OBS Studio vs. ScreenFlow

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
OBS Studio
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
OBS Studio is free and open source software for video recording and live streaming, featuring real time video/audio capturing and mixing. Users can create scenes made up of multiple sources including window captures, images, text, browser windows, webcams, and capture cards.
$0
ScreenFlow
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Telestream in Nevada City offers ScreenFlow, a video editing and screen recording application for Mac boasting a range of editing tools, graphics and effects, and easy video sharing.N/A
Pricing
OBS StudioScreenFlow
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
OBS StudioScreenFlow
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
OBS StudioScreenFlow
Best Alternatives
OBS StudioScreenFlow
Small Businesses
Zoom Events & Webinars
Zoom Events & Webinars
Score 8.7 out of 10
iMovie
iMovie
Score 9.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Zoom Events & Webinars
Zoom Events & Webinars
Score 8.7 out of 10
iMovie
iMovie
Score 9.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Zoom Events & Webinars
Zoom Events & Webinars
Score 8.7 out of 10
Adobe Express
Adobe Express
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
OBS StudioScreenFlow
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(13 ratings)
9.0
(13 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(4 ratings)
8.0
(3 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(3 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
OBS StudioScreenFlow
Likelihood to Recommend
Open Source
From simple streaming to bigger events, OBS has been able to handle all of it with full confidence from us. Have never questioned if it was going to be unreliable in a specific situation, even with minimal training. Software identified the external input source easily and had no issues setting that up (Blackmagic Mini Recorder), and great for pulling in separate audio from the computer input.
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Telestream
When training others to use a software application, I find this is amazingly helpful to accomplish using screenflow. The application allows me to video what I am doing in the application while explaining it in details. There are other uses of course, one that I found was to capture myself talking through students' research papers/thesis and explain where changes need to be made. Of course, MS Word has the tracking changes option and a professor can go through sentence by sentence - the downfall of this is that students #1 - do not always understand what is being suggested as we all cut back on words when typed out versus spoken. #2 - students do not always read the added comments thoroughly. Viewers watch the video and listen to a voice quicker than reading remarks. The viewing and voice, in my opinion, are the greatest part of the end product provided to viewers. This tool can assist anyone's work that trains others...be it industry or educational fields.
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Pros
Open Source
  • RTMP Streaming with customizable bitrate
  • Scene Composition and Switching + source control which allows for creators and our customers to move between different types of content they might have (different video feeds, slides etc)
  • Audio mixer and audio control - noise gating, a/v syncing, audio source control
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Telestream
  • Screenflow easily records your desktop video and/or audio, with functionality that works even across multi-monitor setups.
  • The program has really incredible features for basic cutting and editing of the capture within screenflow once it is done.
  • The program has an impressive amount of options for expecting different formats of video and audio. I'm most impressed by the lossless audio and uncompressed video formats that give the best possible quality for importing into video projects.
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Cons
Open Source
  • OBS can be a little clunky sometimes, the lots of features can be a bit overwhelming
  • I can multitask with it, but can't run heavy software like Premiere alongside it
  • No way to make adjustments to file after it's done, have to use After Effects or Premiere for that
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Telestream
  • Be able to open working projects in other editing software like Premiere. In cases that editors want that flexibility or someone doesn't have access to ScreenFlow but needs to work on projects that use it
  • Only available for Macs. Some of our teachers have PC and prefer to work on that or used to it. Only reason we switched to another screen recording application
  • Files are huge
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Likelihood to Renew
Open Source
No answers on this topic
Telestream
Definitely need it for future recordings
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Usability
Open Source
Very usable because it is free and has had a lot of people helping to suggest improvements and sponsors have allowed the product to grow in sophistication and suitability across a variety of situations and use needs. It is very logical to use once you get started, although the dashboard can seem intimidating at first.
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Telestream
It's simple to set up and use. The editing features are laid out in an easy to understand way making it the perfect go-to tool for a novice video editor and an advanced one. I will use ScreenFlow at times over other bigger tools like Adobe Premiere because it's quicker to make changes to videos.
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Support Rating
Open Source
For a free product, a range of support is available. There are plenty of ways to find out answers to questions, because there are probably thousands of people using the product who are willing to share what they have learned. It usually works as designed, so needs for support are limited.
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Telestream
It works well and fits into my workflow. The tools are much easier and straightforward to work with. Other video editing tools like Adobe Premier or Final Cut Pro are simply too complicated for this type of task.
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Alternatives Considered
Open Source
I have also used TinyTake by Mango Apps and I prefer OBS studio because the video quality results are better and OBS allows you to record an unlimited length of the video. OBS also lets you record an entire screen instead of manually having to draw your parameters, which can create oddly sizes videos if you miss by a few pixels.
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Telestream
We looked at things like Loom and all those other screen recorders, but Screenflow is just so much more powerful. It can do everything we want it to and more, even things like Chroma Key (green screen), text on video, transitions, all that. It's a pretty great software for making videos.
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Return on Investment
Open Source
  • It was great to have a platform that is free that I can experiment with without having to use our business capital on.
  • It took time to learn, but it helped me understand a lot of things, so it was a great learning experience.
  • It was a great balance of cost and time with the high-quality product we got from it.
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Telestream
  • This is a low cost license, so the output is almost entirely to the upside
  • Years ago, we determined it was essential to have a video representation of our products and services. ScreenFlow has enabled the development of these and many other videos as well as our training programs for employees and clients. All this has been accomplished with a relatively low cost to entry.
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ScreenShots