Does OBS Studio Work on macOS?

January 20, 2026 · Software Compatibility

Introduction

OBS Studio is the most popular free, open-source software for live streaming and screen recording. It fully supports macOS, including native Apple Silicon performance. However, macOS has unique permission requirements that can trip up new users.

Key Takeaways

• Fully supported on macOS — OBS provides official macOS builds for both Intel and Apple Silicon.
• Apple Silicon native since v28 — M1, M2, M3, and M4 Macs run OBS without Rosetta.
• Screen recording permissions required — macOS blocks screen capture by default; you must grant permission in System Settings.
• Hardware encoding available — VideoToolbox provides fast H.264/HEVC encoding via the Apple media engine.
• Some plugin limitations — A few third-party OBS plugins are Windows-only.

Installation

1. Download OBS Studio from obsproject.com.
2. Open the .dmg file and drag OBS to your Applications folder.
3. On first launch, macOS will ask for microphone and screen recording permissions — grant both.
4. If screen capture appears black, manually enable OBS in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording, then restart OBS.

Performance on Apple Silicon

OBS Studio runs very well on Apple Silicon Macs:

• The native ARM build avoids the overhead of Rosetta 2 translation.
• The Apple VideoToolbox encoder offloads encoding to dedicated hardware, keeping CPU usage low.
• M1 Pro/Max/Ultra and M2/M3/M4 chips can handle 1080p60 and even 4K streaming with headroom to spare.
• RAM usage is modest — typically 200–500 MB during a stream.

Known Limitations on macOS

• Window capture can be finicky — “Screen Capture” source generally works better than “Window Capture.”
• Virtual camera requires installing an additional plugin on older macOS versions (built-in on newer OBS releases).
• Game capture (the hook-based method) is not available on macOS; use Display or Window capture instead.
• Some community plugins (e.g., certain NDI versions) may not have macOS builds.

Conclusion

OBS Studio works excellently on macOS, including Apple Silicon Macs. The main thing to remember is granting screen recording permissions on first run. Performance is strong, hardware encoding is supported, and the experience is comparable to Windows for most streaming and recording workflows.