Stay inside the free plan EN

To stay inside the free plan, keep your recordings short, lower the video settings, and delete what you no longer need. Archiving doesn't free up any space. Only deleting does.

The free plan has two limits: 60 minutes of recording time and 1 GB of storage. They apply to what you're keeping right now, not to what you've recorded over time. Whichever limit you reach first is the one that applies. See The free allowance: 60 minutes and 1 GB, explained.

Know which limit you're near

The video settings below only shrink the file, so they only help with storage. They don't change how many minutes a recording uses. If you're close to the 60-minute limit, the only fixes are shorter recordings and deleting old ones. See Which limit am I hitting: minutes or storage?.

Use settings that make smaller files

These settings apply to new recordings, so change them before you start. Existing recordings keep the size they have.

1. Select the Rekorder icon in your Chrome toolbar to open the popup.
2. Select the settings icon in the top bar, then open the Video tab.
3. Set Resolution lower. The options are 1080p, 720p, 480p and 320p. A lower resolution gives a less sharp picture and a smaller file. 720p is a good first step. If your screen has small text, record a short test and check that it's still readable.
4. Set Frame rate lower. The options are 15, 24, 30 and 60. Fewer frames per second means less smooth motion and smaller files. Rekorder describes 15 as suited to low motion and presentations, and 30 as the balanced, recommended choice. Use 60 only for fast motion, because it makes bigger files.
5. Set Quality to Medium or Low. This controls the video bitrate of every recording. High is the default. A lower setting gives a smaller file.

You only need to do this once. Rekorder remembers your choices. See Set defaults so you do not reconfigure every recording. For what each setting does, see Resolution, frame rate and quality explained.

Check before you record

• Your usage. The workspace section of the popup shows your account's free-plan usage, for both storage and recording time. The limit covers your whole account, not just one workspace. Creating more workspaces doesn't give you more room.
• Where the recording will land. Recordings in a workspace where you hold a paid seat don't count towards your free limits. Check which workspace your next recording goes to. See Set where your next recording lands.
• Whether you need the cloud. Recordings made in Offline mode stay on your computer and don't count towards the cloud limits. They also have fewer features. See What you give up in Offline mode.
• Dead time. Use pause instead of recording a long silence or a tangent. See Start, stop, pause and resume a recording.

If you reach a limit while recording, the recording stops and what's already uploaded is kept. See You hit a limit mid-recording. Was the take lost?.

Free up space

Deleting a recording gives back its minutes and its storage straight away. Nothing else does.

• Delete recordings you no longer need. Deletion is permanent. Rekorder can't bring a deleted recording back, and any link you shared stops working. Download the file first if you might need it later. See Download your own recording.
• Don't rely on Archive. Archiving hides a recording from your Library, and you can unarchive it later. It still counts towards your limits. Use it when you're unsure, not to make room. See Archive vs delete.
• Delete imported files you don't use. Images, video and audio in your asset library count towards the 1 GB. See The asset library: import images, video and audio.
• Remember the extra copy from editing. When you render an edit, Rekorder keeps the original recording as well, so you can restore it. That copy uses storage until the recording is deleted. See Editing is non-destructive: getting the original back.
• Delete in bulk. Select several recordings and delete them together. See Select several recordings and act on them at once.

Waiting doesn't help. Nothing resets on a schedule. See Does my free time reset each month?.

If you need more room

A paid seat exempts a workspace's recordings from the free limits. See What Pro costs, and what it includes.

Related articles

• Is Rekorder free?
• What happens when you go over your free limits
• Record a lecture or a long walkthrough
• Can I recover a deleted recording?
• Extension settings, tab by tab