When it comes to recording gameplay and streaming, there are a few options on the market that you can use. There were the likes of Fraps and Bandicam back in the day, but now there are significantly better options that are free and open-source. One of the best is Open Broadcaster Software, also known as OBS Studio, and it's completely free with extensive plugin support.

Before getting into why OBS is great, you may have heard of alternatives like Streamlabs, XSplit, and vMix. Streamlabs is based on OBS and removes and changes features, often using more resources while also not doing anything special you can't do with standard OBS. XSplit is one of the longest standing applications out there, but has a license fee to use it and doesn't offer much above OBS. Finally, vMix is a more professional piece of software that you don't need for gameplay recordings and basic streaming, and also has a significant license cost.

OBS is by far the best anyone can you use and install, and there's no reason to use anything else for most hobbyists.

OBS is completely free and open source

With a big plugin community

When it comes to streaming software, many popular options are free or offer premium versions for additional features. OBS Studio, however, stands apart as not only completely free but also open-source. This makes it a choice that already stands out when compared to the competition for both casual and professional streamers.

Being open-source brings significant advantages. The software isn’t loaded with unnecessary features designed to push you toward a paid version. Instead, it focuses entirely on providing a completely customizable platform that meets the needs of all streamers. The community’s active involvement ensures constant improvements, and if you’re technically inclined, you can even contribute to the project yourself. Whether it’s fixing a bug, adding a feature, or creating a plugin, anyone can contribute.

However, the customization is where OBS truly shines. The modular interface that it uses lets you tailor the software to your unique needs. I've used it for live events countless times, but it's also perfect for the basics like streaming games and recording tutorials. There are a lot of plugins out there you can download, and those provide tools for advanced overlays, scene transitions, and integrations with other services.

All of this is enabled by the open-source and free nature of OBS, and it's no wonder that practically everyone uses it for recording gameplay and streaming on Twitch, YouTube, and other services. For example, in the screenshot above, I installed the Downstream Keyer plugin which adds a final overlay over the output stream, a perfect place to put popups and alerts so that they always show no matter what scene you've switched to.

OBS has lots of great features built in

OBS is built around a "scene" system, where each scene can contain anything from webcams, capture cards, screen captures, or even specific application captures. You can create a virtually unlimited number of scenes and add as manu sources as you want to each one. You can create a layout for each scene with all of the different elements, meaning you can make a streaming or recording setup for literally anything.

My favorite feature in OBS is the Replay Buffer feature. It keeps a recording of a period of time (defined by the user) in RAM, and you can then save that buffer in a format of your choosing while it runs in the background. You don't even need to be streaming or recording for it to work, so you can just have your Replay Buffer running while you play games and save clips when you need them. If you don't want to set up all of your games individually, you can set a source in OBS to be any full-screen application.

Even better is that you can enable hotkeys for all kinds of functionalities in OBS, including switching to a specific scene, saving a Replay Buffer (so you don't need to manually save it), and more. There's also Studio Mode, which will give you a preview of the scene you're switching to before it actually goes to the output feed. It shows you your current stream on the left-hand side, and when you choose a different scene, you can see what it will look like next to it. If everything looks right, you can then switch over.

Finally, OBS also supports a ton of different platforms. It's not just Twitch, it's also YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Kick, and more.

For streaming and recording, there's no better option

It has basically no downsides

If you're a budding streamer or YouTuber, or you're simply someone who wants to have a good way to record what's happening on their screen, OBS is by far the best option to go for. It's free, open-source, feature-packed, and completely customizable. All of the other options pale in comparison.

You can download OBS Studio from the official site.