Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover screen recording. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Camtasia | Zight | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $39 | From $9.95 |
| Pricing model | Paid subscription | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Billing | Annual only | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | macOS, Windows | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS |
| Covers | Screen Recording, Video Editing | Screen Recording, Media Storage & Review |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Screen recording and editing in one suite
Camtasia has been the default answer for recorded training and software walkthroughs for about two decades, and the reason is the editor rather than the recorder: callouts, zooms and cursor effects are built in rather than assembled by hand. TechSmith sells it by the year and bundles Snagit with it. There is still a perpetual licence for people who would rather buy a version and keep it.
Our note
Ignore the $39 tier unless you genuinely only want Snagit, because the editor that makes Camtasia worth buying is on the plan above. Against DaVinci Resolve, which is free, this earns its price on the demo-specific tooling and nothing else.
Only on this side
Screenshots and screen recordings with links
Zight, which spent years as CloudApp, captures a screenshot or a short recording and hands back a link before the file has finished uploading. Annotation, GIF capture and a searchable library are the reasons people keep it in the menu bar. The free plan caps recording length and storage, and the cap arrives sooner than expected.
Only on this side
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.