A screen recorder that lives in your browser — and keeps your footage there
Most "online screen recorders" are upload funnels: you record locally, wait for the file to reach their servers, then edit a copy of your own footage in their cloud. ScreenCastKit is the other kind. Recording, editing, and export all run inside Chrome or Edge on your machine. There is nothing to install, nothing to upload, and no account to create — open the app, pick a tab, window, or screen, and you're recording.
The difference shows up twice. First when you stop recording: the editor opens instantly, because your footage is already on your device — no progress bar, no "processing" screen. Second when you export: WebCodecs hands the frames to your GPU's H.264 encoder, so a 1080p export targets realtime or faster, and Pro unlocks 4K at 60 fps. We publish a live benchmark you can run on your own hardware.
Not just a recorder — a cinematic editor
Raw screen captures look like surveillance footage. ScreenCastKit ships the effect system that makes demos look produced: spring-animated zooms with a touch of overshoot, click ripples so viewers never lose the pointer, a wallpaper frame with padding, rounded corners and a soft shadow, and a movable webcam bubble that automatically shrinks during zooms. The default look is applied the moment the editor opens — most recordings need two zoom segments and a trim, and they're done.
One honest note on zooms: manual zooms work on every recording — drag a segment on the timeline, click where to focus, and the spring engine animates it in seconds. Automatic click-driven zoom needs our free companion extension and works for browser-tab recordings, because browsers don't let a web page (or even an extension) observe clicks outside the browser window. We label that precisely rather than promise "auto-zoom everywhere" and disappoint you.
How it compares
Real numbers, from vendors' own pages as of July 2026:
| Tool | Runs where | Free tier limits | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| ScreenCastKit | Browser, 100% local | 1080p · 5-min exports · watermark; recordings unlimited | $9/mo · $69/yr · $119 lifetime |
| Loom | Extension + desktop, cloud | 25 videos lifetime · 5 min · 720p · no downloads | $15–18/user/mo Business |
| Screentell | Browser, 100% local | Watermark · 3-min exports | $6.99/mo · $49.99/yr · $99.99 lifetime |
| Screen Studio | Native, macOS only | Trial only — export requires a plan | $29/mo · $108/yr, no lifetime |
| Veed | Browser, cloud | Watermark · 720p · 10-min projects · 2GB | $10–21/mo |
Sources: loom.com/pricing, screentell.com, rekort.app/compare/screen-studio, checkthat.ai/brands/veed/pricing — collected in our market research, July 2026.
Why local-first is the whole point
Cloud recorders have to pay for storage and transcoding, which is why their free tiers are disguised trials — Loom's stops at 25 videos, ever. Our costs don't scale with your usage, because your hardware does the rendering. That's why free recordings are unlimited, why there's no account wall, and why the paid tiers cost what they cost. It's also a privacy guarantee you can check: open DevTools while you record, edit, and export — the Network tab stays quiet. Your recordings persist in your browser's private storage with a 30-day history, and crash recovery restores an interrupted session to the last second.
Record something right now
No signup, no download. If it's not for you, close the tab — nothing to uninstall.
Keep reading
- How to record a product demo — the full workflow, from capture to a 4K MP4.
- Loom alternative — if you're here because you hit the 25-video cap.
- Our watermark policy — stated plainly, including what free does and doesn't include.
FAQ
- Is ScreenCastKit really free?
- Yes. Unlimited recordings of any length, the full editor, and every effect — no account needed. Free exports are capped at 1080p and 5 minutes with a small corner watermark; Pro lifts all three from $69/yr or $119 once.
- Do I need to install anything?
- No. Everything runs in Chrome or Edge on desktop. An optional companion extension adds automatic click-driven zoom for browser-tab recordings.
- Where do my recordings go?
- Your browser's private storage (OPFS) on your machine, with a 30-day history you can restore or clear. Nothing is uploaded — verify it in the Network tab.
- Can I record the whole screen, or just a tab?
- A tab, a window, or an entire screen — plus mic and webcam. Tab audio works everywhere; full system audio depends on your OS, and the picker tells you exactly what your platform supports.