Best AI Screen Recorder in 2026 — Compared
Best AI Screen Recorder in 2026
It's 4pm. You're trying to find that link someone dropped in a Zoom call this morning. Or was it Slack? You check your browser history — 200 tabs, none of them right. You search Slack — 47 results, all irrelevant. You vaguely remember it was on a shared screen during standup.
Gone.
This is the problem AI screen recorders solve. They run in the background, capture everything on your screen (and optionally audio), then let you search all of it. Not video scrubbing — actual text search across everything you've seen.
Here's what's out there in 2026 and which ones are actually worth using.
The Quick Comparison
| Screenpipe | Microsoft Recall | Limitless | Otter.ai | Granola | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open source | ✅ MIT | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Local-first | ✅ 100% | ⚠️ Windows only | ❌ Cloud | ❌ Cloud | ❌ Cloud |
| Screen + audio | ✅ Both | ⚠️ Screen only | ⚠️ Audio only | ⚠️ Audio only | ⚠️ Audio only |
| Platforms | Mac, Win, Linux | Win 11 (NPU) | Mac + pendant | Web | Mac, Win |
| Developer API | ✅ REST | ❌ | ❌ | ⚠️ Limited | ❌ |
| Price | $400 lifetime | Free | $20/mo | $17/mo | $10/mo |
If you already know what you want, Screenpipe is what we'd recommend — skip to the verdict if you're in a hurry.
Screenpipe
We're biased, obviously. But here's why we built it:
Every other tool in this space either (a) sends your screen data to the cloud, (b) only captures audio, or (c) locks you into one platform. We wanted something that captures everything, keeps it local, and has an API for developers.
What you get:
- 24/7 screen recording with OCR on every frame
- Microphone + system audio transcription
- Local storage — your data stays on your machine, period
- Works on macOS, Windows, and Linux
- Full REST API for building custom workflows
- Choose your AI — Claude, GPT, Ollama, or Apple Intelligence
The search is instant. Type a keyword, filter by app or time range, and find exactly what you're looking for. Or just ask the AI: "What was that link from this morning's standup?"
For a deeper look at the recording capabilities, check out the AI screen recording use case page.
Microsoft Recall
Microsoft's take on screen memory, built into Windows 11 on Copilot+ PCs.
The good: Free, local processing, zero setup if you have the hardware. It's genuinely impressive as an OS-level feature — enable it in settings and it just works.
The catch: You need a Copilot+ PC (Snapdragon, Intel Core Ultra, or AMD Ryzen AI). No audio capture at all. No API. Closed source. And the launch was a privacy disaster — they delayed it after backlash over unencrypted screenshots accessible to any app. It's better now, but trust takes time to rebuild.
If you're already on a Copilot+ PC and just want visual search, it's decent. For anything more, you'll hit walls fast. Full comparison →
Limitless (Formerly Rewind)
Rewind was the app that started this whole category in 2022. Then they rebranded to Limitless and pivoted to a $99 hardware pendant.
The pendant is genuinely clever for in-person meetings — it captures conversations you have away from your computer. But the software side regressed. Screen recording is secondary now, everything runs through their cloud, and it's $20/month on top of the hardware.
If you want a wearable for in-person meeting capture, the pendant is worth considering. If you want what Rewind originally was — a local screen recorder with AI search — that's Screenpipe now. Full comparison →
Otter.ai
Otter is a meeting transcription tool. It's good at exactly that — it joins your Zoom, Meet, or Teams call and transcribes in real-time.
But it's audio-only. When someone shares their screen and walks through a spreadsheet, Otter gives you the words but not the numbers. When someone drops a URL in the meeting chat, Otter misses it. For pure meeting transcription, it works. For comprehensive screen memory, it's not the right tool. Full comparison →
Granola
Granola has an interesting angle — you take rough notes during a meeting, and it fills in the gaps from the audio transcript. It's collaborative note-taking with AI assist, not a screen recorder.
Smart product, but narrow scope. No screen capture, no always-on recording, cloud-dependent. Full comparison →
What Actually Matters When Choosing
Where Does Your Data Go?
Your screen recordings contain everything. Passwords you type. Bank balances you check. Medical results you read. Private messages you send. DMs. Performance reviews. All of it.
Sending that to a cloud server — even an "encrypted" one — is a choice you should make consciously. With Screenpipe, the data stays on your machine. The code is MIT-licensed, so you don't have to take our word for it.
Do You Need Audio Too?
Most "screen recorders" in this list only capture audio, and most "screen capture" tools skip audio. The full picture needs both. When someone says "look at the third column" while sharing their screen, you want the screen content and the transcript to make sense of it later.
Can You Build on It?
If you're a developer, an API changes everything. Screenpipe exposes a full REST API that lets you pipe screen data into Obsidian, automate daily summaries, build custom search UIs, or feed context to an AI agent. None of the other tools in this list offer that.
The Verdict
- Screenpipe if you want the complete package: screen + audio, local-first, open source, cross-platform, developer API. $400 for a lifetime license.
- Microsoft Recall if you're on Windows 11 with a Copilot+ PC and only need visual search.
- Limitless pendant if you specifically need in-person meeting capture hardware.
- Otter.ai / Granola if you only need meeting transcription and notes.
The trend is clear: AI-native screen recording is becoming a default tool for knowledge workers. The question is whether your screen data gets processed on your machine or someone else's server.