How to Screen Record Vertically on Mac (9:16)

A Mac screen is wide, so a normal screen recording is wide too. To get a vertical video, you either record a tall slice of the screen, or record normally and change the frame to 9:16 afterward. Quibble does the second one: you pick 9:16 in the editor.

The free way works, but you have to place the frame by hand and it is hard to get the exact shape. This guide shows both.

Why a normal screen recording looks bad on a phone

Short-video apps like YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and TikTok use a tall frame. A wide recording shown there gets black bars above and below, and the screen content ends up small. On a phone, small buttons and text are hard to read.

There are two fixes: show less of the screen, or move the viewer's eye to the right part. Most good vertical screen videos do both.

Method 1: Record a tall part of the screen (free)

macOS can record just a part of your screen. Apple's guide describes it: press Shift-Command-5, choose to record a selected portion, then drag the frame to position it and resize its edges.

1. Press Shift-Command-5 to open the Screenshot toolbar.
2. Choose the Record Selected Portion button.
3. Drag the frame so it is tall and narrow, and move it over the part of the screen you want to show.
4. Open Options to choose a microphone, a timer, and whether the pointer shows.
5. Click Record. Click the Stop button in the menu bar when you finish.

The file is saved as a .mov, and its name starts with "Screen Recording."

The catch: the frame is dragged by eye, so the shape is only roughly 9:16. Everything you want to show has to fit inside the narrow frame the whole time, and you cannot change your mind after you record. If you move a window out of the frame, that part of the video is lost.

A small tip: put the app you are demoing in a narrow window first, and place the frame over it. This is also a good way to make the content bigger in the final video.

Method 2: Record normally, then crop to 9:16 in an editor

Record the full screen the usual way. Then, in a video editor, set the project to a vertical frame and move the video so the right part sits inside it. You can move the video during the clip if the action shifts from one side of the screen to the other.

This is flexible. It is also manual: you set the frame, position the video, and fix it again every time the action moves.

Method 3: Quibble (pick 9:16 after you record)

Quibble records your Mac screen, then opens an editor when you stop. The editor has eight screen aspect ratios, and 9:16 is one of them. (One of the eight is Original, which keeps the shape of your screen.)

1. Open Quibble and press ⌥⌘R to record.
2. Do your demo on the full screen. Talk as you go. Quibble records your microphone; turn on System audio in Settings (or Record System Audio in the recording options menu) if you want the Mac's sound too.
3. Stop the recording. The editor opens.
4. In the Frame tab, choose 9:16 under Aspect Ratio.
5. Under Screen placement, choose Fill so the screen fills the tall frame (Fit keeps the whole screen and adds a background around it). Use Crop Screen to move the visible area.
6. Preview it. To cut slow parts, press B to turn on the Split tool and click the timeline to cut, then press B again, click the part you do not want, and press Delete.
7. Press Done Editing to get a finished MP4 (saving needs a license).

Because you choose the frame after recording, you can change your mind. You can change the ratio and press Done Editing again. Each export replaces the previous MP4, so copy the first version somewhere else before you make the next one.

Keep the action inside the tall frame

With Fill, a 9:16 frame cuts off the sides of a wide screen. Two things help:

• Zoom into the action. Quibble's Zoom on clicks is on by default. The video glides into where you click, then back out, so the part you are using stays large. You can add zooms by hand with Add Zoom in the editor, or turn them off with Use Zoom. There is more in our guide to a screen recorder with zoom in and out on Mac.
• Point at what matters. Hold ⌘ and move the mouse to draw a yellow highlight into the video. Rough circles and boxes snap into clean shapes.

If you record your face too, turn on Camera in Settings. In the editor you can move and resize the camera window, round it from a square to a circle, or make it full screen for part of the video. Our guide on screen recording with a webcam on Mac covers this.

Tips for vertical screen videos

• Keep each video short and focused on one task.
• Make the app window as large as you can before you record.
• Use big text on screen. Check it at the size of a phone.
• Put the important part of the screen in the middle of the tall frame.
• Leave room at the bottom if your app adds captions or buttons over the video.

What Quibble does not do

• It runs only on Macs with Apple silicon, with macOS 15 or later. It does not run on Intel-based Macs.
• It has no cloud upload or share links. You save the MP4 and upload it to the app yourself.
• It has no team plan. One license covers one Mac.

Price

Record and edit for free. To save or export, you need a license: $7.99 per month, $79 per year, or $129 once. There is a 14-day full refund on every plan.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best size for a vertical video?

Shorts, Reels and TikTok use the 9:16 shape, which is tall. In Quibble, 9:16 is one of the eight aspect ratios.

Can I screen record in portrait mode on a Mac?

Not as a screen setting. The Mac display is wide. You can record a tall selected portion with Shift-Command-5, or record the whole screen and crop to 9:16 afterward.

Will my text be readable on a phone?

Only if it is big enough. A tall frame shows less of the screen, so the same text takes more of the picture. Zooming into your clicks helps with small buttons.

Can I make both a vertical and a wide version?

Yes, if you record the full screen once. In Quibble, export one ratio, copy that MP4 somewhere else, then change the ratio and press Done Editing again, because each export replaces the previous MP4.

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