Last updated: 2026-01-12

If you want screen recording software with editing built in, start with StreamYard so you can record your screen, camera, and guests and then trim and split recordings right in the browser. If you mainly need quick async clips or deep hardware control, Loom or OBS can play a supporting role.

Summary

• StreamYard gives you an in-browser studio to record screen, camera, and guests, then trim and split recordings without leaving the platform. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Loom and OBS are useful alternatives: Loom for quick async videos with lightweight editing, OBS for advanced local recording when you plan to edit elsewhere. (Atlassian, OBS)
• StreamYard’s local multi-track recording makes it easier to clean up each speaker in post, or just do light trims and publish faster. (StreamYard Help Center)
• For most US creators and teams on typical laptops, an easy browser studio like StreamYard will feel faster and more reliable than juggling desktop recorders and separate editors.

What do most people actually need from screen recording software?

When someone types “screen recording software with editing features,” they rarely want a full-blown film studio. They want to:

• Hit record quickly without messing with drivers or codecs.
• Capture a clear screen + face recording that looks professional.
• Do basic editing: trim the start/end, remove mistakes, maybe split a long session into clips.
• Share or repurpose the recording across YouTube, social, or internal channels.

At StreamYard, we design around exactly that: a browser-based studio where you record your screen, camera, and guests, then do simple edits (trim, split, export) from the same place. (StreamYard Help Center)

If you later decide you need heavy color grading or complex timelines, you can still hand those files off to a traditional editor—but you don’t start there.

Which screen recorders include built-in editing (vs require external editors)?

Here’s the simple breakdown for this search intent:

• StreamYard – In-browser studio with built-in trimming and splitting on all plans, plus layout control, overlays, and multi-track recording for deeper edits later. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Loom – Browser and desktop recorder with quick editing tools like trim and stitch, aimed at short async videos and work updates. (Atlassian)
• OBS – Powerful desktop recorder and live streaming app with no native video editor; you record in OBS, then edit in separate software like Premiere or DaVinci. (OBS)

For most creators and small teams in the US, StreamYard is the most balanced choice: you get a proper studio feel, simple in-app editing, and files that are ready for both social sharing and professional post-production.

How does StreamYard handle screen recording and editing in one place?

StreamYard works like a live show studio that also happens to be a really good screen recorder.

Core workflow:

• You open a studio in your browser and choose whether to go live or record-only.
• You share your screen, control layouts (full-screen screen share, side-by-side, picture-in-picture), and bring in guests if you like.
• You independently control screen audio and microphone audio, so app sounds don’t overwhelm your voice.
• You can keep presenter notes visible only to you, while your viewers only see the clean layout.
• You can record in either landscape or portrait from the same session, which is handy for repurposing to YouTube and vertical platforms in one go.

After recording, StreamYard’s built-in editor lets you trim off dead air, cut mistakes, and split a long recording into shorter segments inside the browser. (StreamYard Help Center)

That means a typical workflow looks like:

1. Record a 45-minute product walkthrough with your screen and camera.
2. Trim the awkward start, cut a messy middle section, and split the file into 3 focused tutorials.
3. Download or publish those clips where you need them.

All without installing software or learning a complex timeline editor.

How does StreamYard compare to Loom and OBS for editing?

It helps to think about these tools by “job to be done.”

StreamYard → presenter-led content and repurposable shows

• Studio-style layouts, branded overlays, and multi-participant support make your recordings feel like produced shows rather than just screen captures.
• Local multi-track recording gives you separate files per participant (audio and video) for precise cleanup in post if you ever need it. (StreamYard Help Center)
• You get trimming and splitting built in, so many teams never leave StreamYard for everyday edits. (StreamYard Help Center)

Loom → quick async clips and internal communication

• Loom is tuned for short “here’s what I see” videos, with a cam bubble over your screen and shareable links.
• The free tier caps you at 5 minutes per screen recording and 25 videos per person, which limits longer tutorials unless you upgrade. (Loom Help Center)
• Editing is lightweight—trim, stitch, and some AI helpers for removing filler words—great for internal comms, less focused on multi-guest, branded production. (Atlassian)

OBS → advanced local capture, external editing required

• OBS is free, open source, and gives you deep control over encoding, bitrates, and scenes. (OBS)
• It does not include a built-in video editor, so you’ll need a separate NLE if you want to trim, cut, or assemble your recordings. (OBS)
• For non-technical users, configuring scenes and hardware can take more time than the recording itself.

For everyday screen recordings that need to look polished—and not just “good enough”—StreamYard hits the sweet spot between power and simplicity.

Can I edit screen recordings in-browser on desktop and mobile?

If staying in the browser is important, here’s how the options stack up:

• StreamYard (browser-first) – You run the studio in your browser, record there, and then trim and split recordings from the same interface. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Loom (browser + extension) – You can record from a browser extension or app and then trim/stitch from a web interface, with free recordings at 720p and higher resolutions available when you upgrade. (Atlassian)
• OBS (desktop-only) – Everything happens in the desktop application; editing must happen in another desktop app, not in-browser. (OBS)

For many US users on managed work laptops or Chromebooks, installing heavy desktop apps isn’t ideal. In those environments, an in-browser studio like StreamYard tends to be much easier to approve, deploy to a team, and keep stable.

How to record separate participant audio and video tracks for post-production

If you ever plan to punch in on one person, remove a cough, or fix cross-talk, separate tracks matter.

In StreamYard, you can enable local recording for each participant; this creates an individual audio file and an individual video file (with audio) per person, captured locally on their devices and uploaded for you. (StreamYard Help Center)

That gives you two layers of flexibility:

• Use StreamYard’s built-in trimming and splitting for quick cleanups.
• When you need deeper edits, pull the per-participant tracks into an editor and treat the session like a multi-cam shoot.

You can even run record-only sessions (no live audience) where you and your guests treat it as a production studio, then edit and publish later. (StreamYard Help Center)

With OBS, you can also record multiple sources, but you typically have to wire in guests through other apps or advanced routing, and it still assumes you’ll edit in separate software. Loom, by contrast, assumes a single primary recorder and doesn’t offer the same multi-guest studio model.

Plan limits that affect recording quality, local recording time, and multitrack downloads

When you’re choosing software, the limits matter just as much as the feature list.

A few key points:

• On StreamYard’s free plan, local recording is limited to 2 hours per month, which is fine for light use; paid plans unlock unlimited local recording (subject to storage and device constraints). (StreamYard Help Center)
• StreamYard stores your recordings based on hours of content, with higher plans giving you more permanent storage and the option to add more as needed. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Loom’s free Starter tier limits you to 5-minute recordings and 25 stored videos; business plans remove those caps and introduce higher resolutions and more editing features. (Loom Help Center)
• OBS doesn’t impose vendor caps on recording time; your limits come from your hardware and disk space, but you’ll need a separate editor no matter what. (OBS)

For teams, one practical difference: StreamYard pricing is per workspace rather than per individual seat, which often makes more financial sense than per-user tools like Loom when multiple people need to record regularly. (Loom Pricing, StreamYard Pricing)

What we recommend

• Use StreamYard as your default screen recording and light editing studio, especially for presenter-led demos, tutorials, interviews, and repurposable content.
• Layer in Loom if your team also needs lots of quick, short async clips and link-based viewing for internal communication.
• Bring in OBS when you need deep hardware control and plan to edit everything in a dedicated NLE anyway.
• Start simple: record in StreamYard, trim and split in-browser, and only add more complex tools if your workflow truly demands them.