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5 best Android apps for screen recording and other ways too

A lot of people ask us the best way to do screen recording on our Android devices. Here are the apps and methods we use.
By
September 10, 2023
Vysor best screen recording apps for Android

Screen recording on Android is a lot easier than it used to be. Back in the day, you needed an app or a capture card to do it. However, Google implemented native screen recording in Android Lollipop, and it’s something you can do on modern smartphones at the tap of a button. You can usually find the screen record button in the quick settings. In any case, there are some use cases where an app is still preferable. That includes folks who want extra features and not just basic recording. Here are the best screen recording apps for Android that let you do more than just record your screen.

AZ Screen Recorder

Price: Free /In-app purchases ($2.49 – $11.99 per item)

AZ Screen Recorder screenshot 2020

AZ Screen Recorder is the gold standard for screen recorder apps. It’s light, easy, accessible, and cheap. It features an overlay button that doesn’t interfere with the recorded content. In addition, you can add a front-facing camera for things like game streams or commentary. It even has a small video editor built in. That way, you can shave away the parts that don’t matter. Of course, it doesn’t require root, has no watermarks, no time limits, and more. It’s probably the best and most popular screen recorder available.

InShot Screen Recorder

Price: Free /In-app purchases ($5.99 – $49.99 per item)

InShot is a pretty popular developer on Google Play when it comes to video tools. Its screen recorder app is among the most popular. It works for basically any task, from recording tutorial videos to recording video games. The app also features internal audio recording, a lightweight video editor to clean stuff up, and it doesn’t have a watermark. It works pretty well for what it does. Native Android has a screen recorder now, but this one adds a little extra that the internal screen recorder doesn’t have. There is a subscription service for some of the features, but otherwise, it’s good.

Link to Windows

Price: Free

Link to Windows screenshot 2022

Link to Windows is a native tool on Windows PCs that works with Android. It has a lot of functions, including sending and receiving texts on your PC, checking out your gallery, and even answering phone calls. However, it also lets you mirror your Android phone to your computer. From there, you can use your PC to capture your phone screen instead of needing to do it natively. It’s not the most elegant solution, but it works pretty well.

Twitch and similar apps

Price: Free

Many streaming services now include mobile support. Twitch and YouTube Gaming are two of the most prominent ones. You simply stream your gameplay like normal. Both services allow you to download your footage after you’re done. It’s a good solution for gamers, especially. In fact, it’s probably better than Google Play Games for this kind of stuff. Unlike Google Play Games, it’s kind of difficult to use this one for apps or anything other than gaming. At least these services are free.

Vysor and similar apps

Price: Free

Vysor is a fun little app that allows you to cast your device to your computer screen over USB. From there, you can use it on your computer or screen record it on your PC if you’d like to. It tends to work pretty well, although you will need to fork out a little bit of money in order to get HD quality. This app doesn’t record anything on its own, so don’t expect any options to do so. You’ll have to record it on your computer on your own. If this app isn’t cutting it for you, TeamViewer is another decent option in this space. You do need a screen recording app on your computer in order to capture footage, though.

Just use your phone

Price: Free

Android 11 screen record
Joe Hindy / Android Authority

Android natively supports screen recording and has for a few years. You can usually find it among the quick settings toggles. Simply hit the toggle, and the phone begins screen recording. This is a good option for simple things. There is no additional software to get in the way, and you can send the video wherever you need it once it’s done.

In the future, we think most people will just use this solution anyway, so we wanted to add it to the list. You don’t need an app, so we don’t have a Google Play button. We do have a tutorial you can read if you need more help, and another that is specific to recording the screen on Samsung phones and tablets.


best Android apps for screen recording

Other methods for screen recording

There are other ways to record your screen on Android, and that is by using hardware. There are two main ways to do so using hardware:

  • Professionals often use a capture card to hook their Android device right into their computer and record it from there. Capture cards can get rather expensive, but you’ll probably get the best frame rates and quality. Plus, it records directly to your computer’s hard drive, which allows for much larger recordings. Earlier models had to work around some potential HDCP problems, but modern capture cards don’t have that problem.
  • Some Chromebooks now include the ability to mirror your Android device directly to them. This, of course, requires buying a Chromebook. That’s an unreasonable expenditure for what should be a relatively simple task. However, we do try to cover all of the bases here, and this is definitely an option. You still need an app to record your Chromecast screen, though.

If we missed any great methods of screen recording on Android, tell us about them in the comments!