How to use a teleprompter on your Mac (right under the camera)

Updated 6 October 2026

Recording a video on your Mac and reading from a script? The trick is where the script sits: right under the camera, so your eyes look almost into the lens, not down at a notes window.

Here are the free ways, the apps made for it, and the one thing to check before you hit record: that the script itself doesn’t end up in the video.

The short version

Put the script as close to the camera as you can: a narrow window at the very top of the screen, under the camera.
Free: a narrow Notes or TextEdit window at the top works. Scroll it yourself, slowly.
Teleprompter apps scroll for you at a set speed, sit in or under the notch, and can hide themselves from screen recordings.
Always do a 5-second test recording to check the script doesn’t show in your video.

Where to put the script

Your script, right under the camera

In the recording

REC

no script, just you and your screen

The closer the script is to the camera, the more you look at the viewer.

Your camera sits at the top centre of the screen. The closer the words are to it, the less your eyes drift, and the more it looks like you’re talking to the viewer. Keep the lines short (5 to 8 words) so your eyes don’t sweep left and right either.

The free way: a narrow window at the top

Open your script in Notes or TextEdit, with a large font (24 pt or more).
Make the window narrow and short, and drag it to the top centre, right under the camera.
Scroll with the trackpad as you read.

It costs nothing and works everywhere. The catches: you scroll by hand, and if you record the whole screen, the window is in the video. Record just an area, or the app’s window, that doesn’t include it.

Teleprompter apps

A teleprompter app adds what the window can’t:

It scrolls by itself at a speed you set, and pauses and rewinds with a shortcut.
It sits in or under the notch, the closest spot to the camera.
It can hide itself from screen recordings and screenshots, so you can record the full screen.

There are several on the Mac App Store; search for “teleprompter” or “notch teleprompter”.

Teleprompter + recorder in one app

Clacky’s Teleprompter sits under the notch (or a virtual one), scrolls at your speed or follows your voice, and starts with the recorder’s countdown. The recorder adds your mic, a camera bubble and captions. Free for 7 days, no card.

Try free, 7 daysTry free, 7 days

Clacky’s Teleprompter

Clacky (a Mac menu-bar app) has a Teleprompter next to its screen recorder:

The script floats under the notch. Macs without a notch get a virtual notch in the same spot.
Type, paste or dictate your script. Dictation runs on your Mac, and the script is a text file on your Mac.
It scrolls at 60 to 240 words a minute (140 to start), with text from small to large, an opacity setting and Mirror text for teleprompter glass.
Follow my voice scrolls as you speak, using speech recognition on your Mac.
It can start with the recorder’s countdown, and two shortcuts show it (⌃⌥⌘T) and start scrolling (⌃⌥⌘Y).
Its panel is marked to stay out of screen recordings and screenshots, the same way Clacky’s own recorder (macOS 15 and later) keeps its controls out of the video.

Keep the script out of the video

Apps hide a window from recordings by marking it as not shareable. Many recorders respect that, but not every recorder and macOS version handles it the same way, Clacky’s included. So:

Open the teleprompter.
Record 5 seconds with the recorder you’ll really use.
Watch it back. If the script shows, record an area that leaves out the top of the screen, or use a recorder that respects hidden windows.

More on recording your screen with click sounds and a ripple: show clicks and record click sounds.

Questions

Is there a free teleprompter for Mac?

A narrow Notes or TextEdit window at the top of the screen, right under the camera, works for free. You scroll it by hand, and it shows if you record the whole screen.

How do I hide a teleprompter from my screen recording?

Use a teleprompter app that hides itself from screen captures, and check with a 5-second test recording. If it still shows, record an area that leaves out the top of the screen.

My Mac has no notch. Can I still read under the camera?

Yes. Put the script at the top centre of the screen. Clacky draws a virtual notch there on Macs without one.

How fast should a teleprompter scroll?

Most people speak at about 130 to 160 words a minute on camera. Start around 140 and adjust after a test take.

More guides

New to Clacky? It’s a small Mac menu-bar app with sounds, a recorder, screenshots, Mac health and agent alerts in one dashboard. See every tool · Try it free for 7 days

Checked on 6 October 2026. Something changed, or something here is wrong? Email hello@clacky.app.