# OBS Studio Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra

> Is OBS Studio the right Screen Recording solution for you? Explore 1073 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice.

Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/164144/OBS/reviews

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OBS Studio

4.7 (1073)

[View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/164144/OBS/alternatives/)

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Last updated April 13th, 2026

# Reviews of OBS Studio

Ease of use

4.1

Customer Service

4.2

## Pros and Cons in Reviews

Don M

Asst. ManagerTelecommunications, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years.

“What I like most about OBS Studio is its powerful, free, and highly customizable streaming and recording capabilities, which allow me to create professional-quality content without any cost.“

March 27, 2026

AL

Amber L

People Reporting and Communications OfficerNon-Profit Organization Management, 501 - 1,000 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years.

“I filmed some videos that were way too quiet (whilst using a headset microphone) and I had to refilm.“

July 15, 2025

Destiny C

OwnerBroadcast Media, Self-employedUsed the software for: 1-2 years.

“From its overall performance and broadcasting quality & speed, to using a digitally implemented green screen & even quality adjustment options, you really CAN live broadcast to your fans with almost studio like quality!“

December 7, 2025

JA

Julian A

IT TechnicianEducation Management, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months.

“It is a bit too much going on the screen for people who are new to technology or have no experience with this type of software.“

April 23, 2025

Destiny C

OwnerBroadcast Media, Self-employedUsed the software for: 1-2 years.

“With OBS you can sync your usual broadcasting fees to the software & give yourself the ability to then integrate so many different features that you almost couldn't find a way to use them all if you tried.“

December 7, 2025

RK

Rayhann K

VolunteerReligious Institutions, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months.

“I don't know if this experience is for everyone, but for me, when I need to stream at a specific time, I have to manually press "Go Live", which is a bit annoying.“

May 9, 2024

VD

Void D

Freelance ArtistGraphic Design, Self-employedUsed the software for: More than 2 years.

“OBS is a great free, open source software that allows recording and streaming of video, as well as many community-made plugins to help improve experience and provide additional features“

July 13, 2025

JN

Joshua N

Application SpecialistRetail, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months.

“It can be at some times a little tedious to use for particular users but nothing that can't be resolved over a quick 15-30min crash course on the proper usage of it.“

June 24, 2024

## Showing most helpful reviews

Showing 1-25 of 1073 Reviews

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Most Helpful

Rating

Company Size

Reviewer's Role

Length of Use

Frequency of Use

Don M.  
Asst. Manager  
Telecommunications  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Powerful and Free Streaming Tool with Professional Capabilities"

March 27, 2026

5.0

Overall, my experience with OBS Studio has been very positive. It is a powerful and reliable tool for both recording and live streaming, offering high-quality output and extensive customization options. While the initial setup can be a bit complex, once configured properly, it runs smoothly and provides professional-level results. It’s especially impressive considering that it is completely free and open-source.

Pros

What I like most about OBS Studio is its powerful, free, and highly customizable streaming and recording capabilities, which allow me to create professional-quality content without any cost.

Cons

What I like least about OBS Studio is its steep learning curve and complex setup, which can be challenging for beginners to configure properly.

Review Source

KM

Kyle M.  
Streamer  
Computer Games  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Amazing Product for Broadcast and Recording"

June 4, 2025

4.0

Incredibly positive and would likely never actually switch unless they stopped being able to do anything

Pros

It's incredibly user friendly and customizable. If you can think of something to do, OBS can likely handle it

Cons

The updates don't always work or are compatible with the setup I have had, making me have to redor my entire layout

Alternatives considered

[Streamlabs Talk Studio](https://www.capterra.com/p/231375/Melon/)

Reason for choosing OBS Studio

Again, much more customizable than anything else I found

Switched from

[Streamlabs](https://www.capterra.com/p/228751/Streamlabs/)

Streamlabs was very limited in its capacity for customization

Review Source

TB

Theresa B.  
Owner  
Printing  
Used the software for: Less than 6 months

### "OBS is too cumbersome to love."

March 25, 2025

1.0

Absolutely horrible. After weeks of trying to overcome setup issues and finding the right plugins, I uninsalled it. I tried another livestreaming tool and was able to setup and stream across 3 platforms in a couple of hours.

Pros

OBS is a powerfully unique tool that has the ability to support a livestreamer's unique vision.

Cons

As an I.T. professional, I was up for the OBS setup challenge. The experience was absolutely terrible... and wasted a LOT of my time. There's a gigantic learning curve. I couldn't ever stream to youtube without errors and never could fix the fb settings to have it work. I removed OBS from my 2 laptops. It's concerning it's open source as well as all the plugins, which could easily lead to viruses being placed on devices by hackers. Too many individual plugins are needed to get the most out of it.

Alternatives considered

[Streamyard](https://www.capterra.com/p/213044/StreamYard/)

Reason for choosing OBS Studio

Youtubers made it seem fantastic but the setup is a complete nightmare... and again... I'm an I.T. professional!

Review Source

MS

Madi S.  
Twitch Streamer  
Entertainment  
Used the software for: 6-12 months

### "Great experience with OBS"

April 8, 2025

5.0

I’m really happy that I started with OBS studio for my streaming journey!

Pros

The customization, easy to read layout and plugins.

Cons

Learning it can be hard at first. And there’s many things going on on the screen, but in the end it’s worth it.

Switched from

[Streamlabs](https://www.capterra.com/p/228751/Streamlabs/)

I heard great things about OBS and that it was best in the long term. And nothing is hidden behind a paywall! Sounds like it’s what the pros use.

Review Source

BW

Bailey W.  
Student  
Animation  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Excellent streaming/recording software!"

July 23, 2025

5.0

Pros

Free to use, with no additional costs for additional features. Usable for both streaming online and also recording videos offline. Being able to create separate scenes with their own sources is very handy, as sometimes I want to use OBS for streaming (which would have a different scene setup), and sometimes just screen recording.

Cons

Has a tough time handling inconsistent internet speeds, and can fail to recover a stream if the internet drops out for a second. Sometimes it streams at a higher bitrate than the settings specify.

Switched from

[Bandicam](https://www.capterra.com/p/188396/Bandicam-Screen-Recorder/)

Bandicam's quite expensive for such a basic software, and OBS has more advanced features.

Review Source

RB

Ryan B.  
Manager  
Construction  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Best for videoing or livestreams"

January 19, 2025

4.0

Pros

I like the ability to control all facets of my broadcasts and livestreams.

Cons

It is a very complex system at first to understand what to control, for example bandwidth and frame rate or microphone settings.

Switched from

[Streamlabs](https://www.capterra.com/p/228751/Streamlabs/)

Traditional OBS offers a reduced comparability for straightforward recording.

Review Source

Destiny C.  
Owner  
Broadcast Media  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "OBS is Studio Stream-sational"

December 7, 2025

5.0

My overall opinion of OBS Studio is that it's honestly served me more useful & way better than any other streaming application or software that I've attempted to use this far. As a content creator & frequent love broadcasting cam model, if I had to suggest an app that anybody could use & never be left disappointed, then my choice would be OBS Studio by an longshot!

Pros

The OBS app is 1 of the best tools, by far, that I've been able to find that gives you probably the widest range of functions available on the market! With OBS you can sync your usual broadcasting fees to the software & give yourself the ability to then integrate so many different features that you almost couldn't find a way to use them all if you tried. From its overall performance and broadcasting quality & speed, to using a digitally implemented green screen & even quality adjustment options, you really CAN live broadcast to your fans with almost studio like quality!

Cons

The only suggestion that I would find to be useful to new OBS users, would be if there were a more comprehensive & expanded downloadable .pdf user and functions manual. Or even a more expanded "hints" segment when initially logging on so that it can teach you about all of the various uses & functions available to the user.

Review Source

VR

Verified Reviewer  
Independant streamer  
Entertainment  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Best streaming software?! "

November 28, 2025

5.0

I've been using this program for years now for streaming, recording clips and podcasting and I can't find anything better!

Pros

I love that it's easy to integrate the platforms I'm going to use to stream, it's easy to update stream information (stream information dock), it's really easy to record and use it as a studio software for podcasting, it seems pretty safe when it comes to security, it's pretty quick and reliable and allows me to add as many features to my scenes as I see fit. All of this for free!

Cons

Some of the features are pretty technical so some homework is needed to fully take advantage. It's not as intuitive and I don't remember it having like a tutorial run through of the program.

Review Source

VD

Void D.  
Freelance Artist  
Graphic Design  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "OBS Review"

July 13, 2025

5.0

OBS is generally a really great program. It has a little bit of a learning curve, but I think that is more than made up for with its robust set of features, being free and open source, and the massive amount of community made plugins

Pros

OBS is a great free, open source software that allows recording and streaming of video, as well as many community-made plugins to help improve experience and provide additional features

Cons

OBS pushes out extremely frequent updates. While this may seem helpful, it's annoying to have to constantly update the software. I'd rather have an auto-update feature or have updates be consolidated in to larger, less frequent ones

Review Source

AL

Amber L.  
People Reporting and Communications Officer  
Non-Profit Organization Management  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Save yourself explaining things repeatedly!"

July 15, 2025

4.0

Overall for a free software I am really impressed. It is easy to use out of the box. I have recommended to several colleagues who have also enjoyed using it for tutorials and walkthrough videos.

Pros

It is simple to record video SOPs to upload to our intranet and share with colleagues. This saves me a lot of time answering the same questions repeatedly.

Cons

It can be difficult to set the audio levels at first. I filmed some videos that were way too quiet (whilst using a headset microphone) and I had to refilm.

Review Source

sL

steven L.  
Analyst  
Computer Software  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "OBS Studio for The Gaming Podcasters out there"

January 18, 2024

4.0

Fun, useful, It doesn't crash nearly as often as other streaming software. If it does crash there is a automatic crash handler that sends the data from the crash to the OBS Dev team for review to help correct and better the software for the next release.

Pros

OBS Studio is a free and open-source software suite for recording and live streaming video content. It is widely used by gamers like me as well as other content creators to stream their gameplay or hold their Podcasts on Twitch and a variety of other platforms. OBS Studio is one of the more robust and free screen recorder and streaming suite available for gamers and podcasters, with everything one needs to achieve with some great results. It offers a wide selection of source options and is optimized for games. However, it is wise to get yourself familiarized with the software and experiment as well.

Cons

OBS Studio is powerful, customizable, and a resource-friendly solution especially with users on Twitch. However, limitations in advanced editing and streaming functionalities do require additional tools and at times other software to complement the suite that it is. Overall, OBS Studio is a awesome choice for gamers and podcasters who want to stream their gameplay on Twitch and other platforms. OBS offers a wide range of features and is optimized for games, but it can take some time to get familiar with the features, so best to learn and maybe check on a few tutorials.

Switched from

[Streamlabs](https://www.capterra.com/p/228751/Streamlabs/)

The crashes were more than i could handle and was quite frustrating.

Review Source

dS

delores S.  
Manager  
Retail  
Used the software for: Less than 6 months

### "OBS Studio is Amazing!"

November 16, 2021

4.0

I love OBS Studio software, I am glad it's available for Windows Desktop users.

Pros

First of all, I love that OBS Studio is free software and it allows me to capture my screen and do LIVE recordings for my YouTube Channel. I'm sure there is an upgrade feature somewhere, but I just need the basics to keep me going with my YouTube videos.

Cons

It was challenging to to use OBS Studio. I guess like with all new technology there is a learning curve. However, I started watching some YouTube videos and I did look at videos from the OBS YouTube channel and I eventually got up and running!

Alternatives considered

[Adobe Premiere Pro](https://www.capterra.com/p/233456/Adobe-Premiere-Pro/)[Camtasia](https://www.capterra.com/p/203013/Camtasia/)

Reason for choosing OBS Studio

I chose OBS Studio over Camtasia, and I love Adobe Premiere Pro, so I use both Premiere Pro and OBS quite often.

Review Source

DM

Dale M.  
Business Development Manager  
Wholesale  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Best FREE screen and stream recording software out there"

March 31, 2022

5.0

Overall i've found OBS to be a great free streaming software. For the purpose of streaming its fantastic with all the 'bells and whistles' next to the paid version that are out there. I've used it in both capacities for streaming gaming to twitch, as well as an educational stream over twitch through both schools and colleges.

Pros

The fact that OBS Studio is free and open source. It has tons of support and a very well rounded community backing its use. Any issues using the software is quickly solved by the great cupport community. Other than this the software is very intuitive and easy to use, especially if the main purpose is streaming, and screen sharing across a stream.

Cons

The issue I had with the software was calibrating OBS audio so that there were no delays in the streams audio. The good thing about this however, is there is a built in audio delay where you can purposefully delay someones audio so it matches the delay of other person streaming or recording. Not only is audio delay and issue, but audio sync with the video being streamed, but this has got far beter with each version update.

Alternatives considered

[XSplit Broadcaster](https://www.capterra.com/p/164141/XSplit-Broadcaster/)

Reason for choosing OBS Studio

OBS had a easier user interface and the over UX semmed far easy for a beginner to use than other software of this type.

Review Source

JC

Jason C.  
Music Producer  
Music  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Not only FREE but intuitive"

November 18, 2022

5.0

I absolutely LOVE OBS Studio. It's like a gift from the heavens. It's completely FREE with the option to donate to its development because it is an open source program. All it took to get started was to watch a few how-to videos on YouTube for the setup I was going for and BOOM! We're in business.

Pros

OBS Studio is FREE. Let that sink in. It also does more than other paid software I've used in the past (Bandicam). I can screen record and live stream it to social media platforms. If I need to capture the audio coming out of my Digital Audio Workstation, I simply have to put a plugin called Reastream from ReaPlugs at the end of my master channel to route the audio out of my DAW and into OBS Studio.

Cons

It can be a little tricky to setup how you want it but YouTube has a plethora of how-to videos showing you how to setup OBS Studio in various configurations.

Switched from

[Bandicam](https://www.capterra.com/p/188396/Bandicam-Screen-Recorder/)

Bandicam at first appeared simple but I was never able to figure out how to route audio out of my DAW and into Bandicam. Pretty bad for a paid product. OBS Studio is FREE and does this effortlessly.

Review Source

VR

Verified Reviewer  
Graphics designer  
Design  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "OBS Studio Review "

February 14, 2023

5.0

As a Graphics designer I have to create some content for my business, and Obs studio helps by screen recording.

Pros

\- If you are looking for the best quality screen recorder software Obs studio is your answer.- High quality screen recording and it doesn't even crush your computer.

Cons

No complaints here, This software is the best and well designed/ made.

Switched from

[Bandicam](https://www.capterra.com/p/188396/Bandicam-Screen-Recorder/)

Obs studio Is way more better than bandicoot in terms of performance and overall quality.

Review Source

TC

Tommaso C.  
Head of Brand and Innovation  
Design  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "The go to solutions to manage a streaming like a video studio"

September 22, 2024

5.0

The go to solution for streamers and video amateurs who want to play live directing, regardless of your level of competence.

Pros

Powerfull, solid, video management solution easy to learn with a broad compatibility and clear operating logic

Cons

Some function could be easier and an internal virtual microphone could be an embedded solution (it's a common issue at firsts interactions)

Review Source

CM

Christhian M.  
Data Scientist  
Financial Services  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Review of OBS"

October 21, 2024

5.0

Pros

For screen recording with handson input and output, OBS is the solution to use.

Cons

OBS can take a lot of RAM and CPU to run and it can lead sometimes to frozen PC

Review Source

Joe D.  
Content Creator  
Non-Profit Organization Management  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "OBS Makes My Non-Profit Stand Out"

June 3, 2024

5.0

Because of its popularity, OBS Studio has a lot of available content on the internet so any questions I have are easily solved with a quick search. I use it to record myself for trainings, to record my screen for multiple reasons, and even to live stream when necessary.

Pros

The easy screen recording capabilities allows me to save and edit my training videos and it's easy to understand.

Cons

Nothing. OBS is essential software for screen recording, and even live streaming.

Review Source

JM

Joshua M.  
Digital Media Director  
Religious Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "The GO-TO Live Streaming Software"

May 30, 2024

5.0

Pros

Our church LOVES using OBS! Though we have grown out of it now, we used it for years when we were first streaming. It made it super easy to live stream, with the ability to add any cameras we wanted, easily switch between them, add any videos, audio, and anything else.

Cons

I have no cons! It is free software, but it works like paid software.

Review Source

CB

Christie B.  
Communiations  
Religious Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "The best free live streaming software."

May 22, 2024

5.0

Pros

With OBS Studio, you can stream to many services at once and add elements. It isn't as flexible as other options for churches like ProPresenter or ProClaim, but it is free.

Cons

OBS's scenes can get hard to manage and organize when you have lots of them.

Review Source

LM

Lucky M.  
Owner  
Animation  
Used the software for: Less than 6 months

### "Obs studio"

June 17, 2024

5.0

I've been using obs for almost a year now.

Pros

It's simple to use. With great features

Cons

It gives you the opportunity to record your screen and video capture feature it's also a great addition.

Review Source

Andrius L.  
Stock keeper  
Food Production  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "Stream, eat, sleep, repeat! Just like that, easy with OBS."

September 13, 2022

5.0

I have used the OBS for streaming the videos to youtube and the videos got saved there for later use. It is very useful tool to use that doesn't limit you from creativity

Pros

Software is open source and free to use. Has many useful functions and is widely used.

Cons

Sometimes the configuration of perfect video audio streaming quality can take lots of time configuring the audio/video codecs. Luckily the forums has guides how to make stable and quality video streaming by jist adjusting the video codecs configuration

Review Source

VR

Verified Reviewer  
IT Manager  
Transportation/Trucking/Railroad  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "OBS is our go to tutorial maker"

December 14, 2023

5.0

Overall, our experience of OBS has been fantastic, and I’d highly recommend this piece of software for any users that need something to make tutorials or just record what they are doing for future purposes

Pros

Oh so I was just a quickly screen record it allows you to highlight the cursor which lets us highlight why uses which part of the screen we are working on and we use it for all of our tutorial making now it is an excellent

Cons

It can be quite tricky to set up if you are a new user, but once you’ve set it up a few times you will quickly get the hang of it

Review Source

DJD

David Jonathan D.  
CSR  
Telecommunications  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "OBS Studio Review as a Streamer and daily user"

January 13, 2024

5.0

It is good, OBS made me a lot of money from using this platform to stream at Twitch

Pros

I can use OBS Studio to record my content and stream my gaming

Cons

The latency or the lag of the server when it comes to streaming

Review Source

TM

Tholang M.  
CEO  
Financial Services  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Why OBS Studio is the best"

February 20, 2023

5.0

I have had the best experience ever. Im not planning to change to another software anytime soon.

Pros

Some OBS tools can be used offline and free without any costs. The quality of their captures are the best. It is an all in one video capturing and live streaming software.

Cons

I dont remember it having a free trial for the premium version.

Review Source

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