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Add to SafariWhen comparing Spectacle vs Camtasia, the Slant community recommends Spectacle for most people. In the question“What are the best screen capture tools for Windows?” Spectacle is ranked 10th while Camtasia is ranked 16th. The most important reason people chose Spectacle is:
Spectacle is licensed under MIT with source code available on [GitHub](https://github.com/eczarny/spectacle).
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Free and open source
Spectacle is licensed under MIT with source code available on GitHub.
Pro Simple hotkeys
Spectacle offers easy-to-remember preset hotkeys.
Pro Mouseless
All windows in Spectacle can be controlled with keyboard shortcuts, so no mouse is needed. This makes for a fast way to control windows.
Pro Great UX
Spectacle is easy to use and configure. It's plug and play.
Pro Low footprint
Spectacle only uses up 18-19 MB of RAM, which means there is not much overhead by using this app.
Pro Multi-monitor support
Pro 7+ years of use
Using it for 7 years
Pro Built-in Video Editor to Edit video after recording
- Multiple media layers
- Cut, join, insert freeze frame, change volume
- Annotate with shapes and images
Pro Can record audio
Record audio from the room (via microphone) or from your device. Add sound later if you want. Or not at all.
Pro Tutorial instruction is plentiful
There are hundreds of tutorial lessons among the TechSmith, YouTube, and Udemy sites. The presentations are clear and small enough to assimilate quickly and easily.
Pro Quick start with incremental ramp-up
Although the initial workspace screen may look daunting, with just a little instruction it's quite easy to navigate. More advanced features can be brought in as needed.
Pro Easy to learn and use
Show somebody something real quick or create a commercial grade production with a little practice.
Cons
Con Not maintained
The software is free, but no longer seems to be maintained.
Con Impossible to add new functions
While keyboard shortcuts can be changed for the available actions, there is no way to add custom actions which in turn limits the functionality of the app.
Con Limited window sizing capabilities
You can use 1/2 of the screen vertically and horizontally (divide into 4 parts). You can also use the screen in thirds too, but only the left and right third: you can't use the 1/3 in the center. There is no way to do a more granular distribution.
Con Breaks on macOS High Sierra / Chrome or Firefox
Doesn't support side by side windows.
Con Doesn't work with any Adobe products
There are some apps like Adobe Reader that do not work with Spectacle. Basically, any app with a heavily customized UI that breaks OS X accessibility will not work correctly under Spectacle.
Con $200 price tag
If you're not recording your screen on a regular basis, one of the free options might be a better choice.
Con Quite complex for novice users
