Compare Screencastify and Quillbot: Which Extension is the Best?

Screencastify is a popular Chrome extension for screen recording. It offers a range of features but has shifted many basic functionalities behind a paywall, affecting its overall value.
Quillbot is an AI-powered writing assistant designed to enhance your writing with features like paraphrasing, grammar checking, and summarizing. Ideal for productivity and improving writing quality.
Key Features
  • Record Desktop, Browser Tab, and Webcam: Capture any part of your screen.
  • Edit Video: Trim, merge, and add text directly from your browser.
  • Share Easily: Export as MP4, GIF, or MP3, and share via Google Drive or Classroom.
  • Interactive Questions: Add questions to videos to engage viewers.
  • Annotations: Draw on your screen in real-time to highlight key points.
  • Captions: Add captions in multiple languages to make videos accessible.
  • Paraphrasing Tool: Rewrites your sentences to improve clarity and style.
  • Grammar Checker: Identifies and corrects grammatical errors.
  • Summarizer: Condenses long texts into shorter summaries.
  • Citation Generator: Helps you create citations in various formats.
  • Plagiarism Checker: Ensures your content is original.
Our Rating
7.8
8.7
Total users
6,000,000
4,485,643
Total ratings
11,733
3,036
Average rating
4.0 ⭐
4.6 ⭐
Entry Level PriceFreeFree
Chrome
Chrome Web Store logo
4.0
3.63
11.7K+ ratings
6.0M+Users
Chrome Web Store logo
4.7
4.88
2.9K+ ratings
4.0M+Users
Edge
-
Microsoft Edge Store logo
4.5
4.47
104 ratings
485.6K+Users
Firefox
-
-
Safari
-
-
Features
8.8

Screencastify offers a robust set of features, including screen and webcam recording, video editing and interactive questions.

Leaving aside the fact that many features are only available for a fee, it's fair to say that it offers a lot of features.

While recording, you can easily add spotlights and draw on the screen. The drawing tools offer a nice range of options, so you should have everything you need:

Drawing Tools

The subsequent editor also offers many functions where you can cut the video to your needs.

Here is what the basic editor looks like:

Simple editor of Screencastify

It recently also added an AI feature that automatically adds captions, transcripts, titles, and descriptions.

Furthermore, Screencastify offers another video editor when clicking "Edit Video" in the top right corner.

This will open up another editor where you can do some more video editing. Here is how it looks like:

Second editor of Screencastiy

In our opinion, this editor isn’t necessary if you already have your own video editing software, but it could be useful for some people.

We’re not entirely sure if this is just an older version of the original editor. However, we did discover that you can export videos to MP4 for free, thanks to an "Export" button that lets you do so without any limitations.

We’re not certain if this is intentional, but at least it works for us.

9.0

Paraphrasing Tool:
Quillbot's paraphrasing tool is one of its standout features. It offers multiple modes like Standard, Fluency, and Creative, allowing users to choose the level of rewriting they need. We found it particularly useful for avoiding plagiarism and improving sentence structure.

Grammar Checker:
The grammar checker is robust, catching errors that many basic spell checkers miss. However, it sometimes flagged correct sentences as incorrect, which can be a bit annoying.

Summarizer:
Quillbot's summarizer is effective for condensing long articles or papers. It provides concise summaries that capture the main points, making it a valuable tool for students and professionals alike.

Performance
7.5

The speed has deteriorated considerably with the latest updates. This is probably because more and more functions, such as the AI function, are being added.

The tool has become slower, and creating links or accessing older videos takes longer than before. Many users have also complained about the performance in the reviews.

8.8

Quillbot performs well with small to medium-sized texts, but it can slow down when processing larger documents.

Design
9.0

The design is intuitive and user-friendly. We think that navigation is very intuitive despite the many functions.

9.0

User Interface:
Quillbot boasts a clean and intuitive interface. The layout is straightforward, making it easy for users to navigate through different features without any hassle.

Customization:
The tool offers various customization options, such as different paraphrasing modes and the ability to adjust the length of summaries. These features make it adaptable to different writing needs.

Value for Money
5.0

As already mentioned, we are somewhat shocked by the limitations of the free version.

Especially if you have used the app in the past and can export videos for free. In addition, even with the starter package for $7, you are limited to 10 exports.

We find that many other providers offer much more for the money.

9.0

Free vs. Paid:
While the free version offers basic functionality, the premium plans unlock a wealth of features that significantly enhance the tool's utility.

Cost-Effectiveness:
Compared to its competitors, Quillbot is slightly cheaper than Grammarly but more expensive than LanguageTool. From our perspective, Quillbot doesn't offer more value than LanguageTool, so we believe it should be priced similarly. However, it currently offers significant discounts on their plans, which makes it a very good investment in your writing.

Ease of Use
8.5

Screencastify is easy to use, with a minimal learning curve. Even beginners can quickly get the hang of it. However, we find that recent updates have introduced some complexities that are not absolutely necessary for a screen recorder.

7.8

Quillbot's onboarding process is impressive, and the tool is easy to use right from the start. We quickly grasped most of its features. However, when compared to top competitors like Grammarly, it doesn't feel quite as natural or seamless to use.

Security & Privacy
8.0

Unfortunately, an account is required, which in our opinion is not necessary for Screen recorder.

However, Screencastify's privacy policy is very comprehensive and complies with standard data protection practices, including compliance with the GDPR and PCI-DSS certification for payment data. Screencastify takes reasonable security measures but, like all online services, cannot guarantee absolute protection.

8.8

Data Handling:
Quillbot ensures that user data is encrypted and securely stored. However, like many AI tools, it does send data to its servers for processing, which may raise privacy concerns for some users.

Third-Party Services:
The tool uses third-party services for certain features, which could lead to data being processed outside of the EU. Users should be cautious when handling sensitive information.

Conclusion

Screencastify was a fantastic tool in the past, and we used to use it daily. Unfortunately, recent updates have made it less user-friendly by hiding key features behind a paywall.

For people who need a wide range of features, the tool is still an option. For others who just want to make a recording every now and then to export a video, Screencastify is unfortunately no longer an option.

Quillbot is a flexible AI writing tool that does a great job with paraphrasing and grammar checking.

While it has a few minor downsides, like occasional mistakes and some privacy concerns, its overall performance and affordability make it a solid choice. In the end, choosing the best writing tool is also a matter of personal opinion. If you want to improve your writing and boost productivity, Quillbot is definitely worth a look.

However, it still cannot compete with Grammarly as the best writing tool in this category. In our eyes, Grammarly is worth the more expensive price.

Our Recommendation

In our comparison between Screencastify and Quillbot, Quillbot came out on top, scoring 8.7.

Screencastify is the most widely used, with over 6 million users and 12k+ reviews, but Quillbot outperformed it in our review. User reviews reflect our findings.

Notably, Quillbot has the highest user rating in the Chrome Web Store at 4.58, which supports its strong performance in our review.

There are some noticeable differences between these extensions, so it's worth considering your priorities and the details below.


  • Looking for the richest feature set? Quillbot stands out with a rating of 9. On the other hand, Screencastify lags behind in this area with a rating of 8.8.
  • Need top performance? Quillbot stands out with a rating of 8.8. On the other hand, Screencastify lags behind in this area with a rating of 7.5.
  • Both look and feel great: Screencastify and Quillbot. In the Design category, Screencastify has scored an excellent 9. The design is both attractive and highly functional, making it stand out.
  • Want to get the most for your money? Quillbot stands out with a rating of 9. On the other hand, Screencastify lags behind in this area with a rating of 5.
  • If you hate complicated tools, Screencastify stands out with a rating of 8.5. On the other hand, Quillbot lags behind in this area with a rating of 7.8.
  • With privacy and security becoming ever more important, Quillbot stands out with a rating of 8.8. On the other hand, Screencastify lags behind in this area with a rating of 8.

If you want a quick recommendation, Quillbot is our top pick. But as always, the best choice depends on what matters most to you.