Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

ShadowPlay VS Microsoft Game Bar

Compare ShadowPlay VS Microsoft Game Bar and see what are their differences

ShadowPlay logo ShadowPlay

ShadowPlay

Microsoft Game Bar logo Microsoft Game Bar

Download this app from Microsoft Store for Windows 10. See screenshots, read the latest customer reviews, and compare ratings for Xbox Game Bar.
  • ShadowPlay Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-04
  • Microsoft Game Bar Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-11

ShadowPlay features and specs

  • High-Quality Recording
    ShadowPlay supports recording in high resolution and frame rates, up to 4K at 60 fps, offering gamers the ability to capture gameplay in near-perfect quality.
  • Minimal Performance Impact
    ShadowPlay utilizes GPU acceleration rather than CPU, allowing it to have minimal impact on game performance compared to some other recording software.
  • Instant Replay
    The Instant Replay feature continuously records the last several minutes of gameplay, so users can save unexpected highlights after they happen.
  • Easy Sharing
    ShadowPlay allows users to easily upload captured footage directly to popular platforms like YouTube, Twitch, or Facebook.
  • Free with NVIDIA GPUs
    ShadowPlay is included for free with NVIDIA's GeForce Experience, making it accessible to anyone with compatible NVIDIA graphics cards.

Possible disadvantages of ShadowPlay

  • Limited to NVIDIA Users
    ShadowPlay is only available for users with compatible NVIDIA GPUs, excluding those with other brands or older NVIDIA models.
  • Resource Usage
    Despite being efficient, recording and broadcasting can still use a significant amount of system resources, which might be noticeable on less powerful systems.
  • Feature Limitations
    Some advanced features available in third-party recording software, like in-depth editing tools or comprehensive overlay customization, are not present in ShadowPlay.
  • Possible Stability Issues
    Users have reported occasional stability issues or crashes, especially with new game titles or driver updates.
  • Not Cross-Platform
    ShadowPlay is limited to the Windows operating system, leaving macOS and Linux users without direct access to the platform.

Microsoft Game Bar features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

ShadowPlay videos

OBS Studio 144 - OBS VERSUS NVIDIA SHADOWPLAY - Which One is Better? Why use OBS?

More videos:

  • Review - Nvidia Shadowplay Review and Comparison

Microsoft Game Bar videos

No Microsoft Game Bar videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to ShadowPlay and Microsoft Game Bar)
Live Streaming
72 72%
28% 28
Screen Recording
60 60%
40% 40
Utilities
100 100%
0% 0
Video
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare ShadowPlay and Microsoft Game Bar

ShadowPlay Reviews

Top 15 Free Alternatives to OBS | Online Free Screen Recorder for PC
Shadowplay is a recording tool mainly aimed at gamers, and it is most similar to OBS studio when it comes to game recording. It's essentially a hybrid of hardware and software, so it's a great solution for gaming performance support that doesn't significantly affect game performance. Unfortunately, it is only available for Nvidia graphics card users and does not support...
Top 10 OBS Alternatives
Shadowplay comes with the Nvidia GeForce graphics cards. It is primarily targeted at gamers, making it the most similar software to OBS studio. Since it is essentially a mix of hardware and software, it is the only option you should choose if you want a solution that will not significantly affect the performance of the game.

Microsoft Game Bar Reviews

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing ShadowPlay and Microsoft Game Bar, you can also consider the following products

OBS Studio - Free and open source software for video recording and live streaming for Mac, Windows and Linux.

OWN3D Pro - OWN3D Pro makes the world of live streaming more colorful and provides streamers with 600+ high-quality Overlays & Alerts in OBS Studio.

XSplit - Live stream and record your content with ease & share it to streaming services like Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Mixer, etc. Start your broadcast today.

Streamlabs - All-in-one live streaming software

Flash Media Live Encoder - Browse for the technical support periods for products.

ffscreencast - Command-line screen-recording using ffmpeg