How to Screen Record With Audio — Microphone, System Sound, or Both

Recording your screen without audio produces a silent video that needs a voiceover added later. That doubles the work. The free screen recorder captures mic audio, system sound, or both at the same time as your screen — so the finished recording has everything in one file, ready to share.

No software to install. No watermark stamped on your video. Toggle the audio sources you need, hit record, and download. Here is how each audio option works and when to use it.

The Three Audio Options and When to Use Each

Before you hit record, you see three toggles: Screen, Microphone, and System Audio. Here is what each one captures:

Toggle	What It Captures	Use When
Microphone	Your voice through your mic or headset	Narrating a tutorial, explaining a process, recording a voiceover
System Audio	All sound from your computer (music, app sounds, video playback)	Recording a webinar, capturing a video call, showing an app that plays sound
Both (Mic + System)	Your voice AND computer audio mixed together	Reacting to a video, presenting slides with background music, demo with narration

You can also record with no audio at all — just uncheck both toggles. This is useful for creating GIFs or short clips where audio is not needed.

Recording With Microphone Audio (Voiceover)

This is the most common setup for tutorials and walkthroughs. Steps:

1. Open the screen recorder.
2. Toggle Microphone ON. Toggle System Audio OFF (unless you want both).
3. Click Start Recording. Your browser will ask for microphone permission — click Allow.
4. Choose what to share: entire screen, a specific window, or a browser tab.
5. The 3-second countdown gives you time to get ready. Then start talking and demonstrating.
6. Click Stop when done. Preview the recording and click Download.

The recording saves as a WebM file with your voice synced to the screen footage. No separate audio track to align later. If you are using a USB mic or a headset, make sure it is selected as the default input device in your operating system settings before starting.

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Recording With System Sound (Computer Audio)

System audio captures everything your computer plays: video meeting audio, YouTube playback, application sounds, music. This is the right choice when the audio IS the content you are recording — like saving a webinar or capturing a software demo that has sound effects.

Important browser compatibility:

• Chrome and Edge — full system audio capture supported. When you pick a browser tab to share, audio is captured automatically. For entire screen or window sharing, you will see a "Share audio" checkbox in the sharing dialog.
• Firefox — system audio capture is not supported natively. Firefox can capture screen video but not computer audio. Use Chrome or Edge for this.
• Safari — limited screen recording support overall. Not recommended.

If you are recording a browser tab (like a YouTube video or a web-based presentation), choose "Browser Tab" in the sharing dialog. This gives the cleanest audio capture. Choosing "Entire Screen" works too, but you must check the "Share audio" option that appears at the bottom of the dialog.

Recording Mic and System Audio Together

Toggle both Microphone and System Audio ON before starting. This mixes your voice with whatever your computer is playing into a single audio track. Use cases:

• Reaction videos — your commentary layered over a video you are watching.
• Slide presentations with music — your narration over slides that have background audio.
• Software demos with narration — the app makes sounds (notifications, button clicks) while you explain what you are doing.
• Recording Zoom/Teams meetings — capture the other participants' audio plus your own voice.

One thing to watch: feedback loops. If your speakers are playing audio and your mic is picking up those speakers, you will get echo in the recording. Use headphones or earbuds when recording both sources to keep the audio clean.

After recording, if you need to trim the start or end, use our free video trimmer — drop the WebM file in and cut exactly where you need. For full-length editing, check the annotation tools comparison.

Audio Not Working? Check These 4 Things

If your recording has video but no audio, check:

1. Browser permissions. Chrome shows a microphone icon in the address bar. Click it and make sure the site is allowed access. If you denied it, click the lock icon > Site settings > reset Microphone permission, then reload.
2. "Share audio" checkbox. When sharing your entire screen or a window, Chrome shows a small "Share audio" checkbox at the bottom of the sharing dialog. If you did not check it, system audio will not be captured. This checkbox does not appear for browser tab sharing — tab audio is captured automatically.
3. Correct input device. If you have multiple microphones (laptop mic, USB headset, Bluetooth), your OS might be using one you did not expect. Check System Preferences > Sound (Mac) or Settings > Sound (Windows) to set the right input.
4. Browser support. System audio requires Chrome or Edge. Firefox does not support it. If you see no audio option for system sound, switch browsers.

If audio works in the preview but the downloaded file is silent, try playing the WebM file in Chrome rather than a media player — some older media players do not decode WebM audio correctly. Or convert to MP4 using our free video converter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I record system audio on Firefox?

No. Firefox does not support system audio capture for screen recordings. Use Chrome or Edge if you need to record computer audio. Microphone recording works on Firefox.

Will the recording have separate audio and video tracks?

No. The audio is mixed into a single track embedded in the WebM video file. There is no separate audio file to manage or sync.

Can I record just audio without the screen?

This tool records screen video with optional audio. For audio-only recording, use a dedicated voice recorder or our speech-to-text tool.

Is there a time limit on recordings with audio?

No time limit. Record as long as you need. The file size depends on your screen resolution and recording length — a 10-minute recording typically produces a 30-80MB WebM file.