attribution.
9. Moby Gratis
Commercial Use? Never allowed. You cannot make money from the project you use this music in any way, including YouTube monetization or through a service like Patreon.
Attribution Required? Yes. Put this in your video description: Music: [Track Name] by Moby courtesy of Mobygratis.com
Paid Options? No.
Moby is a Grammy-nominated, VMA-winning, artist whose work you have probably heard on the radio. Even if you aren’t familiar with Moby himself, he has co-written, produced, and remixed music for other major artists like David Bowie, Guns N’ Roses, and Daft Punk.
Moby has chosen to make a catalog of his work available to independent filmmakers for non-commercial projects. Not all of the music provided on the site is available for YouTube, only the music marked Unreleased (if it has been released, then it will be flagged by YouTube’s copyright system). There is a lot of music under the ‘Unreleased’ category, though.
In order to download songs, you will need to make an account, and it takes about 24 hours for your account to be approved.
10. Musopen
Commercial Use? Depends on the song.
Attribution Required? Depends on the song
Paid Options? No.
Musopen provides music that is either in the ‘public domain’, or protected by Creative Commons licenses. If it’s in the public domain that means that nobody owns the copyright and anyone can use it for anything (however, Musopen does warn that they do not review uploads from their users so it is possible that someone could upload something they claim is public domain and be lying or wrong).
Creative Commons licenses all have their own conditions. Some may block commercial use, some may require attribution. The ones you need to watch out for as a video creator are the ones marked ‘No Derivatives’, because you can’t use songs licensed this way in videos.
You can start using Musopen by typing a keyword into the search bar on the main page, or scrolling down to select ‘Browse royalty free music recordings’. Besides music recordings, Musopen provides sheet music. If you have some musical talent and want to record your own music for your videos then this might be useful. If not, you probably want to stick to the recordings.
If you click on the Music Discovery Tool you’ll be able to search the recordings not only by instrument, but by license (so you can make sure you’re only looking at music that is in the public domain, or make sure you’re not looking at anything with that ‘No Derivatives’ condition.
11. TeknoAXE
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes.
Paid Options? No.
All of the music on TeknoAXE is covered under a CC4.0 license, which means you can share and adapt the music for any purpose so long as you provide attribution.
TeknoAXE’s music is divided into four categories: electronic dance music, rock and metal music, orchestra and soundtrack, and miscellaneous. There are several sub-categories under every category.
Once you’ve clicked into subcategory you’ll see thumbnails for every song in the category. Click on one to be taken to the song’s page, where you can listen to it before you decide if you want to download.
There are tons of places where you can find great royalty-free music you can use on YouTube, so start hunting! Finding the perfect song for that cool montage you’ve got planned, your intro sequence, or the background of your vlog will take your content to a new level of quality.
12. PacDV
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. Music by <www.pacdv.com/sounds/>
Paid Options? No.
PacDV is primarily a sound effects site, but they have a music section as well (just click Music in the menu to the left under Sound Effects. ‘Free Music’ under resources is a completely different site). There is no way to filter down the music, and there is no search function.
There is a column in the list of music for ‘moods/emotions’, so you can get an idea of which songs you might want to listen to before you click to their pages.
13. Partners In Rhyme
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. Credit them in your video description.
Paid Options? Yes. You can’t buy a license for free songs to get around attribution, but they do offer paid music. At $100 or more per song, their paid music is outside the budget of most YouTubers.
Partners In Rhyme is mostly a paid site, and they’re at the pricier end of the spectrum for paid sites. The reason they’re included on this list is that they have kindly curated a selection of free music for use on YouTube or in projects like podcasts (the link above will take you to the free page, not the site in general).
There isn’t a search function for the free music, or a way to narrow down what’s displayed, but you can click the play button next to any title to hear what the song sounds like. To download, just right click and choose ‘save file’ or ‘save target as’.
14. Purple Planet Music
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? Yes. Put ‘Music: http://www.purple-planet.com’ in your video description.
Paid Options? Yes. If you want to use the music for anything besides YouTube, or if you don’t want to give them credit, then you can buy a license for $5.
Purple Planet Music is a team of three people, two of whom compose, perform, record, and produce all of the music you’ll find on this site (the third is the studio manager).
From the home page of Purple Planet choose one of the categories listed under ‘Royalty Free Music’. The categories are more related to moods than genres and include things like ‘cute’, ‘sneaky’, and ‘reflective’. Because they know you may want to use this music in film projects, you can even find categories like ‘dark backgrounds’.
Once you click into a category everything is listed, you can’t narrow your results. There’s not an overwhelming number of songs in each category, though, so it’s easy to choose something just by reading descriptions and listening to what’s there.
15. Sounds Crate
Commercial Use? Allowed.
Attribution Required? No.
Paid Options? Yes. You can upgrade to a Pro account for $49 per year to access more content.
Sounds Crate has music and sound effects. After you click into music, you’ll see thumbnails for sections related to a number of themes such as action music, corporate music, and hip hop. You’ll be able to preview and download all the songs in the category once you’re on the category page.
You are only allowed 5 downloads per day while you’re using Sounds Crate for free. They also request a $10 annual donation from free users, but it’s optional.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Top 15 YouTube Recording Software for Gamers
15 Best Game Recording Software for YouTuber in 2024
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
There is no doubt that gaming is one of the largest entertainment sources for most of people. The advanced technology has led to the development of game recorders by which you can record the video of your favorite game and share it with your friends and viewers on YouTube.
Wondershare Filmstock Gaming Video Editing Skils ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-game?source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle&spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb )
You might be interested in:
If you are looking for a screen recorder that allows you to capture your gameplay, add markers to the important point during playing, and edit the recorded gameplay video easily, then we recommend you to try Wondershare DemoCreator.
With DemoCreator, you can:
- Add Markers to important points during recording
- Record high paced games at up to 120 fps
- Capture video, system audio, webcam, and mic at the same time
- Record the entire screen or just a part of your screen
- Change video speed and add fade in and fade out with a simple drag
- Detach audio and record voice narration during editing and reduce the noise
- Use the Blur effect to blur the private info or remove the watermark
- Share videos to Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch directly
However, if you are looking for a video editing software that provides various gameplay elements, I want to recommend - Wondershare Filmora , an easy to use while powerful video editor that allows you not only cut, split, crop, resize, reverse your videos, but also offers you multiple video effects specially designed for Fashion, Beauty, Gaming, Travel, Education, etc. Check the video to know more fantastic features, and keep reading the article to know why Filmora is still one of the best options when it comes to gameplay recording.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
15 Best Game Screen Recorders for Recording Game Videos
1. ShadowPlay
It is free game video capture software created by Nvidia GeForce for streaming game videos. There are two modes of this video recording tool i.e. Manual mode and Shadow mode.
Features:
- Instant replay and record
- Excellent hardware i.e. a GPU-accelerated video encoder
- It has a minimal performance impact
- Records up to 4K resolution at the speed of 130 Mbps
Compatibility: Windows XP, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10
Pros:
- Unlimited recording time in manual mode
- Allow it users to capture full desktop screen
Cons:
- Geforce GTX 600 and above is required to operate this software.
Price: It is available free of cost.
We have researched about how to record gameplay with Nvidia ShadowPlay, check this article How to Use Nvidia Share or ShadowPlay to Record Gameplay for the detailed information.
2. Camtasia
It is one of the best game recorders for recording professional videos on your PC. You can also import HD videos from an external source. The interactive videos can also be created by using this software.
Features:
- Stunning graphics
- Direct link to social media
- Effective recording option
- Drag and drop editing
- Google Drive integration
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8 and 7 SP1
Pros:
- You can easily include animated items
- Video, audio and cursor tracks can be edited individually
- Provides panning and zooming options
- Incorporates webcam
- You can also use the green screen effect
Cons:
- Free trial for only 30 days.
- The users cannot record videos for commercial use in the free version
- Very expensive
- Works slowly on large projects
Price: $299.00 USD but it can be reduced if you buy 5-9 licenses
3. Open Broadcast Software
It is an open-source game recording tool having unlimited customization options. You can get idea about this software by its name i.e. the game streams can be broadcasted on various websites such as Twitch, YouTube, Hitbox etc.
Features:
- Simple interface
- Limitless scenes and sources
- It has file output to FLV or MP4
- GPU-based video game capture
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 8.1, Vista and 7, Version for Linux and Mac OS X is also in the pipeline
Pros:
- Easy to use
- High-speed performance
- Keyboard shortcuts
Cons:
- A sharp learning curve
- Difficult to construct scenes
Price: Free
4.Bandicam
It is a perfect choice for beginners as it is easy to understand. You can also record a video game that utilizes the Direct X or OpenGL technology and share on YouTube with a single click. The size of the window can also be adjusted according to your need.
Features:
- Built-in compression feature ensuring high-quality videos
- Recording can be done for more than 24 hours
- You can record videos at 4k Ultra HD resolution
Compatibility: Windows XP, 10, 8.1, 8, and 7
Pros:
- Maximum frame rate i.e. 120 fps
- Two different audio inputs can be recorded at the same time
Cons:
- It does not proffer live streaming
Price: Free trial, $59 for two licenses, $39 for one license
5. EpicRewind
This software is developed recently introducing a unique feature i.e. RAM Rolling Buffer mode. It enables the user to replay the recording instantly. The buffer contents can also be saved by pressing a hotkey.
Features:
- You can conveniently capture screenshot and video from browser games or flash games.
- Direct-To-Disk capture mode
- Video Output Format and Codec can be configured with great ease.
Compatibility: It does not support windows
Pros:
- Videos are not encoded all the time.
Cons:
- It cannot be run on the Windows operating system.
Price: Free trial of the base version
6.D3DGear
It is a very simple and light recorder. This software compresses the recorded files in real-time mode i.e. you are able to record screen activity even if there is less space in your storage drive. The videos can be shared over any social networking website.
Features:
- User-friendly interface
- Built-in compression system
Compatibility: Windows XP, 7, 10, 8, 8.1 and Vista
Pros:
- You can do live video streaming
- The audio files can be saved separately.
Cons:
- Pro version is very costly
Price: 15-day free trial otherwise it costs $34.95.
7.Fraps
It is one of the most famous game screen recorders having superb features. The average performance rate can also be measured by using this recorder. You can also save these statistics in a different file. It is also very light software similar to D3DGear.
Features:
- It can be used as a benchmark tool.
- Capture high-quality footage
Compatibility: Windows Vista, XP, 7, 10, 8.1 and 8
Pros:
- You can record videos at 7680×4800 resolution
- Frames can be adjusted up to 120fps
Cons:
- It does not have streaming options
Price: Free version with few features, full version at $37
8.Microsoft Screen Encoder 4
It is an advanced version of Microsoft screen encoder 3. It has wonderful graphics and live IIS (Internet Information Services) smooth streaming options. The Windows Media video, as well as audio files, can be produced with the help of this software.
Features:
- Screen capture
- GUI interface
- Live template support
Compatibility: Windows 7, Vista, Windows XP service pack2
Pros:
- High-quality playback
- Enables encoding using H.261Intuitive interface
Cons:
- Less editing tools in comparison to other software
- You cannot export your recordings to Sony Vegas11
Price: Pro version costs $199.95 while the standard version is free having limited features
9.Tinytake
This game recorder is an ideal choice for making commercial presentations. This software allows its users to capture video from the selected region and upload it directly on YouTube or any other social media.
Features:
- Drag and drop option
- You can conveniently annotate the videos
- Inbuilt online file viewer
Compatibility: It can work with Windows as well as Mac operating system
Pros:
- You can develop custom shortcut keys
- Bulk files sharing
- You can run this software on mobile devices
Cons:
- Files are saved only in MP4 format
- Video recording can be done up to 2 hours
- No free version is available for business purposes
Price: It ranges between $29.95 and $199.95 for a yearly plan. You will also get storage memory space up to 2TB with a business plan.
10.Ezvid
This screen software is specially designed for saving the time of the users. It also increases the recording speed and video editing capabilities. You can also add text and watermark to the videos.
Features:-
- Videos are uploaded on YouTube in a fast manner.
- It provides computer speech for narrative purposes.
- Modern and sleek interface
Compatibility: Windows XP SP3, 7 and Vista
Pros:
- High-quality video resolution
- You can also select the most popular music tracks
- It also has a facecam and a video editor
- You can also drag and drop videos
- Professional videos can be created in a few minutes
Cons:
- It is glitch and leggy.
- It requires 10GB free space
- Fewer features as compared to Camtasia software
Price: Free
11. Gecata
Gecata by Movavi is a lightweight video recording tool designed to capture gameplays. Screen recording with this program is easy without needing external hardware. You can capture all screen activities and save recordings in major video formats, including .MOV, .MP4, .AVI, and GIF.
Features:
- One-click screenshots
- Game mode for automatic recording
- Screen and audio recording simultaneously and separately
- Graphics hardware integration option (NVIDIA or Intel) for 400% faster encoding
Compatibility: Windows 7/8/10
Pros:
- Simple interface
- Speedy capturing
- Tested on dozens of games
- Game recording up to 120fps
Cons:
- The free version pastes a watermark on the recording
- Lagging
Price: $30.95 for a lifetime
12. EaseUS RecExperts
RecExperts by EaseUS is a premium screen recorder with many exciting features. For instance, you can record a particular part of the screen by making a selection through your mouse. Likewise, you can also record multiple screens side by side.
While RecExperts is made for gamers and YouTubers, you can use this tool for a wide range of purposes. Such as recording an online meeting, video tutorial, and more.
Features:
- Sound recording and extracting
- Web camera capturing
- Saving captured video into GIF
- Screenshots
- Schedule recording with automatic stop and split options
Compatibility: Windows 7/8.1/10/11 and macOS 10.13 or later
Pros:
- Simple software design
- Allows editing on the captured screen
- Supports different video and formats, including MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI
Cons:
- Limited editing, such as trimming and cutting
Price: $19.95 per month, $39.95 per year, and $79.95 for a lifetime
13. Flashback Express (Free Version)
Flashback Express is a screen recording and editing software. It is a powerful tool for recording desktop screens simultaneously with mic sounds. You can also add webcam recordings to recorded gameplays as most YouTubers do.
Besides, there’s no time limit on the recording. So whether you want to capture a small portion of your video or screen record several hours of gameplay, feel free to do it.
Features:
- Video trimming
- Multi-screen recording
- Webcam overlay
- Direct YouTube uploading option
Compatibility: Windows 7/8.1/10/11
Pros:
- Easy interface
- No watermark
- Voice over during screen capturing
- Selected and full-screen recording
- You can save the recordings in MP4
Cons:
- Difficult export settings
- Unable to export audio in the free version
- You need to convert the video using other programs if you want your recording in different video formats
Price: Free
14. Snagit
Snagit is another product by TechSmith (the developers of Camtasia). It’s a super easy tool to take screenshots and record screens.
You can save the captured video in MP4 and directly send the file through email. You can also upload files on different platforms and applications, including YouTube, Twitter, Slack, Google Drive, and more.
Features:
- Screen and audio recording
- Annotations
- Video trimming
- Webcam recording
- Cloud library
- Video conversion to GIFs
- Panoramic screen capturing
Compatibility: Windows 10/11 and Mac 11 or later
Pros:
- Simple user interface
- Fast video uploading to various platforms
Cons:
- Saved videos are only available in MP4 format
Price:$62.99 for a lifetime, including first-year maintenance (regular maintenance charges are $12.6 per year applicable after completing the first year)
15. Filmora
Filmora is an all-in-one program and is one of the top video editing tools cherished by all types of users – beginners and professionals. But what makes this software super cool for gamers and YouTubers is its screen recording option. With comprehensive features, you can record your gameplay and edit your screen recordings by using a wide range of features.
Features:
- Support 4K editing
- Noise removal
- Advanced text editor
- Color tuning
- Audio mixing
Compatibility: Windows 7/8/10/11 (64-bit) and macOS V10.1/V10.13/V10.14/V10.15/V11/V12
Pros:
- User-friendly interface
- Huge effects library
- Affordable perpetual licensing
- Wide range of features
- Support various video formats
- High-quality results
Cons:
- The free version includes a watermark
- You need to purchase the product to use some important features, such as keyframing
Price: $29.99 per month, $69.99 per year, and $79.99 for a perpetual
What to look for game screen recorder
There are many people who do not have any knowledge regarding game capture software. You must look for the following things before choosing a game screen recorder.
- The option of personalizing the hotkeys
- Number of built-in tools
- How to begin and pause recording
- Number of codes offered by it
- Recording time
- Editing features like cut and paste
- Custom-made Recording Resolution
- Adjustable video frames
In addition to this, some game recorders also affect your in-game fps (Frame per second). You should also check whether it is compatible with large-sized files or not. The quality of the video also depends upon the file size. The larger is file size, the higher is video quality. However, you can face problems while uploading huge-sized videos as online content distributors hardly support such files. So you must compress your video before sharing anywhere. There are also some recorders that provide a direct link to social networking sites. Thus you should consider these factors also before purchasing the game recording software.
You can easily run this recorder on your computer if it is updated and has 8GB of RAM. PC should also have two storage drives so as to install gaming software on one drive and record videos on another drive. It is also advisable to use computers than laptops for recording screen activities because laptops rarely have two storage drives.
You can easily run this recorder on your computer if it is updated and has 8GB of RAM. PC should also have two storage drives so as to install gaming software on one drive and record videos on another drive. It is also advisable to use computers than laptops for recording screen activities because laptops rarely have two storage drives.
FAQs
Q1. What software do YouTubers use to record gameplay?
Most gamers on YouTube use Open Broadcast System (OBS) and Bandicam to record their gameplays. However, there are a few more authentic screen recording tools for high-quality video recording, such as Filmora.
Using Filmora to record your gameplay will help you save the video in all major video formats. Moreover, the tool is also compatible with Mac and Windows operating systems.
Q2. How do I record my screen smoothly?
You should do a couple of things to avoid lagging while screen recording your gameplay. For example, do not use your built-in microphone to record your voice during screen recording. Instead, use an external microphone.
Only record what is important. Use high RAM and have a good graphics card. And most importantly, get screen recorders with at least 60fps.
Q3. Does screen recording decrease FPS?
Yes, it does affect your overall gaming performance. However, it depends on several factors. For instance, the fps won’t be affected much if you’re playing a less CPU-intensive game. The only way to sustain FPS is to have a high-quality screen recorder, such as OBS, Filmora, Bandicam, and Fraps.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
There is no doubt that gaming is one of the largest entertainment sources for most of people. The advanced technology has led to the development of game recorders by which you can record the video of your favorite game and share it with your friends and viewers on YouTube.
Wondershare Filmstock Gaming Video Editing Skils ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-game?source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle&spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb )
You might be interested in:
If you are looking for a screen recorder that allows you to capture your gameplay, add markers to the important point during playing, and edit the recorded gameplay video easily, then we recommend you to try Wondershare DemoCreator.
With DemoCreator, you can:
- Add Markers to important points during recording
- Record high paced games at up to 120 fps
- Capture video, system audio, webcam, and mic at the same time
- Record the entire screen or just a part of your screen
- Change video speed and add fade in and fade out with a simple drag
- Detach audio and record voice narration during editing and reduce the noise
- Use the Blur effect to blur the private info or remove the watermark
- Share videos to Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch directly
However, if you are looking for a video editing software that provides various gameplay elements, I want to recommend - Wondershare Filmora , an easy to use while powerful video editor that allows you not only cut, split, crop, resize, reverse your videos, but also offers you multiple video effects specially designed for Fashion, Beauty, Gaming, Travel, Education, etc. Check the video to know more fantastic features, and keep reading the article to know why Filmora is still one of the best options when it comes to gameplay recording.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
15 Best Game Screen Recorders for Recording Game Videos
1. ShadowPlay
It is free game video capture software created by Nvidia GeForce for streaming game videos. There are two modes of this video recording tool i.e. Manual mode and Shadow mode.
Features:
- Instant replay and record
- Excellent hardware i.e. a GPU-accelerated video encoder
- It has a minimal performance impact
- Records up to 4K resolution at the speed of 130 Mbps
Compatibility: Windows XP, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10
Pros:
- Unlimited recording time in manual mode
- Allow it users to capture full desktop screen
Cons:
- Geforce GTX 600 and above is required to operate this software.
Price: It is available free of cost.
We have researched about how to record gameplay with Nvidia ShadowPlay, check this article How to Use Nvidia Share or ShadowPlay to Record Gameplay for the detailed information.
2. Camtasia
It is one of the best game recorders for recording professional videos on your PC. You can also import HD videos from an external source. The interactive videos can also be created by using this software.
Features:
- Stunning graphics
- Direct link to social media
- Effective recording option
- Drag and drop editing
- Google Drive integration
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8 and 7 SP1
Pros:
- You can easily include animated items
- Video, audio and cursor tracks can be edited individually
- Provides panning and zooming options
- Incorporates webcam
- You can also use the green screen effect
Cons:
- Free trial for only 30 days.
- The users cannot record videos for commercial use in the free version
- Very expensive
- Works slowly on large projects
Price: $299.00 USD but it can be reduced if you buy 5-9 licenses
3. Open Broadcast Software
It is an open-source game recording tool having unlimited customization options. You can get idea about this software by its name i.e. the game streams can be broadcasted on various websites such as Twitch, YouTube, Hitbox etc.
Features:
- Simple interface
- Limitless scenes and sources
- It has file output to FLV or MP4
- GPU-based video game capture
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 8.1, Vista and 7, Version for Linux and Mac OS X is also in the pipeline
Pros:
- Easy to use
- High-speed performance
- Keyboard shortcuts
Cons:
- A sharp learning curve
- Difficult to construct scenes
Price: Free
4.Bandicam
It is a perfect choice for beginners as it is easy to understand. You can also record a video game that utilizes the Direct X or OpenGL technology and share on YouTube with a single click. The size of the window can also be adjusted according to your need.
Features:
- Built-in compression feature ensuring high-quality videos
- Recording can be done for more than 24 hours
- You can record videos at 4k Ultra HD resolution
Compatibility: Windows XP, 10, 8.1, 8, and 7
Pros:
- Maximum frame rate i.e. 120 fps
- Two different audio inputs can be recorded at the same time
Cons:
- It does not proffer live streaming
Price: Free trial, $59 for two licenses, $39 for one license
5. EpicRewind
This software is developed recently introducing a unique feature i.e. RAM Rolling Buffer mode. It enables the user to replay the recording instantly. The buffer contents can also be saved by pressing a hotkey.
Features:
- You can conveniently capture screenshot and video from browser games or flash games.
- Direct-To-Disk capture mode
- Video Output Format and Codec can be configured with great ease.
Compatibility: It does not support windows
Pros:
- Videos are not encoded all the time.
Cons:
- It cannot be run on the Windows operating system.
Price: Free trial of the base version
6.D3DGear
It is a very simple and light recorder. This software compresses the recorded files in real-time mode i.e. you are able to record screen activity even if there is less space in your storage drive. The videos can be shared over any social networking website.
Features:
- User-friendly interface
- Built-in compression system
Compatibility: Windows XP, 7, 10, 8, 8.1 and Vista
Pros:
- You can do live video streaming
- The audio files can be saved separately.
Cons:
- Pro version is very costly
Price: 15-day free trial otherwise it costs $34.95.
7.Fraps
It is one of the most famous game screen recorders having superb features. The average performance rate can also be measured by using this recorder. You can also save these statistics in a different file. It is also very light software similar to D3DGear.
Features:
- It can be used as a benchmark tool.
- Capture high-quality footage
Compatibility: Windows Vista, XP, 7, 10, 8.1 and 8
Pros:
- You can record videos at 7680×4800 resolution
- Frames can be adjusted up to 120fps
Cons:
- It does not have streaming options
Price: Free version with few features, full version at $37
8.Microsoft Screen Encoder 4
It is an advanced version of Microsoft screen encoder 3. It has wonderful graphics and live IIS (Internet Information Services) smooth streaming options. The Windows Media video, as well as audio files, can be produced with the help of this software.
Features:
- Screen capture
- GUI interface
- Live template support
Compatibility: Windows 7, Vista, Windows XP service pack2
Pros:
- High-quality playback
- Enables encoding using H.261Intuitive interface
Cons:
- Less editing tools in comparison to other software
- You cannot export your recordings to Sony Vegas11
Price: Pro version costs $199.95 while the standard version is free having limited features
9.Tinytake
This game recorder is an ideal choice for making commercial presentations. This software allows its users to capture video from the selected region and upload it directly on YouTube or any other social media.
Features:
- Drag and drop option
- You can conveniently annotate the videos
- Inbuilt online file viewer
Compatibility: It can work with Windows as well as Mac operating system
Pros:
- You can develop custom shortcut keys
- Bulk files sharing
- You can run this software on mobile devices
Cons:
- Files are saved only in MP4 format
- Video recording can be done up to 2 hours
- No free version is available for business purposes
Price: It ranges between $29.95 and $199.95 for a yearly plan. You will also get storage memory space up to 2TB with a business plan.
10.Ezvid
This screen software is specially designed for saving the time of the users. It also increases the recording speed and video editing capabilities. You can also add text and watermark to the videos.
Features:-
- Videos are uploaded on YouTube in a fast manner.
- It provides computer speech for narrative purposes.
- Modern and sleek interface
Compatibility: Windows XP SP3, 7 and Vista
Pros:
- High-quality video resolution
- You can also select the most popular music tracks
- It also has a facecam and a video editor
- You can also drag and drop videos
- Professional videos can be created in a few minutes
Cons:
- It is glitch and leggy.
- It requires 10GB free space
- Fewer features as compared to Camtasia software
Price: Free
11. Gecata
Gecata by Movavi is a lightweight video recording tool designed to capture gameplays. Screen recording with this program is easy without needing external hardware. You can capture all screen activities and save recordings in major video formats, including .MOV, .MP4, .AVI, and GIF.
Features:
- One-click screenshots
- Game mode for automatic recording
- Screen and audio recording simultaneously and separately
- Graphics hardware integration option (NVIDIA or Intel) for 400% faster encoding
Compatibility: Windows 7/8/10
Pros:
- Simple interface
- Speedy capturing
- Tested on dozens of games
- Game recording up to 120fps
Cons:
- The free version pastes a watermark on the recording
- Lagging
Price: $30.95 for a lifetime
12. EaseUS RecExperts
RecExperts by EaseUS is a premium screen recorder with many exciting features. For instance, you can record a particular part of the screen by making a selection through your mouse. Likewise, you can also record multiple screens side by side.
While RecExperts is made for gamers and YouTubers, you can use this tool for a wide range of purposes. Such as recording an online meeting, video tutorial, and more.
Features:
- Sound recording and extracting
- Web camera capturing
- Saving captured video into GIF
- Screenshots
- Schedule recording with automatic stop and split options
Compatibility: Windows 7/8.1/10/11 and macOS 10.13 or later
Pros:
- Simple software design
- Allows editing on the captured screen
- Supports different video and formats, including MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI
Cons:
- Limited editing, such as trimming and cutting
Price: $19.95 per month, $39.95 per year, and $79.95 for a lifetime
13. Flashback Express (Free Version)
Flashback Express is a screen recording and editing software. It is a powerful tool for recording desktop screens simultaneously with mic sounds. You can also add webcam recordings to recorded gameplays as most YouTubers do.
Besides, there’s no time limit on the recording. So whether you want to capture a small portion of your video or screen record several hours of gameplay, feel free to do it.
Features:
- Video trimming
- Multi-screen recording
- Webcam overlay
- Direct YouTube uploading option
Compatibility: Windows 7/8.1/10/11
Pros:
- Easy interface
- No watermark
- Voice over during screen capturing
- Selected and full-screen recording
- You can save the recordings in MP4
Cons:
- Difficult export settings
- Unable to export audio in the free version
- You need to convert the video using other programs if you want your recording in different video formats
Price: Free
14. Snagit
Snagit is another product by TechSmith (the developers of Camtasia). It’s a super easy tool to take screenshots and record screens.
You can save the captured video in MP4 and directly send the file through email. You can also upload files on different platforms and applications, including YouTube, Twitter, Slack, Google Drive, and more.
Features:
- Screen and audio recording
- Annotations
- Video trimming
- Webcam recording
- Cloud library
- Video conversion to GIFs
- Panoramic screen capturing
Compatibility: Windows 10/11 and Mac 11 or later
Pros:
- Simple user interface
- Fast video uploading to various platforms
Cons:
- Saved videos are only available in MP4 format
Price:$62.99 for a lifetime, including first-year maintenance (regular maintenance charges are $12.6 per year applicable after completing the first year)
15. Filmora
Filmora is an all-in-one program and is one of the top video editing tools cherished by all types of users – beginners and professionals. But what makes this software super cool for gamers and YouTubers is its screen recording option. With comprehensive features, you can record your gameplay and edit your screen recordings by using a wide range of features.
Features:
- Support 4K editing
- Noise removal
- Advanced text editor
- Color tuning
- Audio mixing
Compatibility: Windows 7/8/10/11 (64-bit) and macOS V10.1/V10.13/V10.14/V10.15/V11/V12
Pros:
- User-friendly interface
- Huge effects library
- Affordable perpetual licensing
- Wide range of features
- Support various video formats
- High-quality results
Cons:
- The free version includes a watermark
- You need to purchase the product to use some important features, such as keyframing
Price: $29.99 per month, $69.99 per year, and $79.99 for a perpetual
What to look for game screen recorder
There are many people who do not have any knowledge regarding game capture software. You must look for the following things before choosing a game screen recorder.
- The option of personalizing the hotkeys
- Number of built-in tools
- How to begin and pause recording
- Number of codes offered by it
- Recording time
- Editing features like cut and paste
- Custom-made Recording Resolution
- Adjustable video frames
In addition to this, some game recorders also affect your in-game fps (Frame per second). You should also check whether it is compatible with large-sized files or not. The quality of the video also depends upon the file size. The larger is file size, the higher is video quality. However, you can face problems while uploading huge-sized videos as online content distributors hardly support such files. So you must compress your video before sharing anywhere. There are also some recorders that provide a direct link to social networking sites. Thus you should consider these factors also before purchasing the game recording software.
You can easily run this recorder on your computer if it is updated and has 8GB of RAM. PC should also have two storage drives so as to install gaming software on one drive and record videos on another drive. It is also advisable to use computers than laptops for recording screen activities because laptops rarely have two storage drives.
You can easily run this recorder on your computer if it is updated and has 8GB of RAM. PC should also have two storage drives so as to install gaming software on one drive and record videos on another drive. It is also advisable to use computers than laptops for recording screen activities because laptops rarely have two storage drives.
FAQs
Q1. What software do YouTubers use to record gameplay?
Most gamers on YouTube use Open Broadcast System (OBS) and Bandicam to record their gameplays. However, there are a few more authentic screen recording tools for high-quality video recording, such as Filmora.
Using Filmora to record your gameplay will help you save the video in all major video formats. Moreover, the tool is also compatible with Mac and Windows operating systems.
Q2. How do I record my screen smoothly?
You should do a couple of things to avoid lagging while screen recording your gameplay. For example, do not use your built-in microphone to record your voice during screen recording. Instead, use an external microphone.
Only record what is important. Use high RAM and have a good graphics card. And most importantly, get screen recorders with at least 60fps.
Q3. Does screen recording decrease FPS?
Yes, it does affect your overall gaming performance. However, it depends on several factors. For instance, the fps won’t be affected much if you’re playing a less CPU-intensive game. The only way to sustain FPS is to have a high-quality screen recorder, such as OBS, Filmora, Bandicam, and Fraps.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
There is no doubt that gaming is one of the largest entertainment sources for most of people. The advanced technology has led to the development of game recorders by which you can record the video of your favorite game and share it with your friends and viewers on YouTube.
Wondershare Filmstock Gaming Video Editing Skils ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-game?source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle&spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb )
You might be interested in:
If you are looking for a screen recorder that allows you to capture your gameplay, add markers to the important point during playing, and edit the recorded gameplay video easily, then we recommend you to try Wondershare DemoCreator.
With DemoCreator, you can:
- Add Markers to important points during recording
- Record high paced games at up to 120 fps
- Capture video, system audio, webcam, and mic at the same time
- Record the entire screen or just a part of your screen
- Change video speed and add fade in and fade out with a simple drag
- Detach audio and record voice narration during editing and reduce the noise
- Use the Blur effect to blur the private info or remove the watermark
- Share videos to Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch directly
However, if you are looking for a video editing software that provides various gameplay elements, I want to recommend - Wondershare Filmora , an easy to use while powerful video editor that allows you not only cut, split, crop, resize, reverse your videos, but also offers you multiple video effects specially designed for Fashion, Beauty, Gaming, Travel, Education, etc. Check the video to know more fantastic features, and keep reading the article to know why Filmora is still one of the best options when it comes to gameplay recording.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
15 Best Game Screen Recorders for Recording Game Videos
1. ShadowPlay
It is free game video capture software created by Nvidia GeForce for streaming game videos. There are two modes of this video recording tool i.e. Manual mode and Shadow mode.
Features:
- Instant replay and record
- Excellent hardware i.e. a GPU-accelerated video encoder
- It has a minimal performance impact
- Records up to 4K resolution at the speed of 130 Mbps
Compatibility: Windows XP, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10
Pros:
- Unlimited recording time in manual mode
- Allow it users to capture full desktop screen
Cons:
- Geforce GTX 600 and above is required to operate this software.
Price: It is available free of cost.
We have researched about how to record gameplay with Nvidia ShadowPlay, check this article How to Use Nvidia Share or ShadowPlay to Record Gameplay for the detailed information.
2. Camtasia
It is one of the best game recorders for recording professional videos on your PC. You can also import HD videos from an external source. The interactive videos can also be created by using this software.
Features:
- Stunning graphics
- Direct link to social media
- Effective recording option
- Drag and drop editing
- Google Drive integration
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8 and 7 SP1
Pros:
- You can easily include animated items
- Video, audio and cursor tracks can be edited individually
- Provides panning and zooming options
- Incorporates webcam
- You can also use the green screen effect
Cons:
- Free trial for only 30 days.
- The users cannot record videos for commercial use in the free version
- Very expensive
- Works slowly on large projects
Price: $299.00 USD but it can be reduced if you buy 5-9 licenses
3. Open Broadcast Software
It is an open-source game recording tool having unlimited customization options. You can get idea about this software by its name i.e. the game streams can be broadcasted on various websites such as Twitch, YouTube, Hitbox etc.
Features:
- Simple interface
- Limitless scenes and sources
- It has file output to FLV or MP4
- GPU-based video game capture
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 8.1, Vista and 7, Version for Linux and Mac OS X is also in the pipeline
Pros:
- Easy to use
- High-speed performance
- Keyboard shortcuts
Cons:
- A sharp learning curve
- Difficult to construct scenes
Price: Free
4.Bandicam
It is a perfect choice for beginners as it is easy to understand. You can also record a video game that utilizes the Direct X or OpenGL technology and share on YouTube with a single click. The size of the window can also be adjusted according to your need.
Features:
- Built-in compression feature ensuring high-quality videos
- Recording can be done for more than 24 hours
- You can record videos at 4k Ultra HD resolution
Compatibility: Windows XP, 10, 8.1, 8, and 7
Pros:
- Maximum frame rate i.e. 120 fps
- Two different audio inputs can be recorded at the same time
Cons:
- It does not proffer live streaming
Price: Free trial, $59 for two licenses, $39 for one license
5. EpicRewind
This software is developed recently introducing a unique feature i.e. RAM Rolling Buffer mode. It enables the user to replay the recording instantly. The buffer contents can also be saved by pressing a hotkey.
Features:
- You can conveniently capture screenshot and video from browser games or flash games.
- Direct-To-Disk capture mode
- Video Output Format and Codec can be configured with great ease.
Compatibility: It does not support windows
Pros:
- Videos are not encoded all the time.
Cons:
- It cannot be run on the Windows operating system.
Price: Free trial of the base version
6.D3DGear
It is a very simple and light recorder. This software compresses the recorded files in real-time mode i.e. you are able to record screen activity even if there is less space in your storage drive. The videos can be shared over any social networking website.
Features:
- User-friendly interface
- Built-in compression system
Compatibility: Windows XP, 7, 10, 8, 8.1 and Vista
Pros:
- You can do live video streaming
- The audio files can be saved separately.
Cons:
- Pro version is very costly
Price: 15-day free trial otherwise it costs $34.95.
7.Fraps
It is one of the most famous game screen recorders having superb features. The average performance rate can also be measured by using this recorder. You can also save these statistics in a different file. It is also very light software similar to D3DGear.
Features:
- It can be used as a benchmark tool.
- Capture high-quality footage
Compatibility: Windows Vista, XP, 7, 10, 8.1 and 8
Pros:
- You can record videos at 7680×4800 resolution
- Frames can be adjusted up to 120fps
Cons:
- It does not have streaming options
Price: Free version with few features, full version at $37
8.Microsoft Screen Encoder 4
It is an advanced version of Microsoft screen encoder 3. It has wonderful graphics and live IIS (Internet Information Services) smooth streaming options. The Windows Media video, as well as audio files, can be produced with the help of this software.
Features:
- Screen capture
- GUI interface
- Live template support
Compatibility: Windows 7, Vista, Windows XP service pack2
Pros:
- High-quality playback
- Enables encoding using H.261Intuitive interface
Cons:
- Less editing tools in comparison to other software
- You cannot export your recordings to Sony Vegas11
Price: Pro version costs $199.95 while the standard version is free having limited features
9.Tinytake
This game recorder is an ideal choice for making commercial presentations. This software allows its users to capture video from the selected region and upload it directly on YouTube or any other social media.
Features:
- Drag and drop option
- You can conveniently annotate the videos
- Inbuilt online file viewer
Compatibility: It can work with Windows as well as Mac operating system
Pros:
- You can develop custom shortcut keys
- Bulk files sharing
- You can run this software on mobile devices
Cons:
- Files are saved only in MP4 format
- Video recording can be done up to 2 hours
- No free version is available for business purposes
Price: It ranges between $29.95 and $199.95 for a yearly plan. You will also get storage memory space up to 2TB with a business plan.
10.Ezvid
This screen software is specially designed for saving the time of the users. It also increases the recording speed and video editing capabilities. You can also add text and watermark to the videos.
Features:-
- Videos are uploaded on YouTube in a fast manner.
- It provides computer speech for narrative purposes.
- Modern and sleek interface
Compatibility: Windows XP SP3, 7 and Vista
Pros:
- High-quality video resolution
- You can also select the most popular music tracks
- It also has a facecam and a video editor
- You can also drag and drop videos
- Professional videos can be created in a few minutes
Cons:
- It is glitch and leggy.
- It requires 10GB free space
- Fewer features as compared to Camtasia software
Price: Free
11. Gecata
Gecata by Movavi is a lightweight video recording tool designed to capture gameplays. Screen recording with this program is easy without needing external hardware. You can capture all screen activities and save recordings in major video formats, including .MOV, .MP4, .AVI, and GIF.
Features:
- One-click screenshots
- Game mode for automatic recording
- Screen and audio recording simultaneously and separately
- Graphics hardware integration option (NVIDIA or Intel) for 400% faster encoding
Compatibility: Windows 7/8/10
Pros:
- Simple interface
- Speedy capturing
- Tested on dozens of games
- Game recording up to 120fps
Cons:
- The free version pastes a watermark on the recording
- Lagging
Price: $30.95 for a lifetime
12. EaseUS RecExperts
RecExperts by EaseUS is a premium screen recorder with many exciting features. For instance, you can record a particular part of the screen by making a selection through your mouse. Likewise, you can also record multiple screens side by side.
While RecExperts is made for gamers and YouTubers, you can use this tool for a wide range of purposes. Such as recording an online meeting, video tutorial, and more.
Features:
- Sound recording and extracting
- Web camera capturing
- Saving captured video into GIF
- Screenshots
- Schedule recording with automatic stop and split options
Compatibility: Windows 7/8.1/10/11 and macOS 10.13 or later
Pros:
- Simple software design
- Allows editing on the captured screen
- Supports different video and formats, including MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI
Cons:
- Limited editing, such as trimming and cutting
Price: $19.95 per month, $39.95 per year, and $79.95 for a lifetime
13. Flashback Express (Free Version)
Flashback Express is a screen recording and editing software. It is a powerful tool for recording desktop screens simultaneously with mic sounds. You can also add webcam recordings to recorded gameplays as most YouTubers do.
Besides, there’s no time limit on the recording. So whether you want to capture a small portion of your video or screen record several hours of gameplay, feel free to do it.
Features:
- Video trimming
- Multi-screen recording
- Webcam overlay
- Direct YouTube uploading option
Compatibility: Windows 7/8.1/10/11
Pros:
- Easy interface
- No watermark
- Voice over during screen capturing
- Selected and full-screen recording
- You can save the recordings in MP4
Cons:
- Difficult export settings
- Unable to export audio in the free version
- You need to convert the video using other programs if you want your recording in different video formats
Price: Free
14. Snagit
Snagit is another product by TechSmith (the developers of Camtasia). It’s a super easy tool to take screenshots and record screens.
You can save the captured video in MP4 and directly send the file through email. You can also upload files on different platforms and applications, including YouTube, Twitter, Slack, Google Drive, and more.
Features:
- Screen and audio recording
- Annotations
- Video trimming
- Webcam recording
- Cloud library
- Video conversion to GIFs
- Panoramic screen capturing
Compatibility: Windows 10/11 and Mac 11 or later
Pros:
- Simple user interface
- Fast video uploading to various platforms
Cons:
- Saved videos are only available in MP4 format
Price:$62.99 for a lifetime, including first-year maintenance (regular maintenance charges are $12.6 per year applicable after completing the first year)
15. Filmora
Filmora is an all-in-one program and is one of the top video editing tools cherished by all types of users – beginners and professionals. But what makes this software super cool for gamers and YouTubers is its screen recording option. With comprehensive features, you can record your gameplay and edit your screen recordings by using a wide range of features.
Features:
- Support 4K editing
- Noise removal
- Advanced text editor
- Color tuning
- Audio mixing
Compatibility: Windows 7/8/10/11 (64-bit) and macOS V10.1/V10.13/V10.14/V10.15/V11/V12
Pros:
- User-friendly interface
- Huge effects library
- Affordable perpetual licensing
- Wide range of features
- Support various video formats
- High-quality results
Cons:
- The free version includes a watermark
- You need to purchase the product to use some important features, such as keyframing
Price: $29.99 per month, $69.99 per year, and $79.99 for a perpetual
What to look for game screen recorder
There are many people who do not have any knowledge regarding game capture software. You must look for the following things before choosing a game screen recorder.
- The option of personalizing the hotkeys
- Number of built-in tools
- How to begin and pause recording
- Number of codes offered by it
- Recording time
- Editing features like cut and paste
- Custom-made Recording Resolution
- Adjustable video frames
In addition to this, some game recorders also affect your in-game fps (Frame per second). You should also check whether it is compatible with large-sized files or not. The quality of the video also depends upon the file size. The larger is file size, the higher is video quality. However, you can face problems while uploading huge-sized videos as online content distributors hardly support such files. So you must compress your video before sharing anywhere. There are also some recorders that provide a direct link to social networking sites. Thus you should consider these factors also before purchasing the game recording software.
You can easily run this recorder on your computer if it is updated and has 8GB of RAM. PC should also have two storage drives so as to install gaming software on one drive and record videos on another drive. It is also advisable to use computers than laptops for recording screen activities because laptops rarely have two storage drives.
You can easily run this recorder on your computer if it is updated and has 8GB of RAM. PC should also have two storage drives so as to install gaming software on one drive and record videos on another drive. It is also advisable to use computers than laptops for recording screen activities because laptops rarely have two storage drives.
FAQs
Q1. What software do YouTubers use to record gameplay?
Most gamers on YouTube use Open Broadcast System (OBS) and Bandicam to record their gameplays. However, there are a few more authentic screen recording tools for high-quality video recording, such as Filmora.
Using Filmora to record your gameplay will help you save the video in all major video formats. Moreover, the tool is also compatible with Mac and Windows operating systems.
Q2. How do I record my screen smoothly?
You should do a couple of things to avoid lagging while screen recording your gameplay. For example, do not use your built-in microphone to record your voice during screen recording. Instead, use an external microphone.
Only record what is important. Use high RAM and have a good graphics card. And most importantly, get screen recorders with at least 60fps.
Q3. Does screen recording decrease FPS?
Yes, it does affect your overall gaming performance. However, it depends on several factors. For instance, the fps won’t be affected much if you’re playing a less CPU-intensive game. The only way to sustain FPS is to have a high-quality screen recorder, such as OBS, Filmora, Bandicam, and Fraps.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
There is no doubt that gaming is one of the largest entertainment sources for most of people. The advanced technology has led to the development of game recorders by which you can record the video of your favorite game and share it with your friends and viewers on YouTube.
Wondershare Filmstock Gaming Video Editing Skils ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-game?source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle&spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb )
You might be interested in:
If you are looking for a screen recorder that allows you to capture your gameplay, add markers to the important point during playing, and edit the recorded gameplay video easily, then we recommend you to try Wondershare DemoCreator.
With DemoCreator, you can:
- Add Markers to important points during recording
- Record high paced games at up to 120 fps
- Capture video, system audio, webcam, and mic at the same time
- Record the entire screen or just a part of your screen
- Change video speed and add fade in and fade out with a simple drag
- Detach audio and record voice narration during editing and reduce the noise
- Use the Blur effect to blur the private info or remove the watermark
- Share videos to Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch directly
However, if you are looking for a video editing software that provides various gameplay elements, I want to recommend - Wondershare Filmora , an easy to use while powerful video editor that allows you not only cut, split, crop, resize, reverse your videos, but also offers you multiple video effects specially designed for Fashion, Beauty, Gaming, Travel, Education, etc. Check the video to know more fantastic features, and keep reading the article to know why Filmora is still one of the best options when it comes to gameplay recording.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
15 Best Game Screen Recorders for Recording Game Videos
1. ShadowPlay
It is free game video capture software created by Nvidia GeForce for streaming game videos. There are two modes of this video recording tool i.e. Manual mode and Shadow mode.
Features:
- Instant replay and record
- Excellent hardware i.e. a GPU-accelerated video encoder
- It has a minimal performance impact
- Records up to 4K resolution at the speed of 130 Mbps
Compatibility: Windows XP, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10
Pros:
- Unlimited recording time in manual mode
- Allow it users to capture full desktop screen
Cons:
- Geforce GTX 600 and above is required to operate this software.
Price: It is available free of cost.
We have researched about how to record gameplay with Nvidia ShadowPlay, check this article How to Use Nvidia Share or ShadowPlay to Record Gameplay for the detailed information.
2. Camtasia
It is one of the best game recorders for recording professional videos on your PC. You can also import HD videos from an external source. The interactive videos can also be created by using this software.
Features:
- Stunning graphics
- Direct link to social media
- Effective recording option
- Drag and drop editing
- Google Drive integration
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8 and 7 SP1
Pros:
- You can easily include animated items
- Video, audio and cursor tracks can be edited individually
- Provides panning and zooming options
- Incorporates webcam
- You can also use the green screen effect
Cons:
- Free trial for only 30 days.
- The users cannot record videos for commercial use in the free version
- Very expensive
- Works slowly on large projects
Price: $299.00 USD but it can be reduced if you buy 5-9 licenses
3. Open Broadcast Software
It is an open-source game recording tool having unlimited customization options. You can get idea about this software by its name i.e. the game streams can be broadcasted on various websites such as Twitch, YouTube, Hitbox etc.
Features:
- Simple interface
- Limitless scenes and sources
- It has file output to FLV or MP4
- GPU-based video game capture
Compatibility: Windows 10, 8, 8.1, Vista and 7, Version for Linux and Mac OS X is also in the pipeline
Pros:
- Easy to use
- High-speed performance
- Keyboard shortcuts
Cons:
- A sharp learning curve
- Difficult to construct scenes
Price: Free
4.Bandicam
It is a perfect choice for beginners as it is easy to understand. You can also record a video game that utilizes the Direct X or OpenGL technology and share on YouTube with a single click. The size of the window can also be adjusted according to your need.
Features:
- Built-in compression feature ensuring high-quality videos
- Recording can be done for more than 24 hours
- You can record videos at 4k Ultra HD resolution
Compatibility: Windows XP, 10, 8.1, 8, and 7
Pros:
- Maximum frame rate i.e. 120 fps
- Two different audio inputs can be recorded at the same time
Cons:
- It does not proffer live streaming
Price: Free trial, $59 for two licenses, $39 for one license
5. EpicRewind
This software is developed recently introducing a unique feature i.e. RAM Rolling Buffer mode. It enables the user to replay the recording instantly. The buffer contents can also be saved by pressing a hotkey.
Features:
- You can conveniently capture screenshot and video from browser games or flash games.
- Direct-To-Disk capture mode
- Video Output Format and Codec can be configured with great ease.
Compatibility: It does not support windows
Pros:
- Videos are not encoded all the time.
Cons:
- It cannot be run on the Windows operating system.
Price: Free trial of the base version
6.D3DGear
It is a very simple and light recorder. This software compresses the recorded files in real-time mode i.e. you are able to record screen activity even if there is less space in your storage drive. The videos can be shared over any social networking website.
Features:
- User-friendly interface
- Built-in compression system
Compatibility: Windows XP, 7, 10, 8, 8.1 and Vista
Pros:
- You can do live video streaming
- The audio files can be saved separately.
Cons:
- Pro version is very costly
Price: 15-day free trial otherwise it costs $34.95.
7.Fraps
It is one of the most famous game screen recorders having superb features. The average performance rate can also be measured by using this recorder. You can also save these statistics in a different file. It is also very light software similar to D3DGear.
Features:
- It can be used as a benchmark tool.
- Capture high-quality footage
Compatibility: Windows Vista, XP, 7, 10, 8.1 and 8
Pros:
- You can record videos at 7680×4800 resolution
- Frames can be adjusted up to 120fps
Cons:
- It does not have streaming options
Price: Free version with few features, full version at $37
8.Microsoft Screen Encoder 4
It is an advanced version of Microsoft screen encoder 3. It has wonderful graphics and live IIS (Internet Information Services) smooth streaming options. The Windows Media video, as well as audio files, can be produced with the help of this software.
Features:
- Screen capture
- GUI interface
- Live template support
Compatibility: Windows 7, Vista, Windows XP service pack2
Pros:
- High-quality playback
- Enables encoding using H.261Intuitive interface
Cons:
- Less editing tools in comparison to other software
- You cannot export your recordings to Sony Vegas11
Price: Pro version costs $199.95 while the standard version is free having limited features
9.Tinytake
This game recorder is an ideal choice for making commercial presentations. This software allows its users to capture video from the selected region and upload it directly on YouTube or any other social media.
Features:
- Drag and drop option
- You can conveniently annotate the videos
- Inbuilt online file viewer
Compatibility: It can work with Windows as well as Mac operating system
Pros:
- You can develop custom shortcut keys
- Bulk files sharing
- You can run this software on mobile devices
Cons:
- Files are saved only in MP4 format
- Video recording can be done up to 2 hours
- No free version is available for business purposes
Price: It ranges between $29.95 and $199.95 for a yearly plan. You will also get storage memory space up to 2TB with a business plan.
10.Ezvid
This screen software is specially designed for saving the time of the users. It also increases the recording speed and video editing capabilities. You can also add text and watermark to the videos.
Features:-
- Videos are uploaded on YouTube in a fast manner.
- It provides computer speech for narrative purposes.
- Modern and sleek interface
Compatibility: Windows XP SP3, 7 and Vista
Pros:
- High-quality video resolution
- You can also select the most popular music tracks
- It also has a facecam and a video editor
- You can also drag and drop videos
- Professional videos can be created in a few minutes
Cons:
- It is glitch and leggy.
- It requires 10GB free space
- Fewer features as compared to Camtasia software
Price: Free
11. Gecata
Gecata by Movavi is a lightweight video recording tool designed to capture gameplays. Screen recording with this program is easy without needing external hardware. You can capture all screen activities and save recordings in major video formats, including .MOV, .MP4, .AVI, and GIF.
Features:
- One-click screenshots
- Game mode for automatic recording
- Screen and audio recording simultaneously and separately
- Graphics hardware integration option (NVIDIA or Intel) for 400% faster encoding
Compatibility: Windows 7/8/10
Pros:
- Simple interface
- Speedy capturing
- Tested on dozens of games
- Game recording up to 120fps
Cons:
- The free version pastes a watermark on the recording
- Lagging
Price: $30.95 for a lifetime
12. EaseUS RecExperts
RecExperts by EaseUS is a premium screen recorder with many exciting features. For instance, you can record a particular part of the screen by making a selection through your mouse. Likewise, you can also record multiple screens side by side.
While RecExperts is made for gamers and YouTubers, you can use this tool for a wide range of purposes. Such as recording an online meeting, video tutorial, and more.
Features:
- Sound recording and extracting
- Web camera capturing
- Saving captured video into GIF
- Screenshots
- Schedule recording with automatic stop and split options
Compatibility: Windows 7/8.1/10/11 and macOS 10.13 or later
Pros:
- Simple software design
- Allows editing on the captured screen
- Supports different video and formats, including MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI
Cons:
- Limited editing, such as trimming and cutting
Price: $19.95 per month, $39.95 per year, and $79.95 for a lifetime
13. Flashback Express (Free Version)
Flashback Express is a screen recording and editing software. It is a powerful tool for recording desktop screens simultaneously with mic sounds. You can also add webcam recordings to recorded gameplays as most YouTubers do.
Besides, there’s no time limit on the recording. So whether you want to capture a small portion of your video or screen record several hours of gameplay, feel free to do it.
Features:
- Video trimming
- Multi-screen recording
- Webcam overlay
- Direct YouTube uploading option
Compatibility: Windows 7/8.1/10/11
Pros:
- Easy interface
- No watermark
- Voice over during screen capturing
- Selected and full-screen recording
- You can save the recordings in MP4
Cons:
- Difficult export settings
- Unable to export audio in the free version
- You need to convert the video using other programs if you want your recording in different video formats
Price: Free
14. Snagit
Snagit is another product by TechSmith (the developers of Camtasia). It’s a super easy tool to take screenshots and record screens.
You can save the captured video in MP4 and directly send the file through email. You can also upload files on different platforms and applications, including YouTube, Twitter, Slack, Google Drive, and more.
Features:
- Screen and audio recording
- Annotations
- Video trimming
- Webcam recording
- Cloud library
- Video conversion to GIFs
- Panoramic screen capturing
Compatibility: Windows 10/11 and Mac 11 or later
Pros:
- Simple user interface
- Fast video uploading to various platforms
Cons:
- Saved videos are only available in MP4 format
Price:$62.99 for a lifetime, including first-year maintenance (regular maintenance charges are $12.6 per year applicable after completing the first year)
15. Filmora
Filmora is an all-in-one program and is one of the top video editing tools cherished by all types of users – beginners and professionals. But what makes this software super cool for gamers and YouTubers is its screen recording option. With comprehensive features, you can record your gameplay and edit your screen recordings by using a wide range of features.
Features:
- Support 4K editing
- Noise removal
- Advanced text editor
- Color tuning
- Audio mixing
Compatibility: Windows 7/8/10/11 (64-bit) and macOS V10.1/V10.13/V10.14/V10.15/V11/V12
Pros:
- User-friendly interface
- Huge effects library
- Affordable perpetual licensing
- Wide range of features
- Support various video formats
- High-quality results
Cons:
- The free version includes a watermark
- You need to purchase the product to use some important features, such as keyframing
Price: $29.99 per month, $69.99 per year, and $79.99 for a perpetual
What to look for game screen recorder
There are many people who do not have any knowledge regarding game capture software. You must look for the following things before choosing a game screen recorder.
- The option of personalizing the hotkeys
- Number of built-in tools
- How to begin and pause recording
- Number of codes offered by it
- Recording time
- Editing features like cut and paste
- Custom-made Recording Resolution
- Adjustable video frames
In addition to this, some game recorders also affect your in-game fps (Frame per second). You should also check whether it is compatible with large-sized files or not. The quality of the video also depends upon the file size. The larger is file size, the higher is video quality. However, you can face problems while uploading huge-sized videos as online content distributors hardly support such files. So you must compress your video before sharing anywhere. There are also some recorders that provide a direct link to social networking sites. Thus you should consider these factors also before purchasing the game recording software.
You can easily run this recorder on your computer if it is updated and has 8GB of RAM. PC should also have two storage drives so as to install gaming software on one drive and record videos on another drive. It is also advisable to use computers than laptops for recording screen activities because laptops rarely have two storage drives.
You can easily run this recorder on your computer if it is updated and has 8GB of RAM. PC should also have two storage drives so as to install gaming software on one drive and record videos on another drive. It is also advisable to use computers than laptops for recording screen activities because laptops rarely have two storage drives.
FAQs
Q1. What software do YouTubers use to record gameplay?
Most gamers on YouTube use Open Broadcast System (OBS) and Bandicam to record their gameplays. However, there are a few more authentic screen recording tools for high-quality video recording, such as Filmora.
Using Filmora to record your gameplay will help you save the video in all major video formats. Moreover, the tool is also compatible with Mac and Windows operating systems.
Q2. How do I record my screen smoothly?
You should do a couple of things to avoid lagging while screen recording your gameplay. For example, do not use your built-in microphone to record your voice during screen recording. Instead, use an external microphone.
Only record what is important. Use high RAM and have a good graphics card. And most importantly, get screen recorders with at least 60fps.
Q3. Does screen recording decrease FPS?
Yes, it does affect your overall gaming performance. However, it depends on several factors. For instance, the fps won’t be affected much if you’re playing a less CPU-intensive game. The only way to sustain FPS is to have a high-quality screen recorder, such as OBS, Filmora, Bandicam, and Fraps.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
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- Title: "2024 Approved Streamline Your Vids with These 15 Royalty-Free Tracks Sites"
- Author: Thomas
- Created at : 2024-05-31 12:38:20
- Updated at : 2024-06-01 12:38:20
- Link: https://youtube-help.techidaily.com/2024-approved-streamline-your-vids-with-these-15-royalty-free-tracks-sites/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
