Both tools can run from an agent. Reely goes deeper on native iOS: one declarative flow drives the SwiftUI feature and authors the cuts, pacing, captions, and final reel.
Mac app · Agent skill · No recording session
SmoothCapture and Reely can both turn an agent-driven iOS Simulator run into a polished video. SmoothCapture is the broader recorder and hands-on editor: it captures Mac windows, physical iPhones and iPads, audio, webcam, and Simulator sessions, then gives you a full timeline. Reely is the focused SwiftUI production pipeline: a declarative Flow Spec drives app state in-process and supplies the interaction marks used to cut, theme, and caption the reel. Choose SmoothCapture for capture breadth, deep manual control, and a strong $99 lifetime license; choose Reely when you want repeatable native-iOS reels generated from the feature flow itself.
What each workflow asks from you — and what comes out the other side.
| Capability | Reely | SmoothCapture |
|---|---|---|
| Core workflow | Flow Spec → driven feature → finished reel | Record → automate or perform the take → edit/export |
| Agent automation | MCP tool + CLI; one spec owns the run | JSON CLI + agent skill; scripted command sequence |
| Simulator driving | In-process state mutations through a feature registry | External UI automation such as XCUITest or xcodebuildmcp |
| Camera motion | Moves the 3D device and camera; your UI always plays uncropped | Smart zoom from Mac clicks; Simulator-injected touches need manual zoom timing |
| Captions | Authored step copy, timed to semantic story beats | Automatic subtitles, karaoke highlighting, and text tools |
| Brand styling | Theme-from-app extracts the app’s colors and font | Manual styling plus reusable editor presets |
| Capture scope | Any app from screenshots or a recording; SwiftUI features filmed in the Simulator | Mac, app windows, iPhone/iPad over USB, and Simulator |
| Editing | Generated first, with a Mac editor for refinement | Full timeline editor and editable project JSON |
| Audio & export | Music and sound cues; portrait, 9:16, and 16:9 MP4 | Mic/system audio, multi-track mixing, webcam; up to 4K60 and multiple codecs |
| Pricing | Free with a watermark; $9.99/mo or $89.99/yr removes it | $99 one-time lifetime license (up to 3 Macs) |
The practical differences you will feel every time you need a new demo.
The easy comparison would be “agent engine versus manual editor,” but it would be wrong. SmoothCapture has a machine-readable CLI, a ready-made agent skill, headless export, smart zoom, and plain project JSON. An agent can record, style, and export a video without touching the UI. The real split is one layer deeper: SmoothCapture automates a recording workflow, while Reely makes the feature flow itself the source of truth for capture and post-production.
Reely drives registered SwiftUI actions in-process, so a tap in the Flow Spec is a semantic event with a known target, label, and time. Those same events become cut points, speed ramps, and caption windows. SmoothCapture records first and pairs with an external UI-automation tool such as XCUITest or xcodebuildmcp. Its smart zooms key off macOS mouse clicks; SmoothCapture’s own Simulator workflow notes that injected touches do not create those anchors, so zooms are added manually in project JSON. Both can be automated, but Reely carries more meaning from the app flow into the edit.
Reely’s capture pipeline is intentionally narrow: native iOS and SwiftUI in the Simulator. Its separate composition engine can build free-form teasers, but it does not broaden capture to desktop windows or physical devices. SmoothCapture can record a Mac display or app window, a physical iPhone or iPad over USB, and the Simulator. It also covers microphone and system audio, webcam picture-in-picture, multi-track mixing, automatic subtitles, GIF and ProRes output, and exports up to 4K60.
A Reely reel starts as a declarative Flow Spec rather than a take. When the UI changes, the agent can run the same story again against the current build; native transitions play from real state mutations, interaction geometry is recaptured, dead air is cut, and captions are timed from the authored steps. Theme-from-app can also pull the build’s palette and font into the render. SmoothCapture can repeat a script too, but you still manage the recording choreography, timing, trims, and any Simulator-specific zoom effects as recording/editor concerns.
SmoothCapture is $99 once for every feature on up to three Macs, with free updates and a 30-day refund. Reely is free with every feature, but its exports carry a watermark until you subscribe at $9.99 monthly or $89.99 annually. If you need watermark-free output for years, SmoothCapture is plainly the better long-term price when both workflows fit your job. Reely earns its subscription only when the native-iOS-specific pipeline saves you enough repeated staging and editing work to matter.
Free with every feature; exports carry a Reely watermark. $9.99/month or $89.99/year removes it.
$99 one-time for a lifetime license covering every feature on up to three Macs. Recording and editing are free to try; a license unlocks export.
Taxes may be added at checkout.
For every kind of recording, no. SmoothCapture is broader, has deeper manual editing and audio tools, records physical devices, and costs less long-term. Reely is the better fit when you want a native SwiftUI reel generated repeatably from a declarative feature flow.
Yes. SmoothCapture publishes a JSON CLI and agent skill that can record, apply effects, edit project JSON, and export headlessly. Reely’s difference is not agent access; it is the Flow Spec and in-process iOS driver that connect each semantic app action directly to the finished edit.
SmoothCapture does: it auto-generates zooms from macOS clicks, though its documented Simulator automation path uses injected touches, so those zooms are added manually. Reely deliberately does not crop into the recording — your UI always plays full-frame inside the device, and the motion comes from moving the 3D phone and the camera around it, plus cuts and speed ramps over dead air.
SmoothCapture can record iPhones and iPads over USB. Reely currently records native iOS features in the Simulator only, so SmoothCapture is the clear choice when physical-device capture is required.
SmoothCapture is cheaper for ongoing use: $99 once for up to three Macs. Reely is free to use with watermarked exports; removing the watermark is $9.99/month or $89.99/year. Choose Reely for its specialized declarative SwiftUI workflow, not because it wins on long-term license price.
Describe the flow. Get a directed, branded, captioned video of your real iOS feature.
Free for Mac, every feature. Plans from $9.99/month remove the watermark.