Camtasia vs Glitter AI
Both tools help you create video tutorials and process documentation. But one is a full-featured video editor built for polished content, while the other uses AI to instantly turn recordings into guides. Here's how they compare.
The Bottom Line
Camtasia and Glitter AI both begin with screen recording, but they tackle very different problems.
Camtasia is TechSmith's professional video editing platform. It's made for people who want polished, production-ready video content: marketing videos, course material, product demos. You record your screen in 4K, then spend time in a multi-track editor layering in transitions, effects, and animations. It's essentially a full video production suite.
Glitter AI works differently. It uses AI to automatically convert your screen recordings into step-by-step documentation with screenshots, written instructions, and the original video intact. Record once, and you have a complete guide ready to publish. No editing involved.
So what's the actual difference? Camtasia shines when you need professional video content. Glitter AI is better when you need documentation that happens to include video. Building training materials, SOPs, or knowledge base articles? Glitter hands you both formats right away. Need a slick video for marketing or an online course? Camtasia has the editing muscle to pull that off.
Platform Overview
Both platforms start with screen recording, but they serve different needs.
With Glitter AI, you get instant documentation from recordings.
Glitter captures your screen, voice, and actions, then AI automatically creates step-by-step guides with screenshots and written instructions. The original video remains intact, so you get both formats from a single recording.
You can record on web, desktop, or mobile, and Glitter also converts existing videos into guides. Great for teams that need documentation quickly without spending hours in an editor.
For enterprises, Glitter has transparent pricing starting at $8K/year, with SOC 2 Type II compliance and no AI training on customer data.
Camtasia is designed for professional video production.
It's a full-featured video editor with multi-track editing, 4K recording, cursor effects, transitions, annotations, and AI-powered features like noise removal and auto-transcription. Well-suited for creating polished course content, marketing videos, and product demos.
That said, creating documentation requires manual work. You record, then edit the video, add callouts, and export. There's no automatic step-by-step guide generation.
For pricing, Camtasia moved to subscription-only in 2025. Plans start at $39/year (Starter with watermark), $179.88/year (Essentials), $249/year (Create with AI tools), and $599/year (Pro with premium features). It's desktop software only, with no web or mobile capture.
At a Glance
Quick comparison of the key differences between Camtasia and Glitter AI.
What Makes Them Different?
Purpose-Built Tools
Camtasia was designed with video editors and course creators in mind. The entire workflow revolves around producing polished video content. You record, bring in assets from their library, edit across multiple tracks, layer on effects and animations, then export your finished video.
Glitter AI was built for teams who need documentation quickly. The AI does the heavy lifting. You record naturally, talk through what you're doing, and Glitter automatically puts together a step-by-step guide with screenshots. The original video stays intact as well. No manual editing necessary.
Editing Philosophy
With Camtasia, editing is baked into the workflow. The software hands you serious tools: text-based editing (delete words from transcripts to cut video), cursor smoothing, the new Kinetic Cursor feature, zoom effects, annotations, transitions. It suits people who want control over every frame.
With Glitter AI, editing is barely part of the equation. The AI picks up context from your voice and actions to create accurate documentation automatically. You can tweak the generated guide if needed, but most users publish with minimal changes. Record once, use right away.
Core Features
See how Glitter AI and Camtasia compare on core documentation and video features.How do you create documentation?
Glitter auto-generates step-by-step guides from recordings.
Record your screen while talking through a process, and AI creates a written guide with screenshots, numbered steps, and descriptions. The original video is embedded as well, so viewers can read or watch.
Camtasia requires manual documentation creation.
You record a video, then manually edit it, add callouts and annotations, and export. There's no automatic step-by-step guide generation. The output is a video file, not written documentation.
How does video editing work?
Glitter focuses on simple edits to generated guides.
The AI creates the documentation automatically, so you spend time refining the guide (fixing text, reordering steps) rather than editing video. Video is preserved as-is for authenticity. Works well for quick documentation, not video production.
Camtasia offers professional multi-track editing.
Full timeline editor with multiple video/audio tracks, transitions, animations, effects, and text overlays. Text-based editing lets you delete words from transcripts to cut video. Very powerful for creating polished content.
What platforms can you record on?
Glitter works everywhere: web, desktop, and mobile.
Browser extension for quick captures, desktop app for full recordings, and video upload to convert mobile recordings into guides. Everything syncs to the cloud automatically. Record anywhere, access from anywhere.
Camtasia is desktop-only software.
Available for Windows and macOS with nearly identical features. Camtasia Online offers limited browser-based recording (5-min clips at 1080p), but the full editing suite requires desktop installation. No mobile capture, and files stay local unless you manually upload them.
Can you convert existing videos?
Glitter converts any video into a step-by-step guide.
Upload existing screen recordings (from Loom, Zoom, or anywhere else), and AI automatically generates written documentation with screenshots. Useful for turning your video library into searchable guides.
Camtasia imports videos for editing only.
You can import video files to edit them in Camtasia's timeline, but there's no AI conversion to written guides. The output remains a video file, just edited.
Performance and Usability
Learning Curve
Camtasia requires some adjustment time. The interface is cleaner than Premiere Pro, sure, but you still need to learn the timeline editor, effects, transitions, and export settings. TechSmith provides training materials and certifications, which helps. Even so, plan on spending a bit of time getting comfortable.
Glitter AI is fairly straightforward. If you can record your screen and talk through what you're doing, you can use Glitter. Most people create their first guide in under 5 minutes with no training whatsoever.
Performance Issues
Camtasia can strain your machine. Users report the 2025 version has notable performance problems: crashes on startup (especially with AMD GPUs), laggy playback during editing, and audio/video sync issues in longer recordings. Rendering takes time, particularly with high-resolution projects, and users with less than 16GB RAM run into frequent lag.
One user described the experience: "After installing the Camtasia 2025 update, my software completely broke. Constant crashes, AMD GPU errors, and unusable performance." Another mentioned: "In 2025, the playhead lags horribly. I have to pause the project just to get it to stop at the right spot... editing for more than a few minutes becomes unbearable."
Glitter AI handles processing in the cloud, so performance stays consistent regardless of what computer you're using. Guides are ready in minutes, and you can continue working while Glitter takes care of things in the background.
AI Features
Both platforms use AI, but in different ways.What AI features are included?
Glitter uses AI to create complete documentation.
AI captures context from your voice and actions to automatically generate step-by-step guides, write descriptions, identify key moments, and organize screenshots. The AI handles the heavy lifting while you just record naturally.
Camtasia 2025 includes AI editing tools.
AI noise removal for clean audio, script generation from prompts, AI voiceover with 200+ voices (Create plan), AI Avatars and dubbing (Pro plan only at $599/year), and auto-translation of captions. These are helpful editing assistants, though you still do most of the work yourself.
How does speech-to-text work?
Glitter uses speech to generate guide instructions.
Your spoken explanations become the written documentation automatically. The AI understands context to create clear, concise step descriptions. Works with 99 languages on all plans.
Camtasia transcribes audio for text-based editing.
The transcription is mainly used for editing. You can delete words from the transcript to cut corresponding video. Transcripts can also become captions. Powered by their Audiate technology.
Use Cases
Different tools for different needs.What is each tool best for?
Glitter excels at quick documentation creation.
Well-suited for internal knowledge bases, SOPs, training materials, customer support docs, and onboarding guides. Any scenario where you need searchable, written documentation with optional video, and you need it fast.
Camtasia excels at polished video production.
Best for creating course content for sale, marketing videos, product demos for websites, and professional presentations. Choose this when you need cinematic quality and have time to edit.
How quickly can you publish content?
Glitter creates publish-ready guides in minutes.
Record for 5 minutes, wait 2-3 minutes for AI processing, make quick edits if needed, and publish. Most users go from recording to sharing in under 10 minutes.
Camtasia requires significant editing time.
Record for 5 minutes, but expect to spend 20-30+ minutes editing (adding callouts, transitions, fixing mistakes, rendering). Users say that creating a polished 5-minute video often takes an hour or more.
Pricing & Plans
See how pricing plans stack up.
/mo
/mo
/mo
/year
Glitter AI – Pricing Takeaways:
- Free plan includes all core features - no watermarks, no feature limitations
- Simple per-user pricing - $20/mo or $16/mo annually
- Team plan - $75/mo for 5 users ($60/mo annually)
- All plans include - web, desktop, mobile, video-to-guide, 99 languages
/year
/year
/year
/year
Camtasia – Pricing Takeaways:
- Subscription-only starting 2025 - perpetual licenses discontinued for new versions
- Desktop software - Windows/macOS only, install on up to 2 machines
- Starter plan watermarked - $39/year but exports have watermark, effectively unusable for professionals
- Volume discounts - available starting at 10+ licenses, enterprise site licenses for 100+ users
When Camtasia Makes Sense
Camtasia is a solid choice when you genuinely need professional video editing. If you're creating:
- Course content for sale on Udemy or Teachable, where production quality genuinely matters
- Marketing videos that need branding, polish, and cinematic effects
- Product demos with animations and transitions for your website
- Presentation recordings that require post-production cleanup
Camtasia provides the tools to make content that looks professionally produced. The multi-track editor, effects library, and advanced features justify the learning curve when video quality is your main concern.
Note: Keep in mind that Camtasia switched to subscription-only in 2025, ending perpetual licenses. Many long-time users have expressed frustration with this change, seeing it as a forced recurring cost without matching feature value. One user put it this way: "They had a maintenance package that allowed it to be optional, but now its mandatory annual sub... As a Camtasia fan, I think this is incredibly lame."
When Glitter AI Makes Sense
Glitter is a better choice when you need documentation done fast. If you're creating:
- Internal SOPs and processes that teams reference on a regular basis
- Training materials for onboarding new hires
- Knowledge base articles that need to be searchable
- Customer support documentation with step-by-step instructions
- Quick how-to guides for software or tools
With Glitter's AI automation, you spend seconds on what would otherwise take hours. The dual format (written plus video) makes your content both accessible and SEO-friendly without additional effort.
Security & Compliance
Enterprise security and data handling policies.What security certifications do they have?
Glitter is SOC 2 Type II compliant.
Independent audit verifying security controls for confidentiality, availability, and integrity. GDPR compliant with data processing agreements available. AI does not train on customer data.
Camtasia is SOC 2 compliant.
GDPR compliant with Data Processing Addendum (DPA) and Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) for EU transfers. Not HIPAA compliant, though. TechSmith does not sign BAAs for standard plans.
How is customer data handled for AI features?
Glitter never trains AI on customer content.
Customer videos, guides, and data are not used to train AI models. All processing is done securely with data isolation. The privacy policy is transparent, with no hidden AI training.
TechSmith does not use customer content to train AI.
Their explicit policy: "TechSmith will not use your data to train any artificial intelligence models without your consent." Many AI features (noise removal, background removal) run locally on-device. Cloud-based AI uses trusted third parties, but data is not used for training.
So... which one should you choose?
Both tools begin with screen recording, but they're built for different outcomes.Choose Glitter AI if you...
Choose Glitter AI if you need fast, searchable documentation with minimal editing. Works well for internal knowledge bases, SOPs, training materials, and support docs. The AI does the work while you just record naturally.
Don't choose Glitter AI if you...
Don't choose Glitter AI if you need advanced video production features. Glitter preserves video authentically rather than offering multi-track editing, transitions, and effects. For polished marketing videos or course content, you'll want dedicated video editing software.
Choose Camtasia if you...
Choose Camtasia if you need professional video editing capabilities. Works well for creating polished course content, marketing videos, product demos, and presentations. The multi-track editor and effects library give you full creative control.
Don't choose Camtasia if you...
Don't choose Camtasia if you need quick documentation or written guides. Camtasia creates video files, not step-by-step documentation. If you need searchable, text-based guides or want both written and video formats without editing, you'll want an AI documentation tool.
Real customer reviews
Genuine feedback from real customers ❤️
This software is mind-blowing! After 2+ months, it's an invaluable asset to my company. The transcription quality is out of this world, and the new image editing tools are so fluid and better than [competitor name redacted]. ...you've saved me so much time; I'm elated and highly anticipate subscribing for another year!
Tim M.
May 3, 2025
Our company has asked each department to use AI tools to increase productivity, and this has made a huge difference. One of our leaders had originally sent a link to check out Glitter AI, and we love it! We're now using it for clients as well as internal staff.
Kim W.
December 18, 2024
This is exactly the documentation solution that we've been looking for. Every software system requires operating instructions, and you make them so easy to create! It's perfect for employee training purposes.
Erez A.
January 9, 2025
Glitter is really cool! The step-by-step guide it created was exactly what we needed for our corporate Salesforce setup, which was a literal mess. Just having a video isn't great because it's a nightmare to update all the fields for billing. This tool is saving us so much time!
Dustin R.
March 8, 2025
This is amazing! I just used the desktop app to make a quick guide for a Photoshop tool that I can use in my class. It would have taken me at least 30 minutes before and I just did it in about 5 minutes. Thanks for such a great tool!
Sarah
January 28, 2025
I tested 2 products today to solve the problem of rapidly creating 60+ articles to onboard our customers, and Glitter AI is excellent! It's really easy to use and edit. The output is so easy to import into our CMS for our Knowledge Hub; it's fantastic.
Emily W.
February 15, 2025
Really love this product! We use Guru for documentation at our company. With Glitter, I can do a quick walkthrough, and it creates a guide that can be pasted right into Guru, which saves us from undocumented tasks.
Jens A.
April 12, 2025
So far, I'm liking Glitter a great deal; it's very intuitive and useful. Our school district has an old method for online help for our student information system. Glitter is a great way to save many, MANY, person-hours of work, and our IT person is excited about it too!
John
January 9, 2025
This software is mind-blowing! After 2+ months, it's an invaluable asset to my company. The transcription quality is out of this world, and the new image editing tools are so fluid and better than [competitor name redacted]. ...you've saved me so much time; I'm elated and highly anticipate subscribing for another year!
Tim M.
May 3, 2025
Our company has asked each department to use AI tools to increase productivity, and this has made a huge difference. One of our leaders had originally sent a link to check out Glitter AI, and we love it! We're now using it for clients as well as internal staff.
Kim W.
December 18, 2024
This is exactly the documentation solution that we've been looking for. Every software system requires operating instructions, and you make them so easy to create! It's perfect for employee training purposes.
Erez A.
January 9, 2025
Glitter is really cool! The step-by-step guide it created was exactly what we needed for our corporate Salesforce setup, which was a literal mess. Just having a video isn't great because it's a nightmare to update all the fields for billing. This tool is saving us so much time!
Dustin R.
March 8, 2025
This is amazing! I just used the desktop app to make a quick guide for a Photoshop tool that I can use in my class. It would have taken me at least 30 minutes before and I just did it in about 5 minutes. Thanks for such a great tool!
Sarah
January 28, 2025
I tested 2 products today to solve the problem of rapidly creating 60+ articles to onboard our customers, and Glitter AI is excellent! It's really easy to use and edit. The output is so easy to import into our CMS for our Knowledge Hub; it's fantastic.
Emily W.
February 15, 2025
Really love this product! We use Guru for documentation at our company. With Glitter, I can do a quick walkthrough, and it creates a guide that can be pasted right into Guru, which saves us from undocumented tasks.
Jens A.
April 12, 2025
So far, I'm liking Glitter a great deal; it's very intuitive and useful. Our school district has an old method for online help for our student information system. Glitter is a great way to save many, MANY, person-hours of work, and our IT person is excited about it too!
John
January 9, 2025
This software is mind-blowing! After 2+ months, it's an invaluable asset to my company. The transcription quality is out of this world, and the new image editing tools are so fluid and better than [competitor name redacted]. ...you've saved me so much time; I'm elated and highly anticipate subscribing for another year!
Tim M.
May 3, 2025
Our company has asked each department to use AI tools to increase productivity, and this has made a huge difference. One of our leaders had originally sent a link to check out Glitter AI, and we love it! We're now using it for clients as well as internal staff.
Kim W.
December 18, 2024
This is exactly the documentation solution that we've been looking for. Every software system requires operating instructions, and you make them so easy to create! It's perfect for employee training purposes.
Erez A.
January 9, 2025
Glitter is really cool! The step-by-step guide it created was exactly what we needed for our corporate Salesforce setup, which was a literal mess. Just having a video isn't great because it's a nightmare to update all the fields for billing. This tool is saving us so much time!
Dustin R.
March 8, 2025
This is amazing! I just used the desktop app to make a quick guide for a Photoshop tool that I can use in my class. It would have taken me at least 30 minutes before and I just did it in about 5 minutes. Thanks for such a great tool!
Sarah
January 28, 2025
I tested 2 products today to solve the problem of rapidly creating 60+ articles to onboard our customers, and Glitter AI is excellent! It's really easy to use and edit. The output is so easy to import into our CMS for our Knowledge Hub; it's fantastic.
Emily W.
February 15, 2025
Really love this product! We use Guru for documentation at our company. With Glitter, I can do a quick walkthrough, and it creates a guide that can be pasted right into Guru, which saves us from undocumented tasks.
Jens A.
April 12, 2025
So far, I'm liking Glitter a great deal; it's very intuitive and useful. Our school district has an old method for online help for our student information system. Glitter is a great way to save many, MANY, person-hours of work, and our IT person is excited about it too!
John
January 9, 2025
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Glitter AI and how does it work?
Glitter AI helps you create step-by-step guides, SOPs, and documentation effortlessly. Simply record yourself carrying out a process and Glitter AI will automatically transform it into a step-by-step guide complete with screenshots and text based on what you said while recording.
Glitter provides apps for both desktop and browser to capture your screen and microphone, or you can upload an existing video of anything – even of a real-life process like assembling a product or operating a machine.
Glitter AI automatically captures screenshots and uses AI to transform your spoken explanation into a professional written guide. What normally takes hours or days now takes just a few minutes!
Can I upload existing videos to create guides?
Yes! Our new video-to-guide feature lets you convert ANY video into a step-by-step guide - including:
- Zoom and Microsoft Teams recordings
- Screen recordings from any source
- Live footage (not just software!)
- Mobile screen recordings
Just upload your video and our AI intelligently identifies each step and creates professional documentation automatically.
Do you have a desktop app and browser extension?
Yes to both! And they're included in the free plan:
• Desktop App (Mac/Windows) - Capture ANY application on your computer (Excel, Photoshop, SAP, etc.)
• Chrome Extension - Perfect for web-based processes and SaaS tools or any website.
Works with Chrome, Edge, Arc, Brave, and other Chromium browsers.
Does Glitter AI support mobile?
Yes! Through our video-to-guide feature:
- Record your mobile screen (iOS or Android)
- Upload the recording to Glitter AI
- Our AI converts it into step-by-step documentation
Perfect for mobile app tutorials and processes!
What languages does Glitter AI support?
Glitter AI supports 99 languages:
- Create guides in any language - Speak in your native language while recording
- Output in any language - Guides can be written in virtually any language
- Auto-translation - Record in one language and automatically translate to another
The complete list of languages: English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, Bengali, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Marathi, Telugu, Punjabi, Turkish, Korean, Malay, French, German, Vietnamese, Tamil, Cantonese, Urdu, Javanese, Italian, Gujarati, Hausa, Persian, Polish, Kannada, Indonesian, Pashto, Malayalam, Odia, Burmese, Uzbek, Sindhi, Ukrainian, Kurdish, Nepali, Filipino, Fulah, Romanian, Amharic, Igbo, Azerbaijani, Dutch, Cebuano, Somali, Thai, Khmer, Swahili, Assamese, Lingala, Greek, Hungarian, Kazakh, Chichewa, Shona, Czech, Swedish, Hebrew, Catalan, Serbian, Xhosa, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Tajik, Afrikaans, Armenian, Ganda, Danish, Mongolian, Croatian, Northern Sotho, Finnish, Norwegian, Slovak, Luo, Wolof, Kyrgyz, Umbundu, Georgian, Lao, Lithuanian, Bosnian, Slovenian, Galician, Macedonian, Occitan, Latvian, Irish, Estonian, Welsh, Maltese, Kabuverdianu, Luxembourgish, Icelandic, Asturian, Māori and Zulu.
How can I share or export my guides?
You have complete control over your content:
- Share via link - Send to anyone, no account needed
- Export formats - PDF, HTML, Markdown, Smart Copy-to-Clipboard (Pro plan and above)
- Privacy controls - Keep private, share with specific people, or make public
- Embed anywhere - Add to your website, knowledge base, or LMS
- Copy to clipboard - Paste into any platform
Does Glitter AI integrate with other tools?
Yes! Glitter AI works with your existing tools:
Available Now:
- Export to any platform - Use PDF, HTML, or Markdown formats
- Embed anywhere - Add guides to any website or tool that supports embeds
- Copy & paste - Transfer content to any documentation platform
You can export or embed to a variety of platforms:
- Confluence
- Intercom
- Notion
- Zendesk
- And hundreds more!
What export formats do you support?
You can easily export your Glitter guides to a variety of platforms:
- HTML
- Markdown
- Smart Copy-to-Clipboard
Smart Copy-to-Clipboard is a feature that automatically converts dynamic content into static images which makes it easy to copy and paste into any platform.
What's included in the free plan?
Our generous free plan includes:
- 10 guides
- Desktop app and Chrome extension
- Basic editing features
- Share via link
- Perfect for trying Glitter AI
Pro Plan and above add:
- Unlimited guides
- 60 minutes time limit per guide
- Convert videos to guides
- On-device blur / redact for sensitive information
- Advanced exports (PDF, Markdown, HTML, etc.)
- Secure embed guides without making them public
- Advanced screenshot editing
- Priority support
Is my data secure?
Yes. Here's how we keep your data secure:
- SOC 2 Type II compliant - We meet rigorous security standards for data protection and privacy. Request SOC 2 reports and learn more about how we handle privacy and security at our trust center
- Enterprise-grade security - AES-256 encryption at transit and at rest
- Your data stays yours - Not used for AI training or sold to third parties
- Guides are private by default - Only you can access your guides unless you share them
- On-device blurring / redaction - on desktop, so no sensitive data is sent to the cloud
Does Glitter AI use my data to train AI models?
No. Never.
Your data is yours. We never have, and never will, use your content to train AI models. This is a core commitment we make to every customer and is legally binding in our terms.
We also opt out of allowing any third-party AI providers to use customer data for training, and require that all customer data is deleted within 30 days of processing.
Learn more on our AI Security & Privacy page and trust center.
How is Glitter AI different from other documentation tools?
Glitter AI offers several unique capabilities that set it apart:
Magic Article: Automatic Speech-to-Text + AI:
- Transcribes what you say AS you record and includes it in the guide
- AI cleans up your speech, removing filler words and creating professional text
- No need to add text after recording - it's all done automatically (you can edit everything)
Advanced Video-to-Guide Conversion:
- Uses cutting-edge large language models to understand video contents
- Automatically identifies steps, actions, and important information
- Works with any video - screen recordings, meetings, or live footage
Desktop Support on Free Tier:
- Full desktop app included in our free plan (many competitors charge for this)
- Capture ANY application, not just web browsers
- On-device blurring / redaction of sensitive information
Other screen recorders just output videos. Other guide creation tools capture clicks. Glitter AI combines: video (+ clicks and keyboard events), voice narration, and smart AI to create professional documentation - fast.
Who uses Glitter AI?
Thousands of teams across industries:
- IT Departments - Document software procedures and technical processes
- Operations Teams - Create SOPs and standardize workflows
- Customer Success - Build help articles and onboarding guides
- HR Teams - Document employee training and processes
- Educators - Develop course materials and tutorials
- Consultants - Deliver professional documentation to clients
- Anyone who's tired of spending hours on documentation!