"Medal vs ShadowPlay" is one of the most common questions when players pick a clipping tool. Some say the NVIDIA overlay is all you need, others say Medal makes sharing clips easier. Both camps have a point, because the two tools solve slightly different problems.
ShadowPlay is the recording side of the NVIDIA app, the software that replaced GeForce Experience, so it sits right next to your graphics driver. Medal is a separate clipping app with its own cloud, profiles and share links.
This guide compares them on the things that decide the choice in practice: what hardware you need, how a clip actually gets made, whether you can record a whole match, where the files go and how easy it is to send a clip to your squad.
Everything below was checked against official NVIDIA and Medal pages on November 12, 2026. If you are also weighing OBS, see our OBS vs NVIDIA ShadowPlay comparison and the Medal vs OBS breakdown.
Short answer: it depends on your GPU and on whether you share clips
Start with your graphics card.
NVIDIA's system requirements page for the NVIDIA app lists GeForce RTX 20, 30, 40 and 50 Series GPUs on Windows 10 or 11 with driver 551.52 or later, so if you are on an AMD card, an Intel card or an older GTX model, the official list does not include you and Medal or another standalone recorder is the practical route.
If you do have a supported RTX card, ShadowPlay has real strengths: it is built into software you probably already installed, sign in is optional, Instant Replay is described as saving the last 30 seconds of gameplay, NVIDIA Highlights automatically captures key moments in supported games, and manual recording goes up to 4K HDR at 120 fps, with AV1 recording on RTX 40 Series cards.
Medal wins on everything that happens after the clip is saved. Every clip can get a share link, uploads are free, you can trim and add zoom, slow motion or captions inside the app, and game, mic and Discord audio can be adjusted as separate tracks.
Medal can also record full sessions from game launch to close, with the clip button turning into a bookmark key.
So the honest split is this: a solo player on an RTX card who just wants files on disk will be happy with ShadowPlay, while a player whose clips go straight to a group chat will get more out of Medal. If neither fits, our ShadowPlay alternatives guide lists more options.
Medal vs NVIDIA ShadowPlay at a glance (checked November 12, 2026)
| Category | NVIDIA app (ShadowPlay) | Medal |
|---|---|---|
| Requirements | GeForce RTX 20 Series or newer, Windows 10 or 11, driver 551.52 or later | Windows 10 or later on PC, with iOS and Android apps for syncing and sharing |
| How clips are made | Instant Replay saves the last moments on demand; Highlights captures key moments in supported games | Clip button saves the last 15, 30 or 60 seconds or longer; automatic clips in supported games |
| Full match recording | Manual recording up to 4K HDR at 120 fps or 8K HDR at 30 fps | Full session recording from game launch to close, with bookmarks |
| Per game settings | Highlights depends on each game's support | Custom game settings let you pick clips or full sessions per game |
| Editing | Basic capture tools in the overlay | Trim, zoom, slow motion, captions, music and separate audio tracks |
| Where clips go | Video files saved on your PC | Local library plus optional upload to Medal's cloud |
| Sharing | You upload the saved files wherever you like | Share links, Discord and social sharing, free uploads |
Quick checks before you commit
- NVIDIA's official requirements list GeForce RTX 20 Series or newer for the NVIDIA app as of November 12, 2026.
- Sign in is optional in the NVIDIA app, and its product page describes Instant Replay as saving the last 30 seconds.
- Medal's default clip button can be changed in Clip Settings if it clashes with a key your game uses.
- Medal Premium lists extras such as unlimited cloud storage, full original quality uploads and removable watermarks.
- Clips made from Medal's screen recording mode need Premium to upload, according to Medal support.
How to choose between Medal and ShadowPlay
- 1Check your graphics card firstOpen your GPU name in Windows and compare it with NVIDIA's list: GeForce RTX 20, 30, 40 or 50 Series. If your card is not on it, skip straight to Medal or another standalone recorder.
- 2Decide where your clips end upIf clips stay on your drive or go into a video editor, files on disk are enough. If they go to Discord or friends within minutes, Medal's share links save you an upload step every time.
- 3Think about whole matches, not just momentsInstant Replay and Medal's clip mode both save a short window. If you review full games, look at Medal's full session recording or plan to use manual recording in the NVIDIA app.
- 4Test the save button in a real matchWhichever you pick, play one match and save a clip on purpose. If nothing saves, our Instant Replay troubleshooting guide walks through the common causes.
- 5Keep an eye on disk spaceFull sessions and high bitrate recordings fill drives fast. Medal itself warns that session recording uses a lot of storage, so set a folder on a drive with plenty of room.
Want whole matches and kill clips in one place? Try DOR
If what you really want is to stop thinking about hotkeys, DOR takes a third approach. It is a free Windows app: when you launch a supported game it detects it and records the whole match automatically, and every recording lands in My Clips.
In seven games, League of Legends, VALORANT, PUBG, FC Online, Fortnite, CS2 and Overwatch, it also turns events like kills or goals into separate highlight clips next to the full recording.
You can trim a moment in the app at 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1, then open DOR Studio to merge clips, add effect templates such as shake zoom or glitch transitions, text and music, and export an mp4 or share a dor.gg link.
On RTX series and other supported NVIDIA cards it records with NVENC hardware encoding, and the free plan covers 720p or 1080p at 30 or 60 fps. See how event clips work in DOR auto highlight clips, or start from the VALORANT hub.
