Last updated: 2026-01-15

If you’re on Windows 10 and want clear, presenter-led screen recordings that are easy to reuse and share, start with StreamYard’s browser-based studio and local multi-track recording. For highly technical, scene-heavy or gaming workflows, pair StreamYard with OBS and use Loom or the Xbox Game Bar only for quick one-off clips.

Summary

• StreamYard gives you a full recording studio in your browser with layouts, branding, notes, and multi-track local recordings that work great on typical Windows 10 laptops. (StreamYard)
• OBS is a powerful, free desktop app for advanced local screen capture and live streaming on Windows 10, but it expects more setup and hardware tuning than most casual users want. (OBS Project)
• Loom focuses on quick async screen + camera clips and link sharing, but its free plan limits video length and library size, which can quickly feel tight for tutorials. (Loom)
• The built‑in Xbox Game Bar can capture short, simple recordings on Windows 10, yet it lacks layouts, branding, and multi-participant workflows.

What should you look for in Windows 10 screen recording software?

Before comparing tools, it helps to zoom out. Most people searching for “screen recording software Windows 10” in the US are really asking:

From talking with creators and teams, these needs tend to show up again and again:

• Fast and easy startup – You don’t want a weekend course in encoder settings.
• Presenter-led recordings – Your screen plus your face and voice, in a layout that actually looks intentional.
• Instant reuse and distribution – Export to YouTube, podcast editors, LMSs, or internal tools without friction.
• High-quality output on normal hardware – You’re probably on a standard Windows 10 laptop, not a custom streaming rig.
• Reliability – The tool should keep working even when your internet or CPU isn’t perfect.

StreamYard was built around those exact constraints: a recording studio in your browser that captures your screen, camera, and guests, then gives you both cloud and local files for editing or repurposing. (StreamYard) OBS, Loom, and the Xbox Game Bar each cover pieces of this puzzle, but they’re optimized for slightly different jobs.

How does StreamYard work as screen recording software on Windows 10?

If you’ve only seen StreamYard as a live streaming tool, it can be surprising how well it fits pure screen recording on Windows 10.

At a high level, you:

1. Open a browser on your Windows 10 machine.
2. Enter a StreamYard studio (no desktop install required).
3. Share your screen, window, or tab and optionally add your camera.
4. Hit record – without going live anywhere.

Presenter-led layouts instead of raw screen dumps

In StreamYard, your screen is just another “source” you can arrange in the studio. You control:

• Full-screen screen share, or side-by-side with your camera.
• Picture-in-picture styles where your camera floats over the demo.
• Branded overlays, logos, and on-screen elements that appear live.

Because layouts are applied in real time, you don’t need to rebuild the whole look in an editor afterward. For many tutorials, that alone can cut editing time dramatically.

Clear control of audio

For Windows 10 users, audio is often the hardest part. StreamYard separates:

• Your microphone audio
• Your screen/system audio

So you can mute one, boost the other, or mix them as needed. That’s especially helpful when you’re demoing software with loud notification sounds or background music.

Local multi-track recordings for reuse

When you record in our studio, you can enable local recordings, which capture high-quality audio and video directly on each participant’s device and then upload the files back to StreamYard. (StreamYard)

That means:

• You get separate tracks per participant, ideal for editing out crosstalk or background noise later.
• On paid plans, local recording is effectively unlimited in hours; the free plan includes 2 hours of local recording per month. (StreamYard Support)
• You can record up to 10 people total (you plus 9 others) for multi-guest walkthroughs, panel discussions, or training sessions. (StreamYard)

For most people doing recurring demos, training, or podcast-style recordings, that combination of layout control + multi-track local files is exactly what you’d otherwise stitch together from several tools.

Portrait and landscape from the same session

Short-form video is a big part of the modern stack. StreamYard supports both landscape and portrait outputs from the same recording session, so you can record once and repurpose for YouTube, TikTok, Reels, or internal wikis without redoing the entire take.

Built to run well on regular laptops

Because the processing is split between your browser and our cloud, StreamYard tends to run reliably on typical Windows 10 laptops as long as they can handle modern browsers. You don’t have to worry about GPU compatibility or custom drivers the way you do with heavy native apps.

And unlike many “per-seat” tools, our pricing is per workspace, not per user. So as your team grows, you’re not multiplying licenses the way you would with user-based tools like Loom’s paid tiers. (Loom)

Which free screen recorders work best on Windows 10?

If your starting point is “I want something free,” there are four common paths:

1. StreamYard free plan (browser-based studio)
2. OBS Studio (desktop app)
3. Loom Starter (freemium async recorder)
4. Xbox Game Bar (built into Windows 10)

StreamYard free on Windows 10

On the free plan, you can:

• Enter the studio from your browser.
• Record your screen and camera.
• Use layouts, overlays, and branded visuals.
• Use local recording for up to 2 hours per month across your projects. (StreamYard Support)

The tradeoffs: you have limited total hours and storage, and live streams on free are not automatically recorded. That said, if you primarily need occasional, high-quality tutorials or meetings to edit later, the free tier is a solid way to learn the workflow.

OBS Studio on Windows 10

OBS is arguably the most cited answer when someone asks for a free screen recorder on Windows 10—and for good reason:

• It’s a free and open-source application for screencasting and live streaming. (Wikipedia)
• The Windows version supports Windows 10 and 11 and runs as a full desktop app. (OBS Project)
• You can build complex scenes with multiple sources, including displays, windows, images, and capture cards.

There are no vendor-imposed recording caps; your limits are hardware and disk space. But with that flexibility comes complexity:

• You need to install and configure it.
• You choose encoders, bitrates, file formats, and scenes.
• Recording quality and stability depend entirely on your machine and settings.

OBS is a strong fit when you know you want detailed scene control, game capture, or advanced technical tuning. For many everyday business and creator workflows, though, that level of setup isn’t necessary.

Loom Starter on Windows 10

Loom’s free Starter plan is aimed at quick async recordings rather than long-form production:

• It runs on Windows 10 (64-bit) and records your screen, camera, or a specific window. (Loom)
• The Starter plan gives you 25 videos per person with a 5-minute limit per screen recording. (Loom Help Center)

This is handy for short feedback clips or walkthroughs. But for multi-part training series or hour-long demos, you will quickly hit the time and library caps unless you upgrade.

Xbox Game Bar (built-in)

Windows 10 includes the Xbox Game Bar, which can record your screen and save clips as MP4 files under Videos\Captures. (Microsoft Support)

Pros:

• Already installed on many Windows 10 PCs.
• Simple shortcuts to start/stop recording.

Cons:

• No multi-guest support.
• No branded layouts or overlays.
• Not designed for structured shows, podcasts, or recurring content.

Practical recommendation:

• Use StreamYard free when you care about how the recording looks (layouts, branding, guests, notes) and want a path to multi-track audio.
• Use OBS when you’re comfortable learning a more complex tool and primarily need local, scene-heavy capture.
• Use Loom Starter or Xbox Game Bar for quick, disposable clips that don’t need editing or reuse.

OBS or StreamYard: which to use for multi-guest recordings?

This is one of the most common comparison questions: if you’re recording a podcast, panel, or customer demo with multiple participants on Windows 10, should you start with OBS or StreamYard?

How multi-guest recording works in OBS

OBS is built around scenes and sources, not guests. To bring in remote people, you typically:

• Use another app (Zoom, Teams, Discord, etc.) for the call.
• Capture that app’s window or use plugins/virtual cameras.
• Mix everything in OBS and record locally.

It works, but you’re now juggling:

• At least two apps (call + OBS).
• Audio routing (so guests hear what they should, without echo).
• Scene switching and overlays.

For advanced users, this is fine and can allow very bespoke setups. For most people just trying to get a clean, reliable recording, it’s a lot.

How multi-guest recording works in StreamYard

In StreamYard, guests join directly in the studio via a browser link. Once they’re in:

• You can record with up to 10 people total on paid plans. (StreamYard)
• You can enable per-participant local recordings, giving your editor separate video and audio files for each person. (StreamYard Support)
• You control what’s on screen with layouts, overlays, and banners, just as if you were live.

You don’t have to piece together multiple apps, and everyone sees roughly what the audience will see.

When OBS still makes sense in this scenario

There are a few edge cases where adding OBS to StreamYard can help:

• You want a very complex visual layout with dozens of scene variations.
• You’re mixing many hardware sources from a local studio.

In those cases, you can use OBS as a source or pre-processor and still run your recording through a StreamYard studio for multi-guest management and backup.

Rule of thumb:

• If your top priority is clean multi-guest recordings with minimal setup, start in StreamYard.
• If your top priority is maximum control over every visual and encoding parameter and you’re comfortable with a steeper learning curve, add OBS.

Loom desktop app: Windows 10 requirements and limitations

Loom often comes up when teams want to send quick “here’s what I’m seeing” clips from Windows 10.

What Loom does well on Windows 10

The Loom desktop app lets you:

• Record your screen and camera bubble, or just one of them, on Windows 10 (64-bit). (Loom)
• Capture system audio alongside your mic.
• Share recordings via a simple link for comments and reactions.

Paid plans list unlimited videos and recording time, focusing on async communication instead of full show production. (Loom Help Center)

Important limits on Windows 10

For Windows 10 users, there are a couple of constraints worth knowing:

• On the free Starter plan, you’re limited to 25 videos per person and 5 minutes per standard screen recording. (Loom Help Center)
• Loom recordings on Windows do not support more than two monitors, and you can’t record two screens at once. (Loom Support)

So while Loom is convenient for quick async updates, those limits make it less suited to:

• Long-form tutorials.
• Multi-hour onboarding sessions.
• Complex multi-monitor demos.

By contrast, a StreamYard studio can capture different participants’ screens in turn, handle long sessions (with per-stream and storage caps), and give you local multi-track recordings for post-production.

Pricing dynamics vs StreamYard

Loom’s paid tiers are priced per user per month, while StreamYard’s plans are priced per workspace, not per user. (Loom)

In practice, that means:

• For larger teams that want several people recording or hosting sessions, a StreamYard workspace can be significantly more cost-effective than equipping every user with a separate Loom license.
• StreamYard also offers a 7-day free trial and often runs special offers for new users, making it easy to test the workflow before you commit.

Recording multiple monitors on Windows 10: options and limits

Multi-monitor setups are common on Windows 10, especially for developers, designers, and power users. The question is: how do your main options behave when you have two or more displays?

OBS on multiple monitors

OBS can capture:

• Individual displays via “Display Capture.”
• Individual windows.
• Combinations of displays and windows in scenes.

Because it runs as a native app, you can build scenes that include different parts of multiple monitors. The main limitations are your GPU/CPU, disk speed, and how complex your layout becomes.

Loom on multiple monitors (Windows 10)

Loom’s documentation explicitly notes that on Windows:

• Loom recordings do not support more than two monitors.
• You cannot record two monitors at once. (Loom Support)

If your workflow involves a lot of multi-screen interaction, that’s a meaningful constraint.

StreamYard with multi-participant screen sharing

StreamYard approaches the problem differently:

• Any participant (including you) can choose which monitor, window, or tab to share from within the browser.
• You can switch between shared screens live, or combine them in layouts.
• You can bring in multiple participants’ screens in sequence, effectively “touring” different monitors without juggling capture settings.

This is especially useful when:

• A product manager, engineer, and designer each need to demo different environments.
• You’re walking a client through a workflow that spans several apps.

You’re not locked into a single “record this monitor only” setup; the studio becomes the switcher.

How to capture system audio when screen recording on Windows 10

Capturing system audio (the sound your computer makes) alongside your mic is a common stumbling block.

Here’s how it looks across the main options:

• Xbox Game Bar can capture game and app audio and save it into the MP4 clip it writes under Videos\Captures. (Microsoft Support)
• OBS lets you add “Desktop Audio” and “Mic/Aux” as separate audio sources, then mix them in your recording.
• Loom supports system audio capture on Windows, though you’ll want to confirm the right input is selected in its controls. (Loom)
• StreamYard separates your mic from shared-screen audio, so you can decide when to bring in system sounds and when to keep them muted.

Practically speaking, StreamYard and OBS give you the fullest control. The difference is that OBS expects you to wire everything up manually, while StreamYard’s browser-first studio keeps the configuration more approachable for non-technical users.

What we recommend

• Default choice for most Windows 10 users: Use StreamYard as your primary screen recording studio for presenter-led demos, multi-guest sessions, and recordings you plan to edit and reuse.
• Add OBS when needed: If you’re doing advanced scene work, game streaming, or heavy local-only capture and are comfortable tweaking settings, layer OBS into your setup.
• Use Loom and Xbox Game Bar for quick clips: Reach for Loom’s free tier or the Windows 10 Xbox Game Bar when you need simple, short, mostly disposable recordings.
• Think workflow, not just specs: Choose the tool that lets you hit “record,” stay focused on your content, and get a reliable, high-quality file out the other side with the least friction. For many creators and teams on Windows 10, that’s StreamYard first, everything else second.