15 Best GIF Recorders in 2023 [Windows & Mac]

Movavi Screen Recorder is a program that acts as a GIF recorder and is one of the best ways to make GIFs so that you can later share with others or even keep for personal use. With this GIF screen recorder, you can easily capture videos and create GIFs. It is user-friendly as the screen recording process is straightforward and easy: you turn on the start button to begin recording your video and then convert the recorded video clips to GIF from the screen and finally save it as quickly as possible.

Key features:

• Capture on-screen activity to on the fly for improved efficiency
• Add a personal touch to your recordings by including in-app sounds in them
• Capture on-screen activity to improve efficiency with simple, lightweight recordings

Download Movavi Screen Recorder

This GIF recorder helps you to record videos from your screen to GIFs on Mac. It is an application with a very small size (just 670kb) and allows you to screencast and capture what is on your screen without the interruption of ads. With a built-in editor, you can easily edit all your captured videos with the many GIF tools it offers. It has a clear and concise interface and is available in over 18 different languages.

This is one of the best GIF recorders. Using the app is simple, and it gives you your recorded video in no time, after which you can edit them and later export them to GIF format to be saved on your desktop or PC for later use.

Key features:

• Good selection of editing tools

• Record screen activity and webcam

Download ScreenToGif

This is basically GIF made easy as it is one of the best ways to record GIFs worthy of sharing to the general public. It helps you to record GIFs on Mac, and this program is simple enough for anyone to easily navigate through. You can capture literally anything on your screen to turn to a GIF and edit the recorded video to add captions, adjust the export size, and so much more. This GIF screen recorder also has many tools that can help you do various things like trim clips to one distinct frame. After you have captured what is on your screen to make a video and edited it to your satisfaction, you can then upload your video as it is ready for sharing. Or, if you’re not ready to share it, you can save it to your GIPHY account for later use.

Key features:

• Trimming tools

• One-click upload to share

• Sticker maker tool

Download GIPHY

If you’re looking for a way to make GIF screen capture, then look no further because Zight is the easiest way to make GIFs. Compatible with both Mac and Windows, this GIF recorder offers many tools so that you can easily capture videos and save them to the cloud, and there they will stay until you are ready to share them. As it is an available free version, downloading the program is very easy and can be done in record time. To use this app for GIF capture on Windows or other OS, all you need do is select the GIF icon, note the area you want to record, and you can even choose to record with or without sound.

After recording a GIF, click on finish, and then you can begin sharing your GIF with the public. This whole method can be done in very little time and is a conducive way to create your videos from your desktop or PC.

Key features:

• Stores directly to the cloud

• Cross-platform

• Annotate screenshots

Go to Zight

Recordit is compatible with different platforms, including Windows and Mac. It is a very fast GIF recorder that you should definitely have on your system. Recordit allows you to record any part of your screen, after which you get a link where you can share your screencast. You can also use the program to record a video and then send it to whatever app you want. In this way, you can have Recordit capture your screen and make a GIF out of the recorded video and focus on other details of the screen capturing process. This helps to make the experience as straightforward and as easy as possible.

The GIF screen recorder has a free version that you can easily download, set up, and start using immediately and doesn’t require much input from you during the editing process.

Key features:

• Records screen GIFs, mouse movements, and audio

• Fast export

• High-resolution video

Download Recordit

Gifox allows you to easily create wonderful GIFs as it helps to capture whatever is on your screen. This GIF recorder also doubles as a sharing app, so after your GIF is created, with as easy as one click, you can share your video to whomever you want to share it with and through whatever platform you want to share it on. Gifox has many features, such as the window selection mode, which allows you to continuously capture whatever is on your screen and gives you total control over what quality you want your captured video to be in and what size you want it to be outputted as. The program also lets you pick the elements you want to be added to your screen recording, and you get to choose how exactly you want it recorded.

Key features:

• Selective screen capture

• Advanced compression options

• Window selection mode

Download Gifox

If you want an easy and fun animated GIF screen recorder, GifCam is the one for you. It is a practical app without so many add-ons so screen recording to make a GIF is a simple and straightforward process. To start recording, click on ‘Rec', and the program starts capturing whatever is on screen. You can easily edit delays by clicking on the ‘Edit' button. Edit features include adding text to the video, choosing frame rate options for a smoother GIF, adjusting a frame, and lots more. When you are done recording and editing your video, you can save your GIF in 5 color reduction formats.

Key features:

• Simple, clean interface

• Built-in editing tools

• Offers options to add filters, colors

Download GifCam

Perfect for creating simple animated GIF’s, LICEcap is a program to have. It is suitable to capture GIFs through screen recording as it can save captured videos directly to .gif to ease the process for you. LICEcap is suitable with a host of platforms, including Windows and macOS. Recorded videos are outputted in high quality and can be compressed to whatever size suits you best.

Key features:

• Easy to use

• Saves directly to GIF format

• Move the screen capture frame during recording

Download LICEcap

Fraps is a Windows-based application popular with gamers for real-time screen capture and benchmarking. It records video and audio and allows you to edit and save in GIF format.

Key features:

• Automatic names/timestamps on screenshots

• Real-time recording

Download Fraps

ShareX is a free and open-source screen capture tool known for its simplicity and high-quality results. It offers lots of features to trim, edit, resize and enhance your content, with easy upload and sharing functionalities.

Key features:

• Region capture

• Annotation tools

• Editing tools

Download ShareX

Gyazo is a simple tool that allows users to capture short clips of meetings and other content as a GIF before sharing to others. The clips can be up to seven seconds in length if you’re using the free version, but for more, you need to pay a fee for the full version. 

There are browser add-ons as well as standalone apps to allow users to quickly and easily capture using Gyazo.

Key features:

• 7-second replays

• Unlimited capture and uploading

• Automatic link copying

Download Gyazo

Aiseesoft Screen Recorder works for both Mac and Windows 10 computers. If you pay for the full version, you get a lot of functionality, including control over the screen capture and even some basic editing.

This GIF maker is good for capturing things in a hurry as there are plenty of options to set simple shortcuts, meaning you can hit a couple of buttons and start the process.

Key features:

• Easy cropping

• Simple audio capture

• Capture from an Android device or iPhone

Download Aiseesoft Screen Recorder

AceThinker Aqua Demo is one of the more lightweight options on the list but still has some good features, including the option to set up timed recordings. You can output to a lot of different file types, including GIFs. 

Aqua Demo also has features, such as mouse effects, which can be great if you are making tutorials. The locking window also means it can record what is going on in one window rather than the whole of your screen. It can turn the screen recording to GIF files as well as many other video types.

Key features:

• Audio codec options

• Locking window

Download AceThinker Aqua Demo

Capture to a Gif is lightweight software that is simple to use, but it does come with quite a few limitations. As a Chrome add-on, it can only capture things that are inside your Chrome browser.

It is also easy to make errors as you have to click the element you want to record on the screen. This can be frustrating and mean you miss the thing you wanted to record in the first place.

Key features:

• Control FPS, quality, width, and height

• Shortcut keys supported

• Capture directly from the browser

Download Capture to a Gif

Animated Gif Capture is another free browser-based option for capturing. It has no audio option, so it is only suitable for short visual clips.

The app is free, lightweight, and can be added to your Chrome browser in seconds, so it is good for those in a hurry who want a simple GIF creator.

Key features:

• Customizable options for recording

• GIF downloads automatically

Download Animated Gif Capture