Suppose you’re looking for good quality, reliable screen capture software.
In that case, chances are you will have stumbled upon both Snagit and Camtasia during your search, as these are two of the most popular screen capture software on the market.
But what is the actual difference between the two, and which one of them is going to be the better choice for you?
Both Snagit and Camtasia are owned by Techsmith but are intended for different levels of screen capture editing, so it’s important to make the right choice when deciding between the two.
The two do share some similarities, especially in regard to their features, interfaces, and support.
But the differences lie in what you’re able to record, as well as what you’re able to do with that footage too.
So, if you’re looking for a comparison between Snagit vs Camtasia, then keep reading, as we take an in-depth look at both of these screen capture tools to help you decide!
Snagit
Overview
Snagit was initially launched back in 1990 and is one of the most popular screen capture software on the market, and it allows you to capture and immediately edit the images captured from your screen using the Snagit Editor, which enables you to markup this image using numerous different effects, including arrows, text, callouts and more.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a still image, a video, or an action in progress, and you can also decide whether you want to capture the entirety of your screen, a designated window of your choosing, or a scrolling windows screen.
You’re also able to import screen captures taken using the default screen capture on your PC or Mac, and edit them from there.
Features
Snagit has plenty of features for you to make use of whilst capturing and recording your screen, so if you want to know whether or not Snagit is the software you should use, then have a look at what it can offer!
- All-In-One-Capture: You can use the crosshair in order to click and drag the region of the screen you want to capture, and you can also lock this in at either 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratios too.
- Text Extraction: Once you’ve captured a screen, you’re able to grab any text found within the capture, and paste it into a document in order to edit it, which saves you time having to re-type the text.
- Scrolling Screen Capture: You can capture an entire page using a scrolling screenshot, which can be done both vertically and horizontally.
- Screen Recording: You can record all of your workflows as you make your way through them on your computer, with the ability to pull individual frames from the video for editing too.
- Audio Recording: You can make use of either an external microphone or the one built-in to your computer or laptop to provide audio alongside your recordings.
- iOS Compatibility: If you have the Snagit app on your iPhone, you can use it to record your phone screen and easily transfer it across to your computer provided that both are connected to the same WiFi network.
- Webcam: Whilst you’re screen recording, you can easily shift between your webcam and your screen to help provide more customized and interactive videos.
- Sharing: With Snagit, you can easily share and export your videos using YouTube, Google Drive, and Dropbox!
This is already a lot of features, but you’ll be amazed to find that Snagit has even more features for you to explore when it comes to the editing process too!
Things such as Blur, that allows you to maintain privacy and protect information whilst screen recording.
Delay, so that you can capture menus easily whilst screen recording.
Create Presets so that you don’t have to spend time restoring your previous settings each time you want to edit something.
As well as all of this, you also have the ability to customize your interface to how you want it, from being able to change the color of your interface to personalizing your toolbar so that all of your favorite options are ready for you to use without having to find them again, it makes using Snagit extremely easy.
Support
If you’ve never used Snagit or anything similar to it before, trying to figure out such a vast capture and editing tool can be slightly daunting.
Thankfully, there is plenty of support available in the form of tutorials and guidance on TechSmith’s website, which will demonstrate how to get started on using this software, and when you’re ready to get started trying some of the more advanced features, there are also more specific tutorials for that too!
There’s also a dedicated tech support team available to help should you encounter any technical issues using Snagit, and you can contact them Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 7 PM Eastern time, but if it’s out of hours and you need advice or help fast, then you can always make use of the user community forum!
Pricing
If you’re interested in using Snagit, but are unsure if it’s going to be the best option for you, then you can download their free trial, which lasts for 15 days, and provides you with a complete version of Snagit for you to try out.
Then, if you wish to use Snagit after these 15 days are up, they demand a one-time charge of $49.95, with the option of adding a year of maintenance on top of that for an additional $12.49, which will ensure that you have access to priority support, free upgrades, and even volume benefits, which provide a cumulative discount.
If you already have a previous copy of Snagit, then you can upgrade to the latest version for $24.95, which also comes with a year of maintenance.
And if you’re buying Snagit as a business, for educational purposes, or for governmental usage, then there are specialized pricing options available too!
Camtasia
Overview
Whereas Snagit is able to both capture and record your device’s screen, Camtasia is designed purely as a screen recording tool, and provides some more advanced features to help enhance your recording beyond what is possible with Snagit.
So for those who are looking for a much more advanced recording option, then opting for Camtasia certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea!
Features
Camtasia is packed with features that help to make it one of the most favored screen recording software around, so if you’re considering purchasing Camtasia, and want to know what sort of features it has, then find out below.
- Recording Audio/Video: Whether it’s on-screen on in a window, you can record audio and video on your screen with ease.
- Cropped Recording: Another great feature is the ability to crop and customize the amount of your screen you want to record, which allows you to preset it to fit certain devices too.
- Additional Images/Videos: You can implement videos, images, and even PowerPoint presentations into your video should you wish.
- Green Screen: Using the green screen tool, you can put yourself into your screen recording!
- Effects: You can use a multitude of effects available on Camtasia, including highlights, animation, transitions, and titles all by dragging and dropping them into your video’s timeline, which makes the editing process super easy.
- Timeline: Speaking of the timeline, it allows you to easily crop clips, and combine two separate clips together, as well as providing you with the ability to speed up or slow down the screen recording footage, and the Video Editor provides you with a live preview of all of your edits too.
- Start Over: If a video is taking you a few tries to get right, then using the ‘Start Over’ tool is a great way to restart without having to stop and delete the old clip.
As you can see, Camtasia is brimming with excellent features, so it’s not hard to see why it’s become such a popular choice for people looking for premium screen recording software.
So with all of these great features, the possibilities are endless, you could create interactive tutorial videos and quizzes for students, create interesting and engaging marketing and branding videos for demonstrations and presentations.
Support
The support for Camtasia is for the most part, exactly the same as Snagit, which makes sense since they have the same parent company.
So if you need tutorials on how to make use of Camtasia’s incredible features, or you need someone to help fix a technical issues, all you need to do is make your way over to TechSmith’s website where you can get help from their experts, or consult the user community forum for advice and help from your fellow users!
Pricing
If you’re thinking of investing in Camtasia, then you can give it a try by accessing their 30-day free trial, which will provide you with all of the features and tools you would have available to you on the premium version.
However, whilst using the free trial, any videos you have will have a Camtasia watermark on them, indicating that you’re using the free version.
Once your trial is up, you can then purchase Camtasia for a one-time cost of $249, or if you want access to both Camtasia and Snagit, then you can bundle them together for $274, which saves you roughly $25.
Compared to Snagit then, Camtasia is most certainly the pricier of the two options.
However, its advanced features for screen recording are the preferable choice if you’re someone who is looking for recording software that is going to really allow you to personalize and edit your videos to an advanced level.
What Are The Differences Between Snagit And Camtasia?
So, now that you know what the possibilities are whilst using each of these tools, it’s time to have a quick look at what the differences between the two software are, so that you can get a better idea of which one is going to be best suited for you and the tasks you’ll be using it for.
- Snagit was designed with capturing images and videos for teams as its primary function. In comparison, Camtasia is a dedicated and complete video editor.
- Snagit does have some great features, and provides some excellent preset designs that allow you to edit pictures and videos quickly, however, they are dwarfed in quality by the editing features available when using Camtasia, which will allow you to create much more professional-looking videos.
Who Are They For?
Snagit is designed for people who want a simple and functional screen-capturing tool that will allow them to make basic edits and share their videos easily in a number of different places.
This works great for those in education or for beginner tutorial-based YouTubers!
Camtasia is for those who want advanced and in-depth video recording and editing software that is able to create and produce incredible videos to a professional standard and is a firm favorite amongst video bloggers and content creators.
Conclusion
Being from the same parent company, there’s no surprise in the fact that both Snagit and Camtasia work in pretty similar ways, but once you look past this initial similarity in the design and interface, then you realize just how deep the features run in Camtasia in comparison to the more simplified Snagit.
So even if you go to use a tool that is available in both of the programs, more often than not you’ll discover that Camtasia’s version is much more advanced.
Snagit might be the more simplified option, but some users who have used both Snagit and Camtasia often state that Snagit is actually harder to use.
So, for those who just want a simple capture and recording tool with basic features, and for those on a budget, then Snagit is going to provide everything you need.
But for those looking for more advanced and professional software, Camtasia is going to be the best option!