Screencastify vs ScreenPal Comparison 2026
Screencastify records from a Chrome extension and adds what a classroom needs: questions dropped into the video timeline and assignments that collect replies from a group. ScreenPal records, edits and hosts a tutorial in one place for $4 a month, and its free tier carries no monthly limit, while Screencastify's ten free videos are a lifetime allowance rather than a renewing one. The real axis is audience: Screencastify serves teachers collecting answers, ScreenPal serves anybody who wants the cheapest way to record, cut and host.
Screen recording built for classrooms
Screen recording and hosting at four dollars
At a glance
- ScreenPal starts cheaper, at $4.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Screencastify | ScreenPal | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $7 | From $4 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | None | Not stated |
| API | Not stated |
Screencastify
Screen recording built for classrooms
Screencastify records the screen from a Chrome extension and adds what a teacher needs and a marketer does not: questions inside the video, collected replies, and a way to ask thirty people to record something back. It works for a plain product demo too. The free plan stops at ten videos of thirty minutes each.
Our note
The ten-video free allowance is a lifetime cap rather than a monthly one, so the free plan is a trial with no clock on it. Anybody recording weekly should price Starter from the start.
ScreenPal
Screen recording and hosting at four dollars
ScreenPal records the screen, edits what it recorded and hosts the result on a page you can send to somebody, which is three products most tools split up. The editor handles the things a tutorial actually needs, captions and callouts and cutting the dead air, without turning into a timeline that has to be learned. It was Screencast-O-Matic for years and the price has stayed in the same place. Anybody wanting cinema-grade output is in the wrong shop.
Why people weigh these two
- ScreenPal instead of Screencastify
- ScreenPal bundles recording, editing and hosting for four dollars, without the classroom-specific embedded questions Screencastify is built around.
- Screencastify instead of ScreenPal
- Screencastify is built for classrooms from $7 with a free tier.
Which one should you pick
Pick Screencastify if you are a teacher or trainer who needs students or trainees to submit video answers back, since questions and assignments are built into the timeline. Its free plan is ten videos total, not ten a month, so budget for Starter early if you record weekly: $7 a month requires paying annually, and month to month it is $19.
Pick ScreenPal if you just want the cheapest way to record, edit and host a tutorial. The free tier is permanent and ad-free, with no lifetime cap to run out. Deluxe is $4 a month, well below even Screencastify's best annual rate of $7.
Common questions
- Does Screencastify's free plan renew every month?
- No. The ten free videos are a lifetime allowance, not a monthly one, so a weekly recorder runs out fast. ScreenPal's free tier is permanent, with no such lifetime count in its plan.
- Which one is cheaper?
- ScreenPal. Deluxe is a flat $4 a month. Screencastify's cheapest rate is $7 a month, and that requires paying annually; billed month to month it jumps to $19.
- Can students or trainees submit a video answer back?
- Screencastify can: video assignments collect replies from a group inside the tool. ScreenPal is built around recording, editing and hosting, not collecting responses back.
- Does either one add captions automatically?
- Screencastify adds automatic captions, transcripts and translation on its Pro plan, from $10 a month billed annually. ScreenPal includes captions and callouts starting on its $4 Deluxe plan.
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.