TechSmith Camtasia vs ActivePresenter side-by-side comparison. It’s time to figure out which one is better for e-learning development. Our e-learning experts will help you choose the best tool for your needs in this article.
Overview
Both Camtasia and ActivePresenter are useful tools for e-learning development. They are simple to use yet powerful programs that help you save your time in creating tutorial videos, or online training material. For those who don’t know about them, read our below detail reviews before moving on:
ActivePresenter is a screen recorder, video editor and eLearning authoring tool, developed by Atomi Systems. The program is widely known as a slide-based e-learning software with intuitive user interface and powerful features for both creating screencast videos and e-learning content development. ActivePresenter has all necessary tools for professionals who need to create fully responsive training courses, branching scenarios based courses or any other online video training material.
Camtasia is also a screen recorder and video editor for creating online training videos. The program has been famous all over the world for decades, gained trust from millions of users.
Pricing Detail
1.ActivePresenter
- Free Edition for personal and non-commercial use.
- Standard Edition: $199 per license/lifetime. This edition is designed for those of you who want to make online training videos.
- Pro Edition: $399 per license/ lifetime. This edition is designed for those of you who often create eLearning courses.
- Pro Edu Edition: $199 per license/ Lifetime. This edition is designed for educational institution. It has the same features compare to Pro Edition.
2. Camtasia
- Free trial in 30 days.
- $249 per license/ lifetime.
- $169 per license/lifetime for Educational.
Feature Comparision
| Feature | Camtasia | ActivePresenter |
| Vendor | TechSmith | Atomi Systems |
| License price | one time payment | one time payment |
| Software type | Stand alone | Stand alone |
| Usability | Easy to use | Easy to use |
| Record screen | Advanced tools | Advanced tools |
| Record Webcam | Yes | Yes |
| Record full screen | Yes | Yes |
| Customize cursor path | No | Yes |
| Trim, crop video | Yes | Yes |
| Split, merge videos | Yes | Yes |
| Blur moving objects | No | Yes |
| Zoom-n-Pan | Yes | Yes |
| Video transition | Advanced | Advanced |
| Picture-in-Picture | No | Yes |
| Split screen video | No | Yes |
| Closed caption | No | Yes |
| Adjust video speed | Yes | Yes |
| Chroma key/ Green screen effect | Yes | Yes |
| Highlight video area | No | Yes |
| Spotlight effect | No | Yes |
| Resources bin | Yes | Yes |
| Spelling check | No | Yes |
| Import PowerPoint | No | Yes |
| Annotation tools | Yes | Yes |
| Customized Java script/ CSS | No | Yes |
| Design e-learning courses | No | Yes |
| Export video | Various formats | Various formats |
| Quizzes/ Survey | Yes | Yes |
| Interactions | No | Yes |
| Software simulation | No | Yes |
| Export to HTML5 | No | Yes |
| Customize player settings | No | Yes |
| Preview HTML5 | No | Yes |
| LMS support | No | Yes |
| Convert Text-to-speech | No | Yes |
| e-learning template | No | Yes |
| Login ID | Yes | Not require |
| Free upgrade | No | Yes |
| Online support | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube tutorial | Yes | Yes |
| Frequent update | Yes | Yes |
| Trial time | 30 days | Free to use |
| Operating system | Windows/Mac | Windows/Mac |
| Best for | Training videos, Short promotion video | Screencasting, how-to videos, product demos, software simulation, responsive learning courses |
System Requirements
Camtasia System Requirements
- Microsoft Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10 (Required: 64 Bit versions only). (Recommended: Windows 10)
- 2.0 GHz CPU with dual-core processor minimum (Recommended: 2.8 Ghz 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processor with 4 CPU Cores or better or equivalent or better AMD processor)
- Intel and AMD integrated graphics are acceptable. However, NVIDIA and AMD GPU’s are recommended for GPU acceleration and 4K and/or 60FPS media.
- GPU Acceleration requires Windows 10 or Windows 8.1
- 4 GB RAM minimum (Recommended: 16 GB or more)
- 2 GB of hard-disk space for program installation
- Display dimensions of 1024×768 or greater
- Microsoft .NET 4.6.0 or later version (included)
- Dedicated Windows-compatible sound card, microphone, and speakers (Recommended)
- Windows N requires the MediaFeature Pack for Windows N
- Internet connection and a TechSmith account are required for the trial
- Powerpoint Import and Camtasia Add-in for PowerPoint require PowerPoint 2013, 2016 (32-bit or 64-bit), 2019
- Playback using the Smart Player is supported on Internet Explorer 11+, Microsoft Edge (Windows 10 Anniversary Update or later), latest version for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, iOS 11+ (Safari), Android 5+ (Latest Chrome required)
- Camera video recording requires a USB Web Camera
- Integration with TechSmith Relay requires TechSmith Relay Classic Recorder
- Guidelines for 4K, 60 FPS, and Behaviors
- Mac computer with an Intel® Core™ i5 Processor with 4 CPU Cores (Recommended: 2.8 Ghz Intel® Core™ i5 Processor with 4 CPU Cores or better)
- MacOS 10.12 or later (Rendering is not supported on external USB monitors)
- 4GB of RAM (Recommended: 8GB of RAM or greater)
- 4GB of available disk space (minimum)
- Powerpoint Import requires PowerPoint 2016, 2019 for Mac
- Playback using the Smart Player is supported on Internet Explorer 11+, Microsoft Edge (Windows 10 Anniversary Update or later), latest version for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, iOS 11+, Android 5+ (Latest Chrome required)
- Internet connection and a TechSmith account are required for the trial
ActivePresenter System Requirements
Environments:
- Windows 7 SP1 with Platform Update, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 10 (only 64-bit (x64) is supported)
- macOS 10.12, macOS 10.13, macOS 10.14, macOS 10.15
Hardware Requirements:
- 1.5 GHz or faster processor with SSE2 (2.0 GHz multi-core or higher recommended)
- 4 GB of RAM or better (>8 GB recommended)
- 4 GB of available hard-disk space for installation
- Sound card and microphone if you need audio recording
Software Requirements:
- For HTML5 contents:
- Windows
- Mozilla Firefox 60 or later
- Google Chrome 65 or later
- Internet Explorer 11
- Microsoft Edge
- macOS
- Safari 10 or later
- Google Chrome 65 or later
- iOS 10 or later
- Safari (latest)
- Android 6 or later
- Chrome (latest)
- Windows
- For Microsoft Word Export: Microsoft Word 2013 or later.
- For Microsoft Excel Export: Microsoft Excel 2013 or later.
- For Microsoft PowerPoint Export: Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 or later.
- For recording system audio on OS X or macOS: Background Music is required.
- Below features are only available in the Windows version:
- Microsoft Word Export
- Microsoft Excel Export
- Microsoft PowerPoint Export
Usability
ActivePresenter user interface is similar to MS PowerPoint, which is designed in Microsoft software style. If you’re familiar with MS Word, or MS PowerPoint, you will be able to learn ActivePresenter quickly. Take a look at our below tutorial to learn how ActivePresenter works:
Camtasia is a classic timeline video editor. The interface is intuitive and simple to use. Take a look at below tutorial to see how it works:
Which Software Should You Use?
It’s all up to you to decide. Both programs are great for creating online training videos. You should try and make your own decision. Click below links to download these programs. If you have any question, don’t hesitate to contact us any time!
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Good luck!
Elearning Supporter 
Hi mate. You can use all these feature in ActivePresenter free version. When you export your project into HTML5, the output will have a watermark. Other outputs are no watermark. You can download it and test.
As another commenter pointed out, some of the advanced features you mentioned (e. g. quizzes and interations) are only available in their pro version. These features are (from their website):
HTML5 Export
Fully Responsive Design
Interactivity & Branching: Variables, Conditional Actions, Javascript API
Interactions: Button, Mouse Click, Text Input, Drag & Drop, Keystroke
Quiz: 9 Types of Questions
Report & Tracking in LMS (SCORM, xAPI)
Hi Jottamuller,
You are right about the price. Both Camtasia and ActivePresenter changed their price.
This is a great review.
Just a small point was mistaken on price comparison: The features which makes Active Presenter superior over Camtasia, is found in the Pro Edition version only. And this version is priced in US$ 399,00.