NVIDIA ShadowPlay comparisons
NVIDIA ShadowPlay is compared head-to-head with OBS Studio, SteelSeries Moments and Outplayed and more: 7 head-to-heads in Game Recording Software, each with the specs and prices we checked.
NVIDIA ShadowPlay head-to-head
- NVIDIA ShadowPlay vs OBS Studio
- NVIDIA ShadowPlay vs SteelSeries Moments
- NVIDIA ShadowPlay vs Outplayed
- NVIDIA ShadowPlay vs Bandicam
- NVIDIA ShadowPlay vs Medal
- NVIDIA ShadowPlay vs Streamlabs Highlighter
- NVIDIA ShadowPlay vs Action!
NVIDIA ShadowPlay vs each of them
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Instant replay | Recording modes | GPU encoding | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | NVIDIA ShadowPlay | Yes | Free | Yes | Multi-mode | Yes | 8.9 |
| 1 | OBS Studio | Yes | Free | 9.3 | |||
| 2 | SteelSeries Moments | Yes | Free | Yes | Multi-mode | Yes | 9.1 |
| 3 | Outplayed | Yes | Yes | Multi-mode | Yes | 9.0 | |
| 5 | Bandicam | Yes | 8.8 | ||||
| 6 | Medal | Yes | $7.99/user/mo | Yes | Multi-mode | Yes | 8.7 |
| 7 | Streamlabs Highlighter | Yes | Free | Yes | Multi-mode | Yes | 8.5 |
| 8 | Action! | No | Yes | Multi-mode | Yes | 8.2 |
Compare NVIDIA ShadowPlay with any game recording software
These are the matchups our editors wrote up. The compare tool pairs NVIDIA ShadowPlay with any other product in Game Recording Software — and up to four at once — from the same checked specs.
Compare NVIDIA ShadowPlay with any tool side by side →
Every game recording software head-to-head →
Our full NVIDIA ShadowPlay verdict, pricing and fact sheet →
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Compared by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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