| Page | Job that page describes | Price or license that page states | What that page does not say |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mac Screenshot article | A recording saved on the Mac. Shift-Command-5 opens Screenshot. Record the entire screen, a window, or a portion. “Save to” chooses the folder. Click Record. To stop, click in the menu bar. Screen recordings are .mov files whose names begin with “Screen Recording.” | The article does not display a price. It does not say free. | The recording steps do not name Start Streaming, a streaming platform, or Copy Link. The microphone option is on this page. A sentence about the Mac’s internal audio is not. |
| QuickTime Player record page | File > New Screen Recording opens Screenshot and displays the tools. Click Record. To stop, click in the menu bar. You can open the recording in the app and save it on your Mac. Options points back to the Screenshot article. | The page does not display a price. It does not say free. | It does not print the .mov sentence. It does not name Start Streaming or Copy Link. |
| OBS homepage, and the download page | Video recording and live streaming. The homepage says to download and start streaming on Windows, Mac, or Linux, and that OBS supports streaming platforms. The download page offers a macOS installer for Intel and one for Apple Silicon. | The homepage says “Free and open source software for video recording and live streaming.” macOS supports macOS 13.0 or newer. Both pages list version 33.0.1 and October 29th, with no year beside the date. | Neither page uses the word watermark. Neither page names Copy Link or a .mov folder. The homepage does not name the streaming platforms. |
| OBS quick start, dated 2021-08-25, and the macOS Screen Capture page, dated 2023-01-22 | Start Recording or Start Streaming, in the same sentence, on the Controls Dock. The Auto-Configuration Wizard is for recordings and streams, and it uses network conditions if you are streaming. macOS uses macOS Screen Capture. That source can capture a display, a window, or an application, and on macOS 13 and later it can also capture audio. | These pages do not display a price. The free sentence stays on the homepage. | The quick start says desktop audio and the microphone are on by default. It does not name a save folder. The macOS Screen Capture page says available with audio on macOS 13+ and available without audio on macOS 12.3-12.6. Neither page names Copy Link. Neither page uses the word watermark. |
| Loom for MacOS, and the desktop install page | A recording saved to a Loom workspace, then shared. After Stop, Copy Link adds the video’s web address to the clipboard. Open opens the video in a browser. The new desktop app is for macOS 15 (Sequoia) or newer. Older than 15, the page says to download the previous version. The install page says to choose Mac or PC and, on a Mac, to move Loom to the Applications folder. | The MacOS page says “Free plan” and says to select Upgrade for paid features such as 4K video. It does not display a dollar amount. It says not all resolutions are available on all plans, and it lists 720p, 1080p, 1440p, and 4k (2160p). | It does not print five minutes or 25 videos. It does not name Start Streaming. The recording-settings line says “Includ systems audio will record your Mac’s audio output.” That spelling is the page’s. |
| Loom pricing page | A hosted library. Starter screen recordings are 5 minute screen recordings, and the table says 5 min per video. The library lines say 25 videos and up to 25 videos per person. Meeting recording length is Unlimited on Starter, Business, Business + AI, and Enterprise, for meetings stored from Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams. | Starter displayed $0. The page says you can get started for free on Starter. Business displayed $18, with page data of 18 USD monthly and 180 USD annually. Business + AI displayed $24, with page data of 24 USD monthly and 240 USD annually. The FAQ says paying annually saves 17%. The Enterprise card displayed “Let’s Talk” and did not display a dollar amount. | “Remove Loom branding” and “Upload and download videos” are in the Business list added on top of Starter. The card does not print the words “cannot download.” It does not use the word watermark. It does not say macOS 15. |
| ShareX homepage | A Windows capture tool. Capture methods include Screen recording and Screen recording (GIF). The upload section is about destinations on that Windows page. | “Completely free.” “No advertisements.” The opening sentence says a free and open source screenshot tool for Windows. | The page does not say macOS. It does not name OBS Start Streaming or Loom’s Copy Link. |
Mac job checklist
0 of 8 complete · saved on this device
Apple: Screenshot Record tools, and a .mov saved on the Mac · official help checked 2026-10-31
Apple: File > New Screen Recording in QuickTime Player · official help checked 2026-10-31
OBS: Start Recording or Start Streaming, on macOS 13.0 or newer · official help checked 2026-10-31
Loom for MacOS: Copy Link puts the video’s web address on the clipboard · official help checked 2026-10-31
Loom pricing: Starter at $0, 5 min per video, and 25 videos · official help checked 2026-10-31
ShareX homepage: a Windows tool, not a macOS page · official help checked 2026-10-31
Check the file or link you make; this guide did not record one · official help checked 2026-10-31
A local movie is the Screenshot job, and QuickTime opens it
The Screenshot article is the page that names the Record tools, the “Save to” folder, the menu-bar stop, and the .mov file. QuickTime Player’s record page is the page that names File > New Screen Recording and says the recording can be opened in the app and saved on the Mac. Those are local-file sentences. They are not a live stream, and they are not a web address on the clipboard. Neither page displays a price. The Mac User Guide’s table of contents, on the Screenshot page, includes other articles such as AirPlay. Those articles are not the recording steps. This guide does not treat a different article’s title as a Screenshot recording feature. Microphone versus the Mac’s own sound stays on the existing Mac sound guide. The comparison of QuickTime Player and OBS Studio stays on that comparison. This page only uses the two Apple pages to answer the local-file job.
A live stream is Start Streaming in OBS, on the Mac line the homepage prints
The homepage is the page that says the software is for video recording and live streaming, names Mac, and says macOS supports macOS 13.0 or newer. The download page is the page that repeats macOS 13.0 and newer and lists the Intel and Apple Silicon installers. Both pages, checked 31 October 2026, list 33.0.1 and October 29th, with no year beside the date. The quick start is the page that puts Start Recording and Start Streaming in one sentence, and that mentions network conditions if you are streaming. Choosing Start Streaming is the live-stream job. Choosing Start Recording is the local-recording job inside the same app. The macOS Screen Capture page is the source the quick start names for macOS. Its audio line is macOS 13 and later, which matches the homepage’s current macOS line, and it still prints the older 12.3-12.6 line without audio. The homepage says OBS supports streaming platforms. It does not name them, so this guide does not add a platform name. These OBS pages do not describe a hosted library or a Copy Link control. A stream key, a platform account, and a saved file are not the same result. This guide did not start a stream.
A hosted link is Loom’s Copy Link, and the limits are on the pricing page
The MacOS help page is the page that says Copy Link adds the video’s web address to the clipboard and that Open opens the video in a browser. That is the hosted-link job. The same page says the new desktop app is for macOS 15 (Sequoia) or newer, and that an older MacOS version should use the previous Loom version. The install page repeats the older-MacOS download and says to choose Mac or PC. The MacOS page mentions a Free plan and an Upgrade control. It does not print the five-minute line or the $0 line. The pricing page, checked the same day, is where Starter displayed $0, where screen recordings are 5 min per video, and where the video count is 25. Meeting length is a different row, Unlimited on Starter, for calendar meetings from Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams. Business at $18 and Business + AI at $24 are the displayed monthly amounts, with 180 USD and 240 USD in the page data for the annual amounts. The FAQ’s 17% sentence is the annual-billing sentence. Enterprise’s card says “Let’s Talk” and does not show a dollar price. “Remove Loom branding” and “Upload and download videos” stay in the Business list that the page adds on top of Starter. This guide does not call branding a watermark, and it does not restate the download article. The longer limits guide remains the page for roles and for that download article, which was checked on 21 October 2026 and was not the page read again for this record.
ShareX stays a Windows page
The ShareX homepage is explicit: a screenshot tool for Windows, completely free, with screen recording among its capture methods. That is why the OBS alternatives hub says the listed ShareX edition is not a macOS replacement. This guide does not turn the Windows upload section into a Mac hosted link. It also does not move ShareX’s “completely free” sentence onto Screenshot, QuickTime Player, or Loom. A reader who needs the watermark wording on the ShareX image tool uses the separate watermark guide. That question is not the job split on this page.
One Mac can need more than one of these jobs
A .mov from Screenshot does not start the stream the OBS quick start names, and Start Streaming does not put a Loom web address on the clipboard. A Starter screen recording that the pricing page limits to five minutes is a different constraint from a Screenshot recording, whose article does not print a minute limit. macOS 13.0 or newer is the OBS homepage’s line. macOS 15 (Sequoia) or newer is the new Loom desktop app’s line. Those are not the same requirement, and neither page says it is the reader’s installed version. If the recording must be a file on the Mac, start with Screenshot or with OBS Start Recording. If it must go out live, start with OBS Start Streaming. If someone must open a link, start with Loom’s Copy Link and then read the Starter limits on the pricing page. This guide did not rank the apps, and it did not certify a catalog match.
Scope of this guide
We read the linked Apple, OBS, Loom, and ShareX pages on 31 October 2026 and wrote this guide from them. We did not install OBS Studio, Loom, or ShareX, did not open Screenshot or QuickTime Player, and did not record a file, start a stream, or copy a share link. Nothing here is a hands-on recording or a tested catalog match. Menus can differ by app version and macOS version. Check what your own screen shows. “Free” is used only where the OBS homepage, the ShareX homepage, or a Loom page prints it. The Apple pages checked do not display a price and do not say free. A page that does not use the word watermark is not a statement that a saved file has none. The Loom pricing page’s “Remove Loom branding” sentence stays on the Business list. It is not a watermark test.
Common questions
What should a Mac user use instead of OBS to save a local file?
The Screenshot article, checked 31 October 2026, says Shift-Command-5 opens the Record tools, and that screen recordings are saved as .mov files. QuickTime Player’s record page says File > New Screen Recording opens those tools, and that you can save the recording on your Mac. OBS Studio can also record: the quick start says to click Start Recording, and the homepage says the app records video on Mac, with macOS 13.0 or newer. Those Apple pages do not display a price. The OBS homepage says the software is free and open source. This guide did not save a file.
Does OBS Studio live stream on a Mac?
The OBS homepage, checked 31 October 2026, says the software is for video recording and live streaming, and it says to start streaming on Windows, Mac, or Linux. It says macOS supports macOS 13.0 or newer. The download page lists version 33.0.1, released October 29th, with no year beside the date, for macOS 13.0 and newer. The quick start, dated 2021-08-25, says to click Start Streaming on the Controls Dock, in the same sentence as Start Recording, and it mentions network conditions if you are streaming. The Screenshot and QuickTime record pages do not name Start Streaming. This guide did not start a stream. The homepage does not name the streaming platforms.
Which official Mac page copies a hosted share link?
Loom’s MacOS page says that after you stop, Copy Link adds the video’s web address to the clipboard, and Open opens the video in a browser. It says the new desktop app is for macOS 15 (Sequoia) or newer, and that an older MacOS version should download the previous version. The pricing page, not that help page, displayed Starter at $0 and limited a Starter screen recording to 5 min per video, with up to 25 videos per person. Business displayed $18 and Business + AI displayed $24. The Enterprise card displayed “Let’s Talk.” OBS’s quick start does not name Copy Link.
Is ShareX an OBS alternative on a Mac?
No. The ShareX homepage says it is a free and open source screenshot tool for Windows, and it lists screen recording as a capture method. It does not say macOS. The OBS alternatives page on this site already says the listed ShareX edition is not a macOS replacement. This guide does not add a Mac install step the homepage does not print.
Do these pages say the recording has no watermark?
The Apple, OBS, and ShareX pages read on 31 October 2026 do not use the word watermark. That silence is not a checked file. Loom’s pricing page lists “Remove Loom branding” under Business, in the features added on top of Starter. It does not use the word watermark. This guide did not export a recording. The watermark question for the pages checked on 29 October 2026 stays on the free screen-recorder guide.
Inspect the exact editions
Open the full evidence record before choosing. A documented candidate is not a completed migration test.
References and scope
Official help checked 31 Oct 2026. Plan, role and region limits still apply; this is a planning checklist, not a completed migration.
- Apple Mac User Guide: Take screenshots or screen recordings on Mac. Accessed 31 October 2026.
- Apple QuickTime Player User Guide: Record your screen in QuickTime Player on Mac. Accessed 31 October 2026.
- OBS Project homepage: free and open source, recording and live streaming, macOS 13.0 or newer, version 33.0.1 dated October 29th. Accessed 31 October 2026.
- OBS Studio download page: version 33.0.1, macOS 13.0 and newer, Intel and Apple Silicon installers. Accessed 31 October 2026.
- OBS Knowledge Base: Quick Start Guide, dated 2021-08-25 on the page, including Start Recording and Start Streaming. Accessed 31 October 2026.
- OBS Knowledge Base: macOS Screen Capture Source, dated 2023-01-22 on the page. Accessed 31 October 2026.
- Atlassian Support: Get started with Loom for MacOS, including Copy Link and macOS 15. Accessed 31 October 2026.
- Atlassian Support: Install the Loom desktop app, Mac or PC. Accessed 31 October 2026.
- Loom pricing page: Starter, Business, Business + AI, and Enterprise, including displayed prices and the five-minute Starter screen recording. Accessed 31 October 2026.
- ShareX homepage: completely free, for Windows, with screen recording as a capture method. Accessed 31 October 2026.