Mac Screen Recorder with Audio: How to Record Screen and System Sound

You hit record on your Mac, walk through a perfect demo of your app, stop the recording, and play it back — only to discover there is no audio. No system sound, no music, no app audio. Just silence over your carefully orchestrated screen capture. If this has happened to you, you are not alone. It is one of the most common frustrations Mac users face when trying to create screen recordings with sound.

The reason is simple but surprising: macOS does not natively support recording system audio during a screen capture. The built-in tools can record your microphone, but the sound coming out of your speakers — the audio from a video call, a game, a music app, or your own application — is off limits without workarounds or third-party software.

This guide covers every method for recording your Mac screen with audio in 2026, from free built-in tools to virtual audio drivers to dedicated screen recording apps that handle audio natively. By the end, you will know exactly which approach fits your workflow and how to set it up.

Why Recording Audio on Mac Is Harder Than It Should Be

On Windows, screen recording with system audio is straightforward. The Xbox Game Bar captures everything — screen, microphone, and system sound — out of the box. macOS takes a different approach. Apple built its audio architecture (Core Audio) with a strict separation between audio input and output. Applications can access the microphone as an input device, but the system audio output — what you hear through your speakers or headphones — is not exposed as a recordable source.

This design exists for privacy and security reasons. Apple does not want applications silently capturing audio from other apps without the user knowing. It is a reasonable security posture, but it creates a real problem for anyone trying to record a tutorial, a product demo, a video call, or gameplay footage where the sound matters.

The result is that every Mac user who needs to record screen and audio at the same time eventually hits a wall. The solutions range from clunky workarounds to elegant third-party tools, and the right choice depends on how often you record and how much friction you are willing to tolerate.

Built-In Option: QuickTime Player

QuickTime Player is the first tool most people try. It ships with every Mac and has a built-in screen recording feature. To start a recording, open QuickTime, go to File > New Screen Recording, and click the record button.

QuickTime can record your microphone audio alongside the screen capture. You select your microphone from the dropdown menu next to the record button, and your voice is captured in sync with the video. For simple narrated tutorials where you are talking over a screen recording, this works fine.

The problem is system audio. QuickTime cannot capture the sound coming from your Mac — no app audio, no browser audio, no music, no notification sounds. If you are recording a demo of an app that plays sound effects, or walking someone through a video in a browser, or showing a music production workflow, QuickTime will capture your screen perfectly and your microphone if you choose, but the system audio will be missing entirely.

There is no setting to fix this. It is a fundamental limitation of how QuickTime interacts with Core Audio. You cannot select “system audio” as an input source because macOS does not expose one.

Built-In Option: The Screenshot Toolbar

Since macOS Mojave, pressing Command + Shift + 5 opens the Screenshot toolbar, which includes screen recording controls. You can record the entire screen or a selected portion, and there is an Options menu where you can choose a microphone for audio input.

The Screenshot toolbar has the same limitation as QuickTime: microphone only, no system audio. It is essentially the same recording engine under the hood, just with a more modern interface. It is convenient for quick captures, but if you need system sound in your recording, it cannot help.

Both of these built-in options share another limitation worth noting: they export recordings in MOV format with limited control over quality settings. There are no options for bitrate, frame rate, or codec. You get what Apple decides is appropriate, and for many use cases — particularly professional content creation — that level of control is not enough.

The Virtual Audio Driver Approach: BlackHole and Soundflower

Since macOS will not expose system audio as a recordable input, the community built a workaround: virtual audio drivers. These are kernel extensions (or newer Audio Server plugins) that create a fake audio device on your Mac. You route your system audio to this virtual device, and then select it as the input source in QuickTime or any other recording tool. The virtual device acts as a bridge, turning audio output into audio input.

Soundflower was the original solution and was widely used for years. It is an open-source kernel extension that creates two virtual audio devices (2-channel and 64-channel). However, Soundflower has been effectively abandoned. It does not receive updates, and on recent versions of macOS it can cause kernel panics or simply fail to load due to Apple's tightened security requirements around kernel extensions.

BlackHole is the modern replacement. Created by Existential Audio, BlackHole is an open-source virtual audio driver that works as an Audio Server plugin rather than a kernel extension, which means it is more stable and compatible with current macOS versions. It is free for the 2-channel version and has paid options for 16-channel and 64-channel configurations.

How to Set Up BlackHole

Setting up BlackHole to record system audio requires several steps:

1. Download and install BlackHole from the official website. You will need to provide an email address to receive the download link.
2. Open Audio MIDI Setup (found in Applications > Utilities). Click the plus button in the bottom left corner and select “Create Multi-Output Device.”
3. Configure the Multi-Output Device. Check both your regular speakers (or headphones) and BlackHole 2ch. This routes your system audio to both your speakers (so you can still hear it) and to the BlackHole virtual device (so it can be recorded).
4. Set the Multi-Output Device as your system output. Go to System Settings > Sound > Output and select the Multi-Output Device you just created. You will lose the ability to control volume with the keyboard volume keys — this is a known limitation of Multi-Output Devices in macOS.
5. In QuickTime (or the Screenshot toolbar), select BlackHole 2ch as the microphone input. Now when you record your screen, the system audio flowing through BlackHole will be captured.

If you also want to capture your microphone alongside system audio, you need to create an additional “Aggregate Device” in Audio MIDI Setup that combines your microphone and BlackHole. Then select that aggregate device as the input in your recording tool.

The Downsides of Virtual Audio Drivers

While BlackHole works and is the go-to free solution, the workflow has real friction:

• Complex setup. Creating Multi-Output Devices and Aggregate Devices in Audio MIDI Setup is not intuitive. Most users need to follow a tutorial step by step, and a single misconfiguration means no audio in the recording.
• You lose volume control. When your system output is set to a Multi-Output Device, the hardware volume keys stop working. You need to adjust volume within individual apps or use the Audio MIDI Setup utility.
• You must remember to switch back. After recording, you need to change your system audio output back to your normal speakers or headphones. Forgetting this means your audio routing stays in the recording configuration, which can cause confusing behavior in other apps.
• Updates can break it. Major macOS updates occasionally change how audio plugins work, which can require reinstalling or reconfiguring BlackHole. Apple's shift away from kernel extensions toward System Extensions and DriverKit means the audio driver landscape continues to evolve.
• No per-app audio selection. BlackHole captures all system audio. If you only want audio from one specific app (your browser, for example) while excluding notification sounds and other apps, you cannot do that with BlackHole alone.

For occasional recording, BlackHole is a perfectly workable free solution. But if you record frequently — weekly tutorials, regular product demos, ongoing content creation — the setup and teardown overhead adds up quickly.

Third-Party Screen Recorders with Native Audio Capture

The cleanest solution to the Mac audio recording problem is a screen recorder that handles system audio capture natively, without requiring virtual audio drivers or manual audio routing. Several third-party apps have solved this problem at the application level.

OBS Studio

OBS Studio is a free, open-source tool originally built for live streaming. It supports screen recording on Mac and can capture system audio through a plugin or by using BlackHole as a source. OBS is incredibly powerful but has a steep learning curve. The interface is designed for live-streaming workflows with scenes, sources, and mixing panels that can feel overwhelming if you just want to record your screen with audio. For users who already know OBS or need streaming capabilities alongside recording, it is a strong free option.

SmoothCapture

SmoothCapture is a macOS screen recorder built for developers and content creators who need polished recordings without complex setup. It captures system audio natively — no BlackHole, no virtual audio drivers, no Audio MIDI Setup configuration. You select your audio sources (system audio, microphone, or both) and start recording.

Beyond solving the audio problem, SmoothCapture includes features specifically useful for app developers: 3D device frames that wrap your recording in a realistic iPhone, iPad, or MacBook mockup, USB recording from physical iOS devices, cinematic cursor effects with automatic zoom, and a built-in timeline editor for trimming and polishing your footage. If you are creating demo videos, App Store preview recordings, or tutorial content, it handles the entire workflow from capture to export in a single app. Check the pricing page for current plans.

Other Notable Options

Several other Mac screen recorders handle audio well:

• ScreenPal (formerly Screencast-O-Matic). A cross-platform recorder with a free tier. It can capture system audio on Mac and includes basic editing tools. The free version adds a watermark to recordings.
• Movavi Screen Recorder. A paid tool with a clean interface that captures screen, system audio, and microphone with one click. Good for beginners who want simplicity without a learning curve.
• ScreenRec. A free screen recorder that captures system audio alongside screen video. It includes cloud storage for sharing recordings quickly via link. Limited editing capabilities.
• Screen Studio. A Mac-focused recorder aimed at creating polished product videos. It captures system audio and includes automatic zoom effects. Subscription-based pricing.

The common thread among all these tools is that they bypass the macOS audio limitation at the application level, so you do not need to install separate virtual audio drivers or configure system-level audio routing.

Tips for the Best Audio Quality in Screen Recordings

Capturing audio is only half the challenge. Making it sound good is the other half. These tips apply regardless of which recording tool you use.

Close unnecessary apps. Before recording, quit apps you do not need. Notification sounds from Slack, Mail, or Messages will be captured in your system audio track and are difficult to remove in post-production. Enable Do Not Disturb (Focus mode) to silence notifications entirely.

Set your audio levels before recording. Do a test recording of 10-15 seconds and play it back. System audio should be clearly audible but not clipping (distorting). If you are also recording your microphone, check that your voice is balanced against the system audio — you do not want one drowning out the other.

Use a decent microphone. If your recording includes narration, the built-in MacBook microphone picks up fan noise, keyboard clicks, and room echo. Even an inexpensive USB microphone or a pair of AirPods Pro will produce noticeably better voice audio. Position the mic close to your mouth and speak at a consistent volume.

Record in a quiet environment. This sounds obvious, but background noise is the single most common problem in screen recordings with voice narration. Close windows, turn off fans, and avoid recording in open-plan offices or coffee shops. A closet full of clothes is genuinely one of the best improvised recording environments because the fabric absorbs reflections.

Record system audio and microphone on separate tracks if possible. Some recording tools, including SmoothCapture, let you capture system audio and microphone as separate audio tracks. This gives you much more flexibility in post-production — you can adjust levels, reduce noise on the voice track, or mute system audio during certain sections without affecting the other source.

Check your sample rate. If you are using BlackHole or an aggregate device, make sure the sample rate matches across all devices in Audio MIDI Setup (44,100 Hz or 48,000 Hz are standard). Mismatched sample rates can cause audio drift, where the audio gradually falls out of sync with the video over the course of a longer recording.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I screen record with audio on Mac for free?

Yes. The free approach is to use BlackHole (a free virtual audio driver) combined with QuickTime Player or the Screenshot toolbar (Command + Shift + 5). BlackHole routes your system audio to a virtual input device that QuickTime can record. The setup takes about 10 minutes and requires configuring a Multi-Output Device in Audio MIDI Setup. OBS Studio is another free option that supports system audio capture on Mac through plugins.

How do I record screen and audio at the same time on Mac?

To record both your screen and audio simultaneously, you have three main paths. First, use the built-in Screenshot toolbar (Command + Shift + 5) with BlackHole installed for system audio. Second, use OBS Studio with an audio capture plugin. Third, use a dedicated Mac screen recorder like SmoothCapture that captures system audio natively without requiring any additional drivers or configuration. The third option is the simplest because there is nothing to set up — you just select your audio sources and record.

Why does my Mac screen recording have no sound?

macOS does not expose system audio as a recordable input source by default. When you screen record with QuickTime or the Screenshot toolbar, only your microphone is available as an audio input. The sound from apps, browsers, and games is not captured. To record system audio, you need either a virtual audio driver like BlackHole or a third-party screen recorder that handles system audio capture at the application level.

Is BlackHole safe to install on Mac?

BlackHole is open-source software maintained by Existential Audio. The source code is publicly available on GitHub, and it has been widely used by the Mac community for several years. It installs as an Audio Server plugin (not a kernel extension), which is the modern, Apple-approved method for audio drivers. It is generally considered safe, though as with any system-level software, you should download it only from the official source.

What is the best Mac screen recorder with audio for product demos?

For product demos, you want a recorder that captures system audio without setup friction, produces high-quality output, and ideally includes editing tools so you do not need a separate video editor. Look for features like cursor highlighting, zoom effects, and device frame overlays if you are recording mobile apps. SmoothCapture is designed specifically for this use case, with native system audio capture, 3D device frames, auto-zoom cursor effects, and a built-in timeline editor.

Recording your Mac screen with audio should not require a computer science degree, but Apple's audio architecture makes it more complicated than it needs to be. If you are a casual user who records occasionally, the free BlackHole plus QuickTime combination works well once configured. If you record regularly and want a frictionless experience with professional output, a dedicated screen recorder that handles audio natively will save you significant time and frustration. Whatever path you choose, test your audio setup before every important recording session — there is nothing worse than finishing a perfect demo and discovering the audio track is empty.