Is Kap or Sedaru better?

Neither clearly leads. Kap starts at Free and Sedaru at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Kap or Sedaru?

Kap has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Kap and On request for Sedaru.

Does Kap or Sedaru run on more platforms?

Kap runs on Mac. Sedaru runs on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud.

Can I use Kap for free?

Yes. Kap has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sedaru starts at On request.

What is Kap best used for?

Kap is most often used for a developer recording a demo gif for a readme or documentation page, a marketer capturing a quick product walkthrough clip without buying screen recording software, someone creating app store style device-framed screenshots for a listing, a user who only needs video capture and does not want to pay for a suite of annotation features they will not use. Of those, a developer recording a demo gif for a readme or documentation page and a marketer capturing a quick product walkthrough clip without buying screen recording software are not what Sedaru is typically brought in for.

What can Kap do that Sedaru cannot?

Kap covers Multi-format export, Area, window or display capture, Plugin system, Basic trimming. Sedaru covers Esri-native asset model, Field crew mobile, Hydraulic model integration, SCADA alarm context.

Utilities · head to head

Kap vs Sedaru

Kap

Utilities

Free open source screen recorder for macOS, focused on video and GIF capture rather than annotation

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Sedaru

Utilities

Water utility asset management and field operations built on top of Esri ArcGIS

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Kap has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Kap it has no annotation tools at all, so any still-image markup work needs a separate app such as Shottr or CleanShot X.; Sedaru the Esri dependency is absolute: an ArcGIS licence is a separate and substantial cost outside the Sedaru contract, and utilities without ArcGIS must buy into that platform before Sedaru is even usable.
They diverge on capability: Kap covers Multi-format export, Sedaru covers Esri-native asset model.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kap and Sedaru actually diverge.

Attributes where Kap and Sedaru differ
Attribute	Kap	Sedaru
Starting price	Free	On request
Pricing model	Open source, no licence fee	quote
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Mac	Web, iOS, Android, Cloud

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Utilities).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Kap

Multi-format export
Area, window or display capture
Plugin system
Basic trimming
Menu bar operation
Open source

Only in Sedaru

Esri-native asset model
Field crew mobile
Hydraulic model integration
SCADA alarm context
Capital planning
Customer service linkage

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Kap

A developer recording a demo GIF for a README or documentation pagenot Sedaru
A marketer capturing a quick product walkthrough clip without buying screen recording softwarenot Sedaru
Someone creating App Store style device-framed screenshots for a listingnot Sedaru
A user who only needs video capture and does not want to pay for a suite of annotation features they will not usenot Sedaru

Sedaru

A water utility whose crews already work from ArcGIS maps and that wants work orders on the same map rather than in a separate CMMSnot Kap
A wastewater authority prioritising collection system renewal by risk and condition rather than by age alonenot Kap
Giving field crews offline access to network asset data and work history in areas with no mobile coveragenot Kap
A utility trying to connect SCADA alarms to the physical assets and recent work that explain them, instead of reading alarms in isolationnot Kap

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Kap

It has no annotation tools at all, so any still-image markup work needs a separate app such as Shottr or CleanShot X.
There is no scrolling capture or OCR, features both Shottr and CleanShot X include.
Editing is limited to basic trimming, so anything beyond a simple cut needs a dedicated video editor afterward.
It is Mac only, offering nothing for screen recording needs on Windows.
As a volunteer-maintained open source project, updates and bug fixes depend on community contribution rather than a company with paid support obligations.

Sedaru

The Esri dependency is absolute: an ArcGIS licence is a separate and substantial cost outside the Sedaru contract, and utilities without ArcGIS must buy into that platform before Sedaru is even usable.
Sedaru inherits GIS data quality, so a utility with an incomplete or stale geodatabase discovers the gaps in front of field crews rather than fixing them, and the data remediation project is not in the Sedaru quote.
The North American water focus means limited relevance and limited implementation support outside that market, particularly for utilities operating under European or Australian regulatory reporting requirements.
Nothing is published on price and the product is sold within a large corporate portfolio, so a small utility has little basis for judging whether the quoted subscription is competitive.
It is a water and wastewater product; a municipality wanting one asset system across water, roads, parks and facilities will need a broader public works platform alongside it.

Pricing, plan by plan

Kap

Free

KapFree
- Free and open source under the MIT licence
- MP4, WebM, GIF and device frame export
- Plugin system for extended workflows

Sedaru

On request

Sedaru$undefined/year
- Subscription sized on utility scale and module selection
- Esri ArcGIS licence required and purchased separately from Esri
- Implementation and GIS data preparation quoted as services

Which should you pick?

Choose Kap if

You need multi-format export.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Mac.
You also want area, window or display capture.

Kap review

Choose Sedaru if

You need esri-native asset model.
You work on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud.
You also want field crew mobile.

Sedaru review

Questions people ask

Is Kap or Sedaru better?: Neither clearly leads. Kap starts at Free and Sedaru at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kap or Sedaru?: Kap has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Kap and On request for Sedaru.
Does Kap or Sedaru run on more platforms?: Kap runs on Mac. Sedaru runs on Web, iOS, Android, Cloud.
Can I use Kap for free?: Yes. Kap has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sedaru starts at On request.
What is Kap best used for?: Kap is most often used for a developer recording a demo gif for a readme or documentation page, a marketer capturing a quick product walkthrough clip without buying screen recording software, someone creating app store style device-framed screenshots for a listing, a user who only needs video capture and does not want to pay for a suite of annotation features they will not use. Of those, a developer recording a demo gif for a readme or documentation page and a marketer capturing a quick product walkthrough clip without buying screen recording software are not what Sedaru is typically brought in for.
What can Kap do that Sedaru cannot?: Kap covers Multi-format export, Area, window or display capture, Plugin system, Basic trimming. Sedaru covers Esri-native asset model, Field crew mobile, Hydraulic model integration, SCADA alarm context.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kap: Is Kap free?

Yes, entirely. It is open source under the MIT licence with no paid tier.

Sedaru: Do I need Esri ArcGIS to use Sedaru?

Yes. Sedaru is built on the ArcGIS geodatabase and the Esri licence is a separate purchase from Esri, not part of the Sedaru subscription.

Kap: Does Kap do screenshots or only video?

It is focused on video and GIF recording. For still screenshots with annotation, pair it with Shottr or CleanShot X.

Sedaru: Who owns Sedaru?

Aquatic Informatics, which is part of Veralto, the water quality group spun out of Danaher in 2023.

Kap: Can Kap export directly to GIF?

Yes, GIF is one of its native export formats alongside MP4, WebM and Apple device frames.

Sedaru: Does Sedaru replace a CMMS?

For water network assets, largely yes. For plant equipment and facilities maintenance many utilities still run a separate CMMS.

Sedaru: Is pricing published?

No. Subscriptions are sized on the utility and quoted, with implementation and data preparation charged as services.

Kap vs Sedaru

Kap

Sedaru

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Kap

Only in Sedaru

What people use each for

Kap

Sedaru

Where each one falls short

Kap

Sedaru

Pricing, plan by plan

Kap

Sedaru

Which should you pick?

Choose Kap if

Choose Sedaru if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Kap

More on Sedaru

Keep looking

Other head to heads