FREE Alternative to Camtasia Studio

By: Justin Ferriman • January 6, 2013
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free-adobe-illustratorOne great way for instructional designers to create effective learning material is to include screenshots and videos in their e-learning modules. Many programs have this feature build in (i.e. Adobe Captivate and the new Articulate Storyline), but some prefer a third party program – and for years the standard bearer has been Camtasia Studio.

Don’t get me wrong, Camtasia Studio is pretty great. By all means you should take a look at it to see if it meets your needs. However, it does come with a hefty price tag. If you are on a budget, and need to create some instructional videos on your computer, then you need to check out the free alternative to Camtasia Studio: Cam Studio

Okay so the name leaves a little bit to be desired, but rest assured that this program is legit. Cam Studio is a free open source screen capture and recording tool for Windows with the accolades to back up the hype. If you’re looking for a viable screen capture/recording program, then give Cam Studio a try – I think you’ll find it will meet your needs.

If you are looking for other alternatives, then there are a few options (although not all of them are free, and some have pretty limited features until you upgrade).  Other options to consider in your search include:

  • Jing by Techsmith
  • EZvid
  • ScreenCast-o-Matic
  • Webinaria

You can probably find a viable solution among these options.  If not, then a simple Google search will yield quite a few other options as well.

Justin Ferriman

Justin started LearnDash, the WordPress LMS trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. He is currently founder & CEO of GapScout. Justin’s Homepage | GapScout | Twitter