The Ultimate Screencast-O-Matic Review (2023)

Jason

By Jason

Screencast O Matic Review

Screencast-O-Matic (rebranded as Screenpal) is a popular screen recorder and video editing software used by creators, businesses, and educators worldwide. In this comprehensive Screencast-O-Matic review, we’ll cover everything you need to know about its features, pricing, and overall value.

Overview of Screencast-O-Matic

Screencast-O-Matic

Screencast-O-Matic, now rebranded as Screenpal, is a cloud-based screen recorder and video editor that makes it easy for anyone to record, edit and share screen recordings and webcam videos.

Key features include:

  • Screen recording with audio capture
  • Webcam video recording
  • Basic video editing tools
  • Sharing options for YouTube, Google Drive, etc.
  • Free and paid plans available

It works on Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iOS and Android devices. Both free and paid subscriptions are available.

The company recently rebranded itself from Screencast-O-Matic to Screenpal to better reflect its expanded capabilities beyond just screen recording, including interactive video creation, analytics, content management and more.

Key alternatives to consider include open source options like OBS Studio as well as paid products such as Camtasia, which offers more advanced editing capabilities.

Reasons for the Rebrand to Screenpal

Screenpal

Here’s an overview of why Screencast-O-Matic decided to rebrand itself as Screenpal:

  • Expanded product suite beyond just screen recording to a full interactive video platform
  • Wanted name to better represent new capabilities like editing tools, analytics, etc.
  • Original name was hard to pronounce and remember correctly
  • Shorter, simpler name is easier to type and search for
  • Brand evolution to match growth of company and products

The goal is to align the new Screenpal brand with the high-quality, user-friendly ethos of the tools while providing a consistent identity across devices.

Key Features and Tools

ScreenPal Features

Here’s an in-depth look at some of the most useful features and capabilities of Screencast-O-Matic:

Intuitive Screen Recorder

The screen recorder is incredibly easy to use. Within seconds, you can start capturing any area of your screen along with webcam video and microphone narration if needed. Helpful tools let you draw, highlight, zoom in and more while recording.

Whether you’re on a Mac or PC, the process is seamless and requires no technical expertise. This makes Screencast-O-Matic perfect for teachers, product demontrators, or anyone wanting to quickly capture screen activity.

Basic but Solid Video Editor

While advanced users may want more editing capabilities, the built-in video editor in Screencast-O-Matic offers the core essentials for basic editing tasks.

You can easily trim footage, stitch multiple clips together, adjust audio levels, add transitions, insert text overlays and captions, apply filters and more.

It’s not as full-featured as high-end tools like Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere, but provides more than enough functionality for quick video edits.

Annotations and Drawing Tools

Screencast-O-Matic makes it simple to annotate screenshots and videos with arrows, text boxes, highlights and drawings.

This is extremely valuable for tutorials, lessons, product demos, and other scenarios where you want to call attention to certain areas of the screen.

Having these annotation features built directly into the screen recorder saves a ton of time versus having to use separate tools.

Share Directly to YouTube, Google Drive

Once your video is recorded, you can instantly export and share it to all the major platforms without any extra steps.

Single click sharing options include YouTube, Vimeo, Google Drive, Dropbox, and social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Or you can simply save the exported video file to your computer. This saves you the hassle of having to use third-party upload tools.

Detailed Usage Analytics

Screencast-O-Matic provides insightful analytics on your videos so you can see total plays, average watch time, top referrers, and more.

This gives content creators valuable data to see which videos resonate most with their audience and how people discover their content.

Unlimited Cloud Storage

One of the best parts of Screencast-O-Matic is that your video files are stored in the cloud with no storage size limits.

All paid plans come with unlimited cloud hosting for your recordings. You never have to worry about running out of hard drive room again!

This makes it easy to access your files anytime, anywhere without taking up space on your computer.

Mobile Recording Apps

In addition to desktop screen recording, Screencast-O-Matic offers iOS and Android apps so you can record directly from your mobile device.

This comes in handy for vlogs, interviews, product demos, or any scenarios where you want the portability and convenience of mobile capture.

Recordings sync automatically to your online account for easy editing and sharing later.

Screencast-O-Matic Pricing and Plans

Screencast-O-Matic offers both free and paid subscription plans to meet the needs of different users.

Free Version

The free version of Screencast-O-Matic allows up to 15 minutes of recording per video. Videos include a watermark.

This is a great way to test out the software and use it for quick demos or tutorials. But the limitations make it impractical for frequent use.

Solo Plans (Individuals)

For full-featured access, the Solo plans offer subscriptions targeted at individual creators and small teams:

  • Solo Lite ($1.65/month billed annually) – Record unlimited videos up to 15 minutes each in 720p quality without the watermark.
  • Solo Deluxe ($4.08/month billed annually) – 60 minutes of recording per video at 1080p quality, plus advanced editing tools.
  • Solo Premier ($8.25/month billed annually) – All Deluxe features plus private video storage, animation tools, external webcam support, and unlimited recording time up to 4K resolution.

Business Plans (Teams)

For larger teams and enterprises, the Business plans add features like management controls, group permissions, account branding and priority support:

  • Teams ($12.50/month billed annually)
  • Business ($20.83/month billed annually)
  • Enterprise (Custom pricing)

Volume discounts are available on the annual Team and Business plans for larger organizations.

Education Plans (Schools)

Education plans are designed specifically for teachers and schools:

  • Basic (Free) – Ideal for teachers. Lets you create lessons with all the core recording and editing features.
  • Campus (Custom pricing) – For schools and universities. Includes education-specific features like student enrollment tools, group management, content permissions and more.

Screencast-O-Matic Alternatives

Some popular alternatives to consider include:

  • Loom – Lean screen recorder optimized for quick sharing. Free version available.
  • Camtasia – Robust screen recorder and video editor with advanced features.
  • ActivePresenter – Affordable PowerPoint integration focused on tutorials.
  • CloudApp – Mac-centric product demo and screensharing tool.
  • ScreenFlow – Feature-packed Mac screen recorder and editor for pros.
  • Screencastify – Chrome extension for fast web-based screen casting.

Screencast-O-Matic compares favorably in terms of ease of use, generous free plan, and versatility across devices and platforms.

Conclusion: Who Should Use Screencast-O-Matic?

In summary, Screencast-O-Matic is a great choice for:

  • Beginners wanting an easy entry into screen recording and video creation.
  • Businesses that need to quickly record product demos, employee training materials, and other internal videos.
  • Teachers and course creators producing online lessons and educational content.
  • Marketing teams creating tutorials, promos, and video content for social media and websites.
  • Anyone who values fast, simplified editing tools for short form videos and screencasts.

The combination of an intuitive interface, solid core feature set, unlimited cloud hosting, broad device support, and competitive pricing makes Screencast-O-Matic a very versatile screen recorder suited for personal and business use.

It may not have the flashy bells and whistles of high-end editing software. But Screencast-O-Matic nails the basics and makes recording, editing and sharing videos almost foolproof.

Key Takeaways

  • Screencast-O-Matic is easy to use screen recorder and editor for Mac, Windows, iOS, Android.
  • Free version lets you test capabilities but adds watermark and limits recordings to 15 minutes.
  • Paid plans provide unlimited recording time, HD quality, video effects, advanced editing tools.
  • Great for quickly capturing screen activity, webcam footage, and audio narration.
  • Instantly share videos to YouTube, Google Drive, social media sites.
  • Solid product for beginners and businesses needing to create online lessons, tutorials, etc.

Frequently Asked Questions

What file formats does it export to?

Screencast-O-Matic can export recordings in MP4, AVI, MPEG, WEBM and other standard video formats. This ensures compatibility with most media players, websites, social platforms and other video software.

Can you record computer audio?

Yes, paid plans allow you to capture internal audio from your computer like music, alert sounds, etc. The free version only records from an external microphone.

Is there a mobile app?

Screencast-O-Matic offers iOS and Android mobile apps so you can record directly from your phone or tablet. Videos sync automatically with your online account.

Does it work on Chromebooks?

Yes. The Chrome extension allows full recording and editing capabilities on Chrome OS devices like Chromebooks and Chromeboxes.

Can you blur sensitive information?

Paid subscribers have access to a blur tool that can obscure confidential details like passwords, account numbers, etc. Free users would need to edit this out manually.

How do I get started?

Sign up for a free account on Screencast-O-Matic.com to access the web app. Or install the desktop recorder app for access to all features. Then start your first recording – the interface is very intuitive!

Conclusion: A Versatile Screen Recorder for All Skill Levels

After testing it extensively for this review, I can confidently say Screencast-O-Matic hits a sweet spot between being easy for beginners yet robust enough for everyday business use cases.

The unlimited cloud hosting, multi-device support, integrated sharing options, and competitive pricing model also make it a compelling option.

For quick and painless video creation, Screencast-O-Matic removes all the usual friction points. There’s no learning curve and you can be up recording your screen in less than 60 seconds.

While advanced users may want more editing horsepower, the built-in editor covers the basic trimming, transitions, captions and effects needed for short social videos, lessons, tutorials and more.

Whether you just need to capture and share your screen quickly or have more sophisticated video projects in mind, Screencast-O-Matic deserves strong consideration. Its simplicity, versatility, and generous free plan make it easy to recommend for personal or professional use.

Jason
Jason

Skilled software testing specialist with expertise in comparisons and research, passionate about blogging, reviews, and creating video tutorials.

THERE’S MORE TO READ.