Tella alternative
A Tella alternative that runs entirely on your computer
Tella is a browser-based recorder with a nice editor and a subscription. SmoothCut is a desktop app for macOS and Windows that does the polish automatically, keeps everything on your computer, and costs a single payment.
| SmoothCut | Tella | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | One-time: $79 or $169 | Subscription |
| Where it runs | A desktop app on your computer | The browser and Tella's cloud |
| Automatic zooms | Yes, following your cursor | Zooms you add |
| Cursor smoothing | Yes, after the fact | No |
| Captions | Generated on your computer | In the cloud |
| Works offline | Yes, fully | No |
| Export | MP4 and GIF, up to 4K | MP4 and links |
About Tella, as checked in September 2026. Their pricing and features can change; check their site for the current picture.
Buy it once
One payment. No monthly fee that keeps running whether you recorded anything this month or not. Personal is $79 for one computer with a year of updates; Pro is $169 for five computers with updates for life.
Everything happens on your computer
Recording, editing, captions, the automatic zooms and cuts, and the final export all run on your Mac or PC. Nothing is uploaded to make it work, so it works on a plane and your recordings stay yours.
The polish is automatic
Zooms follow your cursor. The cursor is smoothed after the fact. Captions are written from your voice. You record, and the demo is most of the way there before you touch the editor.
Questions
- Do I lose anything by going local?
- Shareable links and cloud hosting. You get a file, and you decide where it goes.
- Does it record the webcam like Tella?
- Yes, with layouts you can switch mid-clip: a corner bubble while you show the product, fullscreen when you talk to camera.