Lensprout vs Cursorful: two auto-zoom recorders for Chrome
Lensprout and Cursorful both record Chrome with automatic zoom. How they differ on price, licensing, desktop apps, cloud sharing and captions.
Published · 4 min read
Facts checked on 18 October 2026. Other products change their features and prices often, so check their sites (linked under Sources) before you decide. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
Cursorful and Lensprout solve the same problem: you record something in Chrome, and the video zooms in on what you clicked, so viewers don’t squint at a full-screen capture. Both start as Chrome extensions, and both render your export on your own machine. The differences are in pricing, licensing and how far each one reaches beyond the browser.
This comparison uses Cursorful’s public website as it was on 18 October 2026. Prices and plans change, so check their site before you decide.
The short version
- Pick Cursorful if you want to record native desktop apps (its Pro plan includes Mac and Windows apps), need on-device captions or microphone denoising, or want shareable streaming links.
- Pick Lensprout if you want every feature free for commercial work too, want to read or change the source code (MIT license), or want a tool with no cloud component at all.
Side by side
| Feature | Lensprout | Cursorful |
|---|---|---|
| Where it records | A screen or window, chosen in Chrome’s picker | Chrome, Edge and Brave tabs; any app with the Pro desktop apps |
| Automatic zoom | From clicks and typing on web pages | From clicks in the browser; desktop apps track the pointer |
| Price | Free, everything included | Free plan; Pro listed at $79 per seat, one-time (shown as a launch discount from $119) |
| Commercial use | Allowed, free | Pro plan |
| Microphone and webcam | Free | Pro plan |
| Source code | Open source, MIT | Not listed as open source |
| Rendering | On your device | On your device, with opt-in cloud features |
| Shareable links | No | Yes, opt-in cloud |
| Captions | No | Yes, generated on your device |
| Export | MP4 (up to 4K where your encoder supports it) and GIF | Up to 4K on Pro |
Automatic zoom
Both tools watch what you do while you record and turn it into zoom segments you can edit afterwards. Lensprout plans zooms from clicks and typing, so a form you fill in gets the same attention as a button you press. Each zoom can follow the pointer or stay fixed on a spot, with an adjustable depth and an off-center offset.
Cursorful’s site describes zooms that start from clicks and continue to follow the cursor while you keep clicking, plus manual zooms with adjustable depth. Its desktop apps capture the pointer separately, which lets them smooth and redraw the cursor. Lensprout cannot do that: in a browser extension the real cursor is part of the captured video. Lensprout instead draws an overlay cursor, a highlight and click animations on top of it.
Editing
Both editors put everything on one timeline. In Lensprout, zooms, speed-ups, cuts, text, blur and camera layouts are all segments you can drag, split and stack. Lensprout adds a few things you won’t find on Cursorful’s feature list:
- Smart trim suggests speeding up idle stretches and typing, and cutting silent pauses. You pick which suggestions to keep.
- A 3D stage tilts, orbits, dollies or swings the shot, with browser, laptop, tablet, phone and monitor frames.
- Click and keyboard sounds are generated for you, even on silent recordings.
- Presets save a whole look and can become the default for new recordings.
Cursorful lists features Lensprout does not have today: captions generated from your audio on your device, studio-style microphone denoising (Lensprout offers Chrome’s built-in noise suppression), automatic cropping to the recorded window, and a one-click option to hide the browser’s tab strip and address bar.
Privacy and the cloud
Both tools render on your computer. Cursorful says videos never leave your machine unless you opt in to its cloud features, which include streaming links and shared storage on Pro. Lensprout has no cloud features and no server: recordings live in the extension’s storage on your device, and the only way out is a file you export yourself. If your team shares videos by link, Cursorful’s cloud saves a step. If you need a guarantee that nothing can be uploaded, Lensprout’s design makes that simple.
Price and license
Cursorful’s free plan is generous for personal use: auto zoom, editing, unlimited exports and no watermark. Commercial use, microphone and camera, 4K and the desktop apps are in Pro. Lensprout gives every feature to everyone, including commercial use, under the MIT license. That also means you can audit the code or adapt it.
Availability
Lensprout is not on the Chrome Web Store yet; the listing is coming soon. Cursorful is available today.
Verdict
If you mostly record web apps and want a free tool you can use at work and inspect yourself, try Lensprout. If you need to record native apps, add captions, or share by link, Cursorful’s Pro plan covers more ground. For a wider look, see our roundup of auto-zoom screen recorders.