1. Twitch
Price: Free Many people who want to record their screen do so because of gaming. If you’re looking to stream yourself playing a mobile game on your phone, or even if you just want to download the footage for editing or private use, you can do so through the app of the most popular streaming platform out there: Twitch. Of course, Twitch’s built-in recording-streaming features are substantial. The app lets you record and broadcast most Android games, capture audio using an internal or external mic, and open up your stream to the public. Crucially, you can download whatever you record straight to your phone.
2. ADV Screen Recorder
Price: Free (in-app purchases) One of the top-rated Android screen recording apps around, ADV Screen Recorder, may not be entirely sincere in its trailer when it says it’s “100% FREE” (as it offers in-app purchases), but you can still enjoy most of its features free of charge. There are two different engines for recording in ADV, with the more advanced one offering features like pausing your recordings as well as continuing them. Other unique features include the ability to doodle on the screen while you’re recording, giving your videos a nice free-flowing immediacy. You can make all kinds of edits to your videos, too, like adding text and banners, as well as trimming them down to size.
3. XRecorder
Price: Free (in-app purchases) The most popular apps on the Play Store aren’t always the best, but XRecorder is one of those that justifies its position at the top of the charts. Yes, XRecorder is ad-supported, but it doesn’t have watermarks, doesn’t limit your recording time, and doesn’t require a rooted phone. XRecorder records video at up to 1080p 60FPS, which is as much as you’ll need from most phones. You can add a little facecam of yourself in the corner of your gameplay recording sessions, and it has a handy onboard video editor that lets you tweak your videos almost on the fly. It comes with an overlay that lets you quickly take the snaps and footage you need, and unlike some recording apps, it doesn’t require Internet access permissions.
4. Integrated Screen Recorders
This will very much depend on which phone you have, but there are several custom and manufacturer-made ROMs out there that come pre-packed with their own screen recorders. The latest Samsung phones, for example, have a screen recorder available in the Quick Settings menu, as do Xiaomi phones. Google Pixel phones running Android 11 onward also let you screen-record from Quick Settings. If you’re into your custom ROMs, then ROMs like Resurrection Remix and Havoc OS have built-in screen recorders.
5. Android 10 Secret Screen Recorder
Price: Free In the Android 10 beta, users were excited to find that there was a new screen-recording function baked right in to the OS. However, for some reason, Google decided to omit it from the final version of Android 10. But – double plot twist – you can still unlock this built-in screen-recording feature with a bit of twiddling! It’s particularly elegant, as its icon resides right there in your Quick Settings menu. It’s not perfect yet, and some people have reported some bugs, but it’s still cool that it’s right there for you to use. You need to enable developer mode as well as do some things in ADB for this to work, so we’ve created a guide on enabling the hidden Android 10 screen recorder.
6. Screen Recorder
Price: Free With a name that’s both succinct and honest, Screen Recorder makes our list. It makes it extremely easy to record videos. A blue button will start recording the screen, and a small handy widget will appear over whichever screen you’re viewing on your phone. It can record HD resolutions up to 120fps (if your display can handle it) and lets you add all kinds of flair to your recordings, such as logos, images and text. Of course, there’s an option to switch on the mic so you can speak over your recordings, and there’s a Facecam option too, if you’re trying to make a recording with that professional “Let’s Play” kind of look. You can use this in day or night mode, and it includes some pretty nifty editing features like video trimming (of course) and the option to take notes as you record.
7. MNML Screen Recorder
Price: Free Still in early access but refreshingly free of all the ads, paywalls and other annoyances that blight certain apps on the Play Store, MNML Screen Recorder is an open-source screen recorder that focuses on ease of use above all else. (The name is pronounced “minimal,” apparently.) Even though it’s not yet on version 1.0, it feels great to use, recording at up to 60fps with bit rates up to 24 Mbps. At this point, resolutions are capped to 1080p, but the devs are working hard to raise this limit, stating that Android has made it awkward to increase the recording frame rate. You can download the app from the Play Store or Github and show your support for a free screen recorder that cuts out much of the BS.
8. Google Play Games
Price: Free If you want to avoid downloading any third-party apps, and particularly if you mainly want to record gaming stuff, then you can just use the official Play Games app on your Android device. Just open the Play Games app, go to a game’s info page, then tap the “Record” (video camera) icon at the top of the screen. You’ll get options to record in 480p and 720p, so nothing too high-def, but it’s integrated, so we’re not complaining. To use this feature to record non-gaming stuff, follow the above steps, then just exit the game when it launches. Simple.
9. Mobizen Screen Recorder
Price: Free Mobizen is deservedly one of the most popular screen-recording apps on the Play Store, offering a wealth of features, including full HD recording at 60fps. It has a number of tools for adding pizzazz to your videos after you’ve recorded them, too, such as background music and the option to record yourself doing intro and outro videos. It’s particularly good for gaming, letting you record your sessions at the same time as recording your face reacting to the on-screen action. (Who knows? You may just be the next PewDiePie … God help us all.)
10. AZ Screen Recorder
Price: Free / $2.99 AZ Screen recorder does not require root access (great start) and has an option to pause and resume recording, which is particularly useful for making tutorial videos. It also has a front-facing camera overlay feature, but it requires a paid upgrade to unlock this. You can change settings like resolution, frame rate, bit rate and even feature a text message or logo along with the recorded screen cast. Microphone recording is supported. Now that you know how to screen-record on Android, how about recording your screen in Windows 10? Android is also great for off-the-radar apps that you can use to download music, so we’ve made a list of the best free music download apps for Android.
