Best Free Teleprompters — and When You Outgrow Them
You can absolutely run a teleprompter for free. The best options are Imaginary Teleprompter (open-source desktop), CuePrompter and EasyPrompter (browser), plus the free tiers of Teleprompter.com and SpeakFlow. They're genuinely useful for reading a script off your screen. What they share is a set of limits — fixed-speed scrolling, no screen-share invisibility, and scripts that don't stick around. Here's each one honestly, and when it's worth $12.50 to move up.
Updated: July 2026
Disclosure: ShareSpeak is our own paid app ($12.50 once), so we won't pretend it's free. The free tools below are genuinely good and we recommend them where they fit — we've been straight about exactly where free stops being enough.
The best free teleprompters
CuePrompter
Web · freePaste a script into your browser and it scrolls — no signup, no download, no cost.
The catch: Fixed-speed only, needs an internet connection, and the script is gone when you close the tab.
EasyPrompter
Web · freeAnother no-install browser teleprompter with manual and timed scrolling.
The catch: Basic controls, no voice-following, and it lives in a browser tab, so it shows on a screen share.
Imaginary Teleprompter
Desktop (open source) · freeThe best genuinely-free desktop option — open source, installs on Windows, Mac and Linux, no watermark.
The catch: Manual and timed scrolling only; no voice-following and no screen-share invisibility.
Teleprompter.com (free tier)
Web + macOS/iOS · free tierA polished teleprompter with a free plan and native apps, good for recording talking-head video.
The catch: The free tier adds a watermark, and the app is designed to record through it, not to hide on a screen share.
SpeakFlow (free tier)
Web · free tierOne of the few free tiers with a taste of voice-activated scrolling (its “Flow”) plus 7-day script history.
The catch: The free tier is limited, it runs in a browser tab, and it shows up when you share your screen.
Loom Speaker Notes
Loom desktop app · freeIf you already record in Loom, its free Speaker Notes shows your script to you and hides it from viewers.
The catch: It's a static notes window — no auto-scroll, no voice-follow — and it only works inside Loom's recorder.
What free teleprompters can't do
They don't follow your voice
Almost every free teleprompter scrolls at a fixed speed you set in advance. Speed up or slow down and you fall out of sync — the opposite of natural delivery.
They show up on a screen share
Free web and desktop prompters are ordinary windows or browser tabs, so when you screen-share on Zoom, Meet or Teams — or record with OBS — your audience can see you reading.
Your scripts aren't safe
Browser tools lose your text when you close the tab. Few free options give you a durable, named library of scripts you can reuse.
Watermarks and caps
Some free tiers add a watermark or limit length and features to nudge you toward a subscription.
When free is genuinely enough
If you're reading a short script off your screen for a quick recording — and nobody sees your display — a free teleprompter is all you need. Grab Imaginary Teleprompter or CuePrompter and you're done; don't pay for something you won't use. Free stops being enough only when its limits start costing you time or polish.
When you outgrow free — ShareSpeak, $12.50 once
If you're re-recording because the fixed scroll got ahead of you, or your script showed up on a shared screen, or you're pasting the same text in every session, that's the moment a one-time app pays for itself. ShareSpeak follows your voice, stays invisible on screen share, saves your scripts, and runs on Mac and Windows — for $12.50, once, no subscription. Compare it in the best teleprompter for Mac and Windows roundups.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the best free teleprompter?
For a free desktop app, Imaginary Teleprompter is the strongest — it's open source, has no watermark, and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. For a quick browser prompter with nothing to install, CuePrompter and EasyPrompter are the simplest. Teleprompter.com and SpeakFlow have free tiers too. All of them are fixed-speed or lightly-featured, and none hide from a screen share.
Is there a free teleprompter that follows your voice?
Mostly no. SpeakFlow's free tier offers a limited version of its voice-activated scrolling, but the free teleprompters people use most (CuePrompter, EasyPrompter, Imaginary) are fixed-speed — you set a scroll rate and try to match it. Reliable AI voice-following that scrolls at your pace is generally a paid feature; ShareSpeak includes it for a one-time $12.50.
Is there a free invisible teleprompter for screen sharing?
Honestly, no. Free web and desktop teleprompters are normal windows or tabs, so they appear in a screen recording or screen share. Hiding the script from screen capture at the operating-system level — so it stays out of Zoom, Meet, Teams, Loom and OBS — is a paid capability. If invisibility on calls is what you need, that's the main reason to move off free.
Do I actually need to pay for a teleprompter?
Not always. If you just read a script off your screen for a quick recording where nobody sees your display, a free tool does the job. You only need to pay when a free tool's limits start costing you — fixed-speed scrolling forcing retakes, the script visible on a shared screen, or no way to save and reuse scripts. That's the point where a one-time $12.50 app pays for itself.
Is ShareSpeak free?
No — ShareSpeak is a one-time $12.50 purchase (no subscription). We're not going to pretend it's free. It's the upgrade for when free teleprompters stop being enough: it follows your voice, stays invisible when you share your screen, saves your scripts, and runs natively on Mac and Windows.