Last updated: 2026-01-19

To record a webinar with as little friction as possible, start in StreamYard’s browser-based recording studio, share your screen, and capture a clean local or cloud recording you can reuse everywhere. If you need deep encoder control or ultra-simple async clips, tools like OBS or Loom can sit alongside that core setup.

Summary

• Use StreamYard’s record-only studio to capture your screen, camera, and guests from any modern browser.
• Turn on screen sharing and local multi-track recording so you can fix mistakes and mix audio later. (StreamYard support)
• For niche needs, layer in OBS for hardware-tuned local capture or Loom for quick one-off explainers.
• Focus your prep on audio, layout, and backup plans so your webinar recording is ready to repurpose immediately.

What should you use to record a webinar screen in the first place?

Most people in the US who search for webinar recording don’t want to become video engineers—they just want a reliable recording of their slides, their face, and maybe one or two guests.

That’s the gap we built StreamYard for: you join a browser studio, click "Record", share your screen, and end up with cloud and local files that are ready for YouTube, course platforms, or internal hubs. Our studio records your screen and camera together, gives you independent control over mic vs system audio, and saves separate local tracks for each participant on all plans. (StreamYard support)

OBS and Loom can both record webinars too, but with different trade-offs:

• OBS is a desktop app with fine-grained encoding controls and scene layouts, but it expects you to manage hardware, file formats, and storage. (OBS Studio)
• Loom is built for quick async screen + camera clips that auto-upload and generate a share link, which is handy for short follow-ups and walkthroughs. (Loom screen recorder)

For a hosted-style webinar with slides, guests, and a recording you’ll reuse, StreamYard is usually the most direct path.

How do you record a webinar in StreamYard step by step?

Here’s a straightforward workflow that works whether you’re hosting the webinar in StreamYard or just want to record a presenter-led walkthrough.

1. Create a record-only studio
   From your StreamYard home page, use the option to create a new recording. This opens a studio that looks like a live show, but nothing is going out publicly—you’re just capturing a recording from the browser. (StreamYard guide)

2. Set up your camera, mic, and layout

   • Choose your camera and microphone inputs.
   • Use our layouts to decide how your webcam appears next to your slides.
   • Turn on branded overlays and logos if you want the recording to look finished the moment it ends.

3. Share your screen
   Click Share, then choose a window (your slide deck), a browser tab, or your entire screen. Hosts and guests can both share screens, which is useful if you have multiple presenters trading demos. (StreamYard screen sharing)

4. Enable local multi-track recording
   With local recording, each person’s camera and mic are captured on their own device and uploaded, so you get separate files per participant for editing. On the free plan, you can use up to 2 hours of local recording per month; paid plans provide unlimited local recording, subject to your own storage and device limits. (StreamYard recordings)

5. Use recording controls while you present
   Once you hit Record, you can pause, resume, restart, or cancel the recording from inside the studio. This lets you stop during a mistake, regroup with guests, and continue without creating multiple files. (Recording controls)

6. Wrap up and download your files
   When you stop, the cloud recording appears in your dashboard, and any local tracks finish uploading. From there, you can download:

   • A mixed video file.
   • Separate audio and video tracks per participant for editing.
   • Clips for social media or a course.

That’s the entire loop: open a browser, click into a studio, share your screen, record, and download.

How do you make sure the webinar audio is actually good?

Screen recording fails most often on audio: people record only the mic, or only the system sound, or neither clearly.

In StreamYard’s studio, you can independently control mic and system audio:

• Your microphone: that’s your voice. Use a USB mic or a decent headset when possible.
• System audio: that’s the webinar sound, video clips you play, and other app audio.

Practical checklist before you hit Record:

• Wear headphones so your mic doesn’t re-record the webinar’s audio from your speakers.
• In your system settings, pick a single audio output (your headphones) and stick with it.
• In StreamYard, confirm your mic is the right device and watch the meter as you speak.
• If you’re playing a video or sharing a browser tab with audio, make sure you’ve toggled “share tab audio” and that the volume is up.

This approach mirrors what third-party webinar recording guides recommend—explicitly checking system audio vs microphone before you start—so your final file has both your narration and the webinar content. (Movavi webinar guide)

How does StreamYard compare to Loom and OBS for webinar recording?

Different tools fit different webinar situations. Here’s how they typically line up:

StreamYard: browser studio for presenter-led webinars

• Runs in the browser, so you don’t need to install a heavy desktop app. (StreamYard pricing)
• Lets you bring in multiple presenters, control layouts, and apply branding live.
• Records cloud + local copies, with separate tracks for each participant on all plans. (StreamYard support)
• Pricing is per workspace rather than per user, which often ends up more affordable for teams compared to per-seat tools like Loom. (Loom pricing)

Loom: quick async clips and follow-ups

• Great when you just need a fast 2–5 minute explainer or a follow-up for attendees.
• Free tier is limited to 5-minute recordings and 25 videos; paid plans remove those caps and add advanced features. (Loom plans)
• Every recording uploads to Loom and gets a shareable link; useful, but not a full webinar studio.

OBS: deep local control and hardware tuning

• Free, open-source desktop software for recording and live streaming with advanced scenes and encoding options. (OBS Studio)
• No vendor-imposed caps on recording duration; you’re limited mainly by your computer and disk.
• Setup is more involved: you configure scenes, sources, and encoders, and manage large files yourself. (OBS help)

For a typical webinar with slides, guests, and a plan to repurpose the recording, StreamYard usually covers the needs with less setup time than OBS and more multi-presenter structure than Loom.

How do you record multi-presenter webinars and keep them editable?

Once you add more than one presenter, the risk of messy audio and confusing layouts goes up.

In StreamYard, you can:

• Invite multiple guests into the same studio with a link.
• Let different people share their screens as they take turns.
• Keep presenter notes visible only to you as the host so you can stay on track.
• Capture separate local audio/video tracks per participant on all plans, with free plans limited to 2 hours of local recording per month and paid plans offering unlimited local recording. (StreamYard recordings)

A simple scenario:

1. You host a training webinar with two product managers.
2. Each presenter joins the StreamYard studio, tests mic and camera, and opens their slides.
3. You start a record-only session, introduce the session on camera, then hand off screen sharing.
4. After the call, you download separate audio/video for each speaker and cut the best segments into shorter modules.

You get the flexibility of a “real show” without needing to wire up multiple apps or complicated routing.

When does it make sense to mix tools or use alternatives?

There are edge cases where layering tools is useful:

• You’re capturing a hardware-intensive demo or gameplay: Use OBS to record the raw screen at custom bitrates, then feed edited highlights into StreamYard later for a polished, branded webinar.
• You want quick attendee follow-ups: Host and record the main webinar in StreamYard, then record short Loom clips to answer specific questions that came up. (Loom screen recorder)
• Your laptop is tightly locked down: If you can’t install apps but can open a modern browser, StreamYard’s web-based studio can still capture your screen and camera without a desktop installer. (StreamYard pricing)

For most teams, StreamYard works as the “home base” where the final recording is captured and packaged, while tools like OBS and Loom are occasional helpers, not replacements.

What we recommend

• Default to StreamYard’s browser studio to record your webinar: it balances simplicity, quality, and multi-presenter control.
• Turn on local multi-track recording and wear headphones to protect audio quality and editing flexibility.
• Use Loom for short follow-up explainers and OBS when you truly need deep local control or heavy hardware-based recording.
• Design your workflow so the recording you capture once can be repurposed many times—courses, replays, clips, and internal training.