If you are searching medal vs outplayed, you have probably narrowed your clipping software down to two free apps that look similar on the surface. Both are free to start, both are supported by ads, and both offer a paid tier that removes them. The real differences sit underneath.
Medal installs on its own and is built around uploading and sharing clips; Outplayed runs inside the Overwolf platform and records according to a capture mode you set for each game. If you only care about one of them, our Outplayed alternatives guide and Medal vs OBS comparison go deeper.
This comparison uses only what Medal's support center and Premium page, and Overwolf's support articles and app listing, said on November 12, 2026. We left out vendor comparison pages, and we do not declare a performance winner, because frame impact depends on your GPU, settings and game.
Decide this first: is sharing the point, and do you already use Overwolf?
Three questions settle most cases. First, what are your clips for? If you want to send links, browse other players' clips and open your library from any device, Medal's upload and community features are the draw.
Keep the free limits in mind: uploads are capped at 20 minutes and 1080p, and there are ads, while Premium adds original quality uploads and unlimited cloud storage. Second, is Overwolf already on your PC?
If you run Overwolf for stats or overlay apps, Outplayed is one more app on a platform you already have. If you do not, you will be installing Overwolf just to use it. Third, do you press hotkeys reliably?
Medal's default flow is to hit the clip key after something happens, while Outplayed works on its own once you have chosen a mode. If neither fits and you are looking beyond these two, see our roundup of Medal.tv alternatives.
Medal vs Outplayed at a glance (as of November 12, 2026)
| Feature | Medal | Outplayed |
|---|---|---|
| How it installs | Standalone Windows app from medal.tv | App that runs on the Overwolf platform |
| How clips are made | Clip hotkey (F8 by default) saves the moments before you press it; clip length is set in settings | Pick a capture mode per game: Highlights, Full Match, Full Session or Manual |
| Game event auto clips | Auto Clipping, turned on per game in Settings, for titles like League, VALORANT, CS2, Fortnite, PUBG and Roblox | Highlights mode marks events such as kills and assists on the match timeline |
| Whole match recording | Long Recording captures the full session; auto clips become bookmarks | Full Match and Full Session modes; falls back to Full Session when game events are down |
| Where files go | A dedicated folder on your main drive by default, changeable; Cloud Sync is Premium | Saved on your PC and reviewed in the app; download a file to share it yourself |
| Free vs paid | Free: 20 minute and 1080p upload limits, ads. Premium: original quality, unlimited cloud, no ads, 14 day trial | Free with ads; Premium removes ads |
| Sharing and community | Upload, watch your clips on any device, share links, browse other players' clips | Share straight to Discord, YouTube or X, or save the file |
| Editor | Medal Editor for trims and montages | Trim and cut, or combine clips into a collage |
Check these before you choose
- Outplayed needs the Overwolf client. See whether you already have Overwolf apps installed.
- As of November 12, 2026, Medal's free uploads stop at 20 minutes and 1080p. If you plan to upload long videos, judge against those limits.
- Auto clip game lists change in both apps. Check Settings then Auto Clipping in Medal, and the Games tab in Outplayed's settings.
- If Outplayed is not saving anything, work through our Outplayed not recording fixes first.
- Check free space on the drive that holds your recordings. Full session recording fills a drive quickly.
How to test both apps fairly on your own PC
- 1Pick one game you play a lotCompare on a single game or the result means little. If you care about automatic clips, choose a title both apps detect events in, such as League of Legends, VALORANT or Fortnite. Event lists change with updates, so confirm them in each app's settings.
- 2Run one app at a time under the same settingsTwo recorders running together fight over hotkeys and capture, which muddies everything. Play two or three matches with only Medal running, then the same with only Outplayed, at the same resolution and frame rate.
- 3Write down frame rate and file sizeTurn on your in game FPS counter and note how matches feel while recording. Afterward, check the size of each app's recording folder. Performance depends heavily on your GPU and settings, so your own numbers beat anyone's review.
- 4Make the clip you would actually postTrim one clip and send it to a friend, or turn it into a vertical short. Upload length and quality limits, ads and the export flow all show up at this stage.
- 5Keep only the winner on startupOnce you decide, disable autostart for the other app or uninstall it. Leaving several recorders running in the background is a common cause of capture conflicts.
If you want every match saved without pressing anything: DOR
DOR is a free Windows game recording app that installs on its own, with no Overwolf. Launch a supported game and DOR detects it and records the whole match, then collects the recording in My Clips.
In seven games it also cuts event highlight clips automatically: kills, multikills and objectives in League of Legends, kills plus ace and clutch tags in VALORANT, and kill based clips in PUBG, Fortnite, CS2 and Overwatch, plus goals in FC Online.
In other supported games you trim the moment you want from the automatic recording. You can crop to 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1 in the app, then use DOR Studio to merge clips and add text, music and effect templates, and export an mp4 or share a dor.gg link. See what works per game on the VALORANT page and the League of Legends page.
