Loom Alternatives: 10 Screen Recorders for 2026
Loom Alternatives: 10 Options Compared for 2026
Short answer: The best free Loom alternative is Cap for Mac and Windows users (free for personal use, open source) or Clipchamp if you're on Windows and want 1080p exports with no watermark. For teams, Zight Collaborate and Bubbles Pro Teams both land at $12/user/month billed yearly, cheaper than Loom Business. For privacy and self-hosting, Cap is the only real Loom-style option: AGPLv3, bring your own S3 bucket, or host the whole platform. For sales teams, Vidyard is still the default.
Loom's free Starter plan caps you at 25 videos and 5-minute screen recordings. That 5-minute ceiling is what sends most people looking. Bug walkthroughs and design reviews run long.
Paid Loom is priced per user. Business is $18/user/month billed monthly, or $180/user/year on annual (so $15/month). Business + AI is $24 monthly or $240/year ($20/month). For a 10-person team that records regularly, that's $1,800 a year on Business, or $2,400 with AI. And since the Atlassian acquisition, billing differs depending on whether you bought through Loom.com or Atlassian.com.
Below are ten alternatives. Every price comes from the vendor's own pricing page, checked in September 2026.
TL;DR: Quick Picks for 2026
| Need | Top pick | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Open source, self-hosted Loom | Cap | Free personal, Pro $8.16/user/mo (yearly) |
| Sales video with CRM tracking | Vidyard | Free plan, Starter $59/seat/mo (yearly) |
| Polished async presentations | Tella | From $13/user/mo (yearly) |
| Beautiful product demos on Mac | Screen Studio | $9/mo (yearly), $20 monthly |
| Screenshots, GIFs, and video in one | Zight | Free plan, from $9.95/user/mo (yearly) |
| Async video plus meeting notes | Bubbles | Free plan, Pro Teams $12/member/mo (yearly) |
| How-to guides and SOP videos | Guidde | Free plan, Pro $19/creator/mo (yearly) |
| Record, then edit like a doc | Descript | Free plan, from $16/person/mo (yearly) |
| Free recorder with a real editor | Clipchamp | Free, 1080p, no watermark |
| Full control, zero cost | OBS Studio | Free (GPL-2.0) |
What Loom Actually Does Well
Loom nailed the core loop better than anyone: click, record, stop, and a link is already on your clipboard. Comments and emoji reactions sit on the timeline, and the viewer insights tell you whether your manager actually watched the 4-minute update. The AI features on Business + AI (titles, summaries, meeting notes) save real time if you record daily.
The alternatives mostly win on price, on recording limits, on data ownership, or by doing one job (sales, docs, polished demos) far better than a general tool can.
When to Leave Loom
Three signals:
- You keep hitting the 5-minute wall. If half your team is on Starter and re-recording clips to fit, you're paying in time instead of money.
- Most of your seats barely record. Loom's paid plans charge per user. If three people record weekly and seven record twice a quarter, per-user pricing hurts.
- Recordings contain sensitive stuff. Customer data in bug reports, internal roadmaps, security walkthroughs. If legal wants those off a third-party cloud, you need self-hosting or your own storage.
1. Cap
The open-source Loom. It's the closest match to Loom's workflow and the only one here you can fully self-host.
Strengths:
- Instant Mode uploads while you record and hands you a link when you stop, just like Loom
- Studio Mode records locally with backgrounds, zooms, captions, and trimming
- Connect your own S3-compatible storage (AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, MinIO) or self-host everything
- Licensed AGPLv3 (a few crates are MIT), with 22,000+ GitHub stars
Weaknesses:
- Younger product, so integrations and admin controls trail Loom's
- Free tier limits shareable links to 5 minutes and excludes commercial use
- Self-hosting the full platform means you own uptime and updates
Pricing: Free for personal use with unlimited local recording. Desktop License is $29/year or $58 one-time (single user, commercial use, 20 cloud links/month up to 5 minutes each). Cap Pro is $12/user/month, or $8.16/month billed annually, with unlimited cloud storage and AI features. SAML SSO is a flat $199/month add-on.
Best for: Engineering-heavy teams, privacy-conscious companies, and anyone who wants Loom's workflow without Loom's cloud.
2. Vidyard
The sales team's video tool. It tracks who watched what and pushes that into your CRM.
Strengths:
- Viewer analytics built for prospecting: who watched, how far, and when
- Branded sharing pages, CTAs, and password-protected videos on Starter
- CRM and marketing automation integrations on Teams
Weaknesses:
- Expensive for internal async updates
- Free plan caps you at 5 videos a month
- Teams (5+ people) and Enterprise are custom quotes
Pricing: Free plan with 5 videos/month. Starter is $59/seat/month billed annually or $89 monthly. The Video Agent add-on is $24/seat/month billed annually ($29 monthly). Teams and Enterprise are custom.
Best for: SDRs and AEs who send prospecting videos and need to know when someone's actually watching.
3. Tella
For async videos that look like a keynote instead of a screen share.
Strengths:
- Record in clips and stitch them, with up to 6 hours per clip
- Layouts, backgrounds, and camera framing make recordings look produced
- 4K export and analytics on Pro
- Custom domain, white-labeling, and 60 FPS on Premium
Weaknesses:
- No free plan listed on the pricing page
- Monthly rates aren't shown, only annual
Pricing: Pro $13/user/month billed annually. Premium $19/user/month billed annually. Enterprise is custom.
Best for: Founders, product marketers, and course creators whose videos get watched by customers, not just coworkers.
4. Screen Studio
The Mac app behind half the slick product demos on your timeline.
Strengths:
- Automatic zoom on clicks and smooth cursor movement, with almost no editing
- Output looks professionally produced out of the box
- Shareable links are included in every plan
Weaknesses:
- macOS only; the FAQ says Windows isn't ready yet
- No team pricing listed
- Built for polished demos, not quick async replies
Pricing: $9/month billed yearly, or $20/month billed monthly.
Best for: Mac-based founders and designers making launch videos and feature demos.
5. Zight (formerly CloudApp)
Screenshots, GIFs, and screen recordings in one capture tool.
Strengths:
- One tool replaces a screenshot app, GIF maker, and Loom
- Video requests let you ask customers to record their screen for you
- GDPR and SOC 2 Type II on Collaborate; HIPAA with a BAA on Scale
- Custom S3 storage on Scale
Weaknesses:
- Free plan has the same 5-minute recording limit as Loom
- Free plan only keeps your last 50 captures accessible
- Scale (for 10+ users) is contact-sales
Pricing: Free plan (5-min recordings, 15-second GIFs, 1 GB storage). Create $9.95/user/month and Collaborate $12/user/month, both billed annually (20% off monthly).
Best for: Support and QA teams who capture screenshots and short clips all day.
6. Bubbles
Async video plus an AI meeting notetaker, for a price that undercuts Loom Business.
Strengths:
- Free plan allows 30-minute recordings and unlimited screen recordings
- AI summaries and action items even on free
- Pro Teams drops to $12/member/month once you have 3+ members
Weaknesses:
- Free recordings lock after 2 weeks
- Free plan limits meeting recordings to 5 per week
Pricing: Basic is free. Pro Personal $18/member/month yearly ($22 monthly) for 1-2 members. Pro Teams $12/member/month yearly ($15 monthly) for 3+ members.
Best for: Remote teams that want async video and meeting recordings under one bill.
7. Guidde
Turns a screen recording into a step-by-step how-to video with AI voiceover.
Strengths:
- Captures clicks in any web app and builds a guide automatically
- AI voiceover means nobody has to record their own voice
- Export to video, PPT, or PDF on Pro
- Viewers are free; only creators, admins, and content managers use paid seats
Weaknesses:
- Not built for casual "here's a quick update" videos
- Desktop app support starts on Business
- Free plan caps at 25 videos
Pricing: Free (25 how-to videos). Pro $19/creator/month yearly ($29 monthly). Business $39/creator/month yearly ($59 monthly). Enterprise is custom.
Best for: Customer success, ops, and enablement teams building a library of SOPs and help-center videos.
8. Descript
Record your screen, then edit the video by editing the transcript.
Strengths:
- Delete words from the transcript and they disappear from the video
- Filler-word removal, AI voice, and captions built in
- 4K export on Creator and up
Weaknesses:
- Overkill for 90-second async replies
- Free plan exports 720p with a watermark
- Hobbyist is 1 person; Creator scales to 3, Business to 5
Pricing: Free (60 media minutes/month). Hobbyist $16/person/month yearly ($24 monthly). Creator $24 yearly ($35 monthly). Business $50 yearly ($65 monthly). Enterprise is custom.
Best for: Marketers and educators who record and then actually edit.
9. Clipchamp
Microsoft's video editor, with a free screen and camera recorder.
Strengths:
- Free plan exports up to 1080p with no watermark
- Screen, camera, and voice recording plus a real timeline editor
- Comes with Windows, so there's nothing to buy
Weaknesses:
- No instant share link with comments like Loom's
- Premium pricing isn't listed on Clipchamp's page; it's bundled into Microsoft 365 Personal and Family
Pricing: Free. Premium (4K exports, premium stock, brand kit) comes with Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions.
Best for: Windows users who want a free recorder and editor and can share files through OneDrive or Teams.
10. OBS Studio
The free, open-source recorder that streamers and tutorial makers have used for years.
Strengths:
- Completely free and open source (GPL-2.0)
- Windows, macOS, and Linux
- Scenes, overlays, multiple sources, and no recording limits
- Recordings stay on your disk; nothing goes to anyone's cloud
Weaknesses:
- No sharing, links, comments, or analytics
- Steep learning curve for non-technical teammates
Pricing: Free.
Best for: Technical users recording long tutorials or anything sensitive that should never leave the machine.
Recommendation by Profile
| You | Pick |
|---|---|
| Want Loom's workflow, self-hosted or on your own S3 | Cap |
| Sales team sending prospecting videos | Vidyard |
| Customer-facing videos that need to look good | Tella |
| Mac user making launch demos | Screen Studio |
| Support team living on screenshots and short clips | Zight |
| Remote team wanting async video plus meeting notes | Bubbles |
| Building SOPs and help-center videos | Guidde |
| You record, then edit heavily | Descript |
| Windows user, $0 budget | Clipchamp |
| Technical, sensitive content, $0 budget | OBS Studio |
Pricing at a Glance (10 Creators, Annual)
| Product | Tier | ~Annual cost (10 creators) |
|---|---|---|
| Loom Business + AI | $240/user/yr | $2,400 |
| Loom Business | $180/user/yr | $1,800 |
| Vidyard Starter | $59/seat/mo | $7,080 (Vidyard pushes 5+ to custom Teams) |
| Guidde Pro | $19/creator/mo | $2,280 |
| Tella Pro | $13/user/mo | $1,560 |
| Zight Collaborate | $12/user/mo | $1,440 (Scale is quoted at 10+) |
| Bubbles Pro Teams | $12/member/mo | $1,440 |
| Screen Studio | $9/mo per license | ~$1,080 (no team pricing listed) |
| Cap Pro | $8.16/user/mo | ~$979 |
| Cap self-hosted | Free (AGPLv3) | Hosting and storage only |
| Descript | Business caps at 5 people | Custom at 10 |
| Clipchamp / OBS Studio | Free | $0 |
Directional, as always. On Business, Loom lets you mix paid Creators with Creator Lite members, so check what Creator Lite can record before you pay for 10 full seats. Cap, Bubbles, Zight, and Tella all land under Loom Business. Vidyard costs more because it's a sales tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free Loom alternative?
Cap is the best free option on Mac and Windows: unlimited local recording for personal use, though share links cap at 5 minutes. Bubbles' free plan allows 30-minute recordings, but they lock after 2 weeks. Clipchamp is free with 1080p, watermark-free exports on Windows. OBS Studio is free with no limits at all, just no sharing.
Is there an open source Loom alternative?
Yes. Cap is open source (AGPLv3, with some MIT-licensed components) and has instant share links, comments, transcripts, and team workspaces. OBS Studio is also open source (GPL-2.0), but it's a recorder only, with no sharing layer.
Loom vs Vidyard: which is better?
Loom is better for internal async communication: cheaper at $15/user/month on annual Business and quicker to use. Vidyard is better for sales. Its Starter plan ($59/seat/month yearly) adds branded pages, CTAs, and prospect-level viewing analytics, and Teams connects to your CRM. If your videos go to coworkers, pick Loom. If they go to prospects, pick Vidyard.
Does Loom have a free plan?
Yes. Loom Starter is free with up to 25 videos, 5-minute screen recordings, and unlimited meeting recording length. You can add up to 50 members to a Starter workspace. Unlimited videos and recording time start on Business at $18/user/month monthly, or $15/month billed annually.
Can I self-host a Loom alternative?
Cap is the realistic option. You can self-host the full platform on your own servers, or keep using Cap's app while storing recordings in your own S3-compatible bucket (AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, MinIO, Wasabi). Zight offers custom S3 storage on its Scale plan, but the app itself stays hosted. OBS keeps everything local by default.
The Honest Take
Loom is still the smoothest async video tool on the market. If your whole team records daily and nobody's worried about where the videos live, $15-$20/user/month on annual billing is fair.
But the free plan's 5-minute limit pushes people to pay, and per-user pricing punishes teams where only a few people record. Cap gives you Loom's workflow for roughly half the price, or free if you self-host. Vidyard wins for sales, Tella and Screen Studio for polish, Guidde for how-tos, and Descript for editing.
Count how many people on your team actually recorded something last month. Pay for them, and give everyone else a free tool.
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