Cursorful vs Zoomingscreen: an honest Cursorful alternative.
Cursorful and Zoomingscreen are both Chrome extension screen recorders with auto zoom, and both have desktop apps. Here they are side by side on price, the free plan, recording and editing, checked on each website, including the places where Cursorful is the better pick.
What is Cursorful?
Cursorful is a screen recorder with auto zoom, made as an extension for Chrome, Edge and Brave on macOS, Windows and Linux. It records your screen, crops it to the browser, and adds zooms and pans when you click two or more times within 3 seconds. Videos are rendered on your computer, with optional cloud share links. The free plan needs no account and has no watermark, for non commercial use. Cursorful Pro, a one time payment per seat, adds commercial use, 4K, microphone and camera, and desktop apps for macOS and Windows. Its Chrome Web Store listing shows 60,000 users and a 4.9 rating from about 1,100 ratings.
Cursorful pricing vs Zoomingscreen pricing.
| Plan | Zoomingscreen | Cursorful |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Record and edit for free with no account. Exporting needs a free account: 2 days of exports up to 1080p with a Zoomingscreen mark | Free forever with no account: record the browser, auto zoom, edit and export with no watermark, for non commercial use |
| Monthly | $14.99 a month (Standard), cancel any time | No monthly plan listed |
| Yearly | No yearly plan | No yearly plan listed |
| Lifetime | $49.99 once (Pro lifetime), updates included | $79 once per seat (Pro), shown as $40 off the regular $119 |
| What paying adds | No mark, up to 4K, every shape and wallpaper, your own background, importing a video | Commercial use, 4K, microphone and camera, the desktop apps, 10 GB of cloud storage |
| Devices per license | One Chrome extension and one desktop app at a time | 3 browser profile activations and 2 desktop activations per seat |
| Teams | One personal key per person, no team plan | Seats sold in packs of 1, 3 or more, 5 or more, and 10 or more |
| Commercial use | Our terms have no non commercial rule on any plan | Free plan is for non commercial use; Pro covers commercial use for 1 user per seat |
| Cloud storage | None, nothing is uploaded | 10 GB shared with Pro, more at $0.02 per GB a month |
| Refunds | Policy shown at checkout by Polar, our merchant of record | 14 days, no questions asked |
Cursorful prices as listed on its own website on , in US dollars. Ours are on the pricing page.
Cursorful vs Zoomingscreen, feature by feature.
| Zoomingscreen | Cursorful | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Chrome extension, plus a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux | Extension for Chrome, Edge and Brave on macOS, Windows and Linux; Pro desktop app for macOS and Windows |
| Auto zoom on clicks | Yes, on every click, while you record | Yes, when you click twice or more within 3 seconds |
| Free option | Free to record and edit in 16:9. Exports start with a 2 day trial up to 1080p with a mark, then need Pro | Yes, unlimited exports with no watermark and no account, for non commercial use |
| Paid plan | $14.99 a month | No monthly plan listed |
| Lifetime option | $49.99 once | $79 once per seat (Pro), listed as $40 off $119 |
| Where recordings are kept | On your computer only, never uploaded | On your computer; cloud and share links are optional, 10 GB with Pro |
| Export | MP4, WebM and GIF, up to 4K on Pro | Up to 4K on Pro; file formats not listed |
| How the extension records | A browser tab, or a screen or window you pick | Records the desktop and crops it to the browser window |
| Zoom outside the browser | Yes, with the desktop app on a whole screen, on macOS, Windows and Linux | Yes, with the Pro desktop app on macOS and Windows; the extension can only zoom inside the browser |
| Follows typing | Yes, the camera follows the text as you type | Not listed |
| Editing zooms | Move, resize, add or delete zooms on a timeline, and aim each one with a box | Add, remove and adjust zooms on a timeline, follow the cursor or pin a spot, shallow to maximum depth |
| Cursor and clicks | Click rings or pulses, spotlight, trail and halo; a restyled cursor in the desktop app | Click animations in the extension; smoothing, size, motion blur, sway and shadow in the desktop app |
| Microphone | Yes, free | Yes, on Pro, with noise removal |
| Webcam | No | Yes, on Pro, in any corner and shape |
| Captions | No | Yes, made from your audio on your device |
| Music | Included CC0 tracks, or your own | Not listed |
| Speed, trim and split | Yes | Yes, speed up to 10x |
| Video shapes | 16:9 free; 9:16, square, 4:5 and 4:3 with Pro | Ten presets from ultrawide to portrait, including 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1 |
| Backgrounds | Colors, blends and four wallpapers free; every wallpaper or your own image with Pro | Preset backgrounds or your own |
| Browser frame | A tab recording shows only the page | One click hides the tabs, address bar and bookmarks |
| Website dropdowns | Opened inside the page while you record, so they show in the video | Not listed |
| Share links | No, you export a file | Yes, public or private to your organization |
| Browsers | Chrome | Chrome, Edge and Brave; not Firefox |
Cursorful details from its own website, checked on . Prices and plans change, so check theirs before you decide. Sources: cursorful.com, cursorful.com/refunds, chromewebstore.google.com/detail/cursorful/eihpmapodnppeemkhkbhikmggfojdkjd. Cursorful is a trademark of its owner, and Zoomingscreen is not connected with it.
Where Zoomingscreen is better.
- A zoom on every single click
- Cursorful starts a zoom when you click two or more times within 3 seconds, to keep zooming calm. Zoomingscreen zooms on each single click, glides between clicks that are close together, and follows your typing.
- Cheaper to buy, and a monthly option
- Zoomingscreen Pro lifetime is $49.99 once, against $79 per seat for Cursorful Pro. If you only need it for one project, Standard is $14.99 a month and you can cancel any time.
- A desktop app for Linux
- Cursorful’s extension runs on Linux, but its desktop app is for macOS and Windows. Zoomingscreen’s desktop app runs on Linux too, and follows clicks in every app on a whole screen.
- Microphone and music without paying
- The microphone is free in Zoomingscreen, and it comes with music you can use in any video, even commercial ones. Cursorful lists microphone and camera as part of Pro.
- Nothing in the cloud at all
- Both tools render on your computer. Zoomingscreen has no cloud side at all, so there are no share links to manage and nothing to opt out of.
Where Cursorful is better: a fair review.
Cursorful is a well liked tool, with 60,000 users and a 4.9 rating on the Chrome Web Store, and in some ways it does more than Zoomingscreen.
- A more generous free plan
- Cursorful Free has unlimited exports, no watermark and no account. If your videos are personal and not commercial, that is hard to beat. Zoomingscreen’s free exports last 2 days and carry a mark.
- Webcam, captions and share links
- Cursorful Pro adds your camera in any corner, captions made from your voice, and links you can paste straight into Slack. Zoomingscreen has none of these yet.
- Cursor effects on the desktop
- Cursorful’s desktop app records the pointer separately, so it can smooth it, resize it and add motion blur, sway and a shadow.
- Teams and more browsers
- Cursorful sells seat packs for teams, with cloud storage they share, and its extension also works in Edge and Brave.
Which one should you pick?
- Pick Cursorful
- Pick Cursorful if you record for personal use and want free exports with no watermark, or if you need a webcam, captions, share links or seats for a team.
- Pick Zoomingscreen
- Pick Zoomingscreen if you want a zoom on every click, a desktop app on Linux as well as Windows and Mac, or the lower price: $49.99 once, or $14.99 a month. It also suits people who want nothing uploaded, ever. If you came here looking for a Screen Studio alternative for Windows, both tools work there.
Is there a free Cursorful alternative?
Cursorful is already free for non commercial use, with no watermark, so most people looking for a free Cursorful alternative want one of two things: commercial use without paying $79, or a different way of zooming.
Zoomingscreen is free to record and edit, with auto zoom on every click, music and backgrounds, and a free account gives you 2 days of exports up to 1080p with a small mark. After that, exporting needs Pro, which is $49.99 once. Other free options with auto zoom are in our round up of the best screen recorders for product demos.
Switching from Cursorful.
Add Zoomingscreen
Add the free Chrome extension to record a website, or get the desktop app for Windows, macOS or Linux to record any app.
Record as usual
Press record, use your product, and stop. Every click gets a zoom, placed for you.
Polish and export
Move or remove zooms, trim, add music and a background, then export an MP4, WebM or GIF. Your old Cursorful videos stay where they are.
Cursorful questions.
What is Cursorful?
Cursorful is a screen recorder with auto zoom, made as an extension for Chrome, Edge and Brave on macOS, Windows and Linux. It records your screen, crops it to the browser, and adds zooms and pans when you click two or more times within 3 seconds. Videos are rendered on your computer, with optional cloud share links. The free plan needs no account and has no watermark, for non commercial use. Cursorful Pro, a one time payment per seat, adds commercial use, 4K, microphone and camera, and desktop apps for macOS and Windows. Its Chrome Web Store listing shows 60,000 users and a 4.9 rating from about 1,100 ratings.
Is Cursorful free?
Yes, for non commercial use. Cursorful Free needs no account, has no watermark and has unlimited exports of browser recordings. Commercial use, 4K, microphone and camera, and the desktop apps need Cursorful Pro.
How much does Cursorful cost?
Cursorful Pro is listed at $79 per seat as a one time payment, shown as $40 off the regular $119, with no monthly or yearly plan listed. Zoomingscreen Pro lifetime is $49.99 once, or $14.99 a month.
Is there a free Cursorful alternative?
Zoomingscreen is free to record and edit, with auto zoom on every click. A free account gives you 2 days of exports up to 1080p, with a Zoomingscreen mark, and Pro removes it. For free personal videos with no watermark, Cursorful’s own free plan is the more generous one.
What is the difference between Cursorful and Zoomingscreen?
Cursorful zooms after two or more clicks within 3 seconds, and has webcam, captions and share links on Pro. Zoomingscreen zooms on every single click and on typing, has a desktop app for Linux too, keeps everything off the cloud, and costs less to buy.
Does Cursorful work on Linux?
Cursorful’s extension runs in Chrome, Edge and Brave on Linux. Its desktop app is for macOS and Windows. Zoomingscreen has a desktop app for Linux, as well as Windows and macOS.
Does Cursorful zoom outside the browser?
Not with the extension. Cursorful says its extension cannot follow clicks outside the browser, so zooms there are added by hand. Its Pro desktop app records the whole desktop. Zoomingscreen’s desktop app follows clicks in every app on a whole screen.
Does Zoomingscreen have a webcam or captions?
Not yet. If you need your camera in the video or captions today, Cursorful Pro has both.
Does Zoomingscreen upload my recordings?
No. Recordings and exports stay on your computer. Zoomingscreen only talks to our server to check a Pro license.