8 Best Loom Alternatives in 2026 (After Atlassian)
Loom made async screen recording mainstream: hit record, share a link, skip the meeting. Then Atlassian acquired it for $975 million in 2023, and by 2026 the fallout is what people are actually searching to escape. The free Starter plan is capped at 25 recordings with a 5-minute limit per video. Business is $18/user/month and Business + AI is $24/user/month. Worst of all, the 2026 billing migration retired the free “Creator Lite” seat and auto-upgraded those users to full paid seats — teams have reported invoices jumping from a few hundred dollars a year into the thousands overnight. Add lag and upload complaints since the move to Atlassian’s infrastructure, and it’s no surprise the searches are up. Here are the Loom alternatives that actually hold up in 2026.
1. Screen Studio
The Mac tool that made polished product demos look effortless — automatic zoom-ins, smooth cursor motion, and background blur applied after you record.
What makes it different from Loom: Loom captures a raw talking-head-plus-screen clip; Screen Studio turns a plain recording into something that looks professionally edited without you touching a timeline. Automatic zoom follows your clicks, cursor movement gets smoothed, and you export up to 4K. It’s the go-to for marketing videos, launch clips, and app walkthroughs where production quality matters.
Best for: Mac users making demo and marketing videos that need to look sharp.
Pricing: $9/month billed annually (about $108/year); students get an academic discount. Mac only.
2. Tella
An all-in-one recorder and editor that works on Mac, Windows, and Chrome — the closest thing to a full Loom replacement with better editing built in.
What makes it different from Loom: Tella records screen and camera like Loom but bundles layouts, backgrounds, and click-to-trim editing so you can polish a video without a separate app. Unlike Mac-only tools, it runs cross-platform and in the browser, and it targets creators and founders who want share-ready videos rather than raw captures.
Best for: Creators and founders who want recording plus light editing in one place, on any OS.
Pricing: Pro from about $12/month billed annually; 7-day free trial, no card required.
3. ScreenPal
Formerly Screencast-O-Matic — the budget pick with a genuinely usable free tier and free hosting.
What makes it different from Loom: ScreenPal’s free plan lets you record up to 15 minutes per clip (versus Loom’s 5) and host videos with no lifetime cap, though free recordings carry a watermark. Paid tiers are far cheaper than Loom, starting around $3/month for individuals and $8/user/month for teams, with a full editor included.
Best for: Teachers, trainers, and small teams who want long recordings and hosting without Loom’s per-seat pricing.
Pricing: Forever-free tier (15-min clips, watermark); paid from ~$3/month, Team from $8/user/month.
4. Vidyard
The sales-first video tool, built around getting prospects to watch and reply.
What makes it different from Loom: Vidyard’s free plan is unusually generous for outbound work — unlimited recording up to 4K, viewer analytics showing who watched and for how long, and native CRM integrations so videos attach to deals. Where Loom leans internal-comms, Vidyard is engineered for reps sending personalized videos and tracking engagement.
Best for: Sales and customer teams sending prospecting or follow-up videos and tracking who watches.
Pricing: Free plan (unlimited recording, viewer analytics); paid tiers scale up from there for teams needing unlimited AI videos and advanced CRM features.
5. CleanShot X
A Mac capture powerhouse that covers screenshots, GIFs, and screen recording in one tool — with a one-time purchase option.
What makes it different from Loom: CleanShot X is built for quick, frequent captures rather than long narrated videos: scrolling screenshots, annotation, OCR, GIF export, and short screen recordings, all triggered by hotkey. The killer difference is licensing — buy it once for around $29 instead of paying per seat forever, with an optional cloud plan if you want hosted links.
Best for: Mac power users who capture screenshots and short clips all day and hate subscriptions.
Pricing: One-time ~$29 for the app; App + Cloud Pro $8/user/month billed annually. Mac only.
6. Kommodo
A free, AI-native recorder that transcribes what you record and can turn it into a step-by-step guide.
What makes it different from Loom: Kommodo records unlimited video with no watermark for free — no 25-video cap, no 5-minute wall — and layers on AI transcription and automatic SOP/guide generation, so a walkthrough becomes written documentation. It runs in the browser (with a 60-minute cap and no signup) plus Mac, Windows, and Chrome apps.
Best for: Teams documenting processes who want recording, transcription, and how-to guides for free.
Pricing: Free (unlimited recording, no watermark); browser recorder needs no account.
7. OBS Studio
The free, open-source workhorse that records and streams anything on your screen with total control.
What makes it different from Loom: OBS captures locally with no seat limits, no watermark, and no company that can change your bill — you own the files. The trade-off is that it’s built for streamers and power users: there’s a real learning curve, and it has no built-in hosting or one-click share links, so you’ll pair it with your own storage. In exchange you get scene composition, multi-source layouts, and unlimited recording on Mac, Windows, and Linux.
Best for: Power users and anyone who wants unlimited local recording with zero recurring cost.
Pricing: Free and open source.
8. Zight
Formerly CloudApp — a visual-communication tool spanning screenshots, GIFs, and screen video with fast annotation.
What makes it different from Loom: Zight treats screen recording as one format among several. Snap a screenshot, record a quick GIF, or capture a full video, then annotate and drop a share link — all from the menu bar. It’s a lighter, cheaper spread than Loom for people whose day is mostly quick visual replies rather than long walkthroughs.
Best for: Support, design, and product teams who mix screenshots, GIFs, and short videos.
Pricing: Free plan (screen recording, screenshots, GIFs); paid from around $9.95/user/month.
If your real reason for recording Looms is handing off work — “here’s what I need done, here’s the context” — the format itself may be the bottleneck. A connected AI executive assistant like Carly can take the instruction in plain text and actually carry the task across your email, calendar, and tools, no video required. It starts at $35/month.
Whichever recorder you land on, Carly can hook right into the workflow around it — native integrations for Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, plus bring-your-own API key for the recorder itself.
Loom alternatives compared
| Tool | Best for | Platforms | Free tier | Starting paid price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Studio | Polished Mac demos | Mac | Trial only | $9/mo (annual) |
| Tella | All-in-one record + edit | Mac, Windows, Chrome | 7-day trial | ~$12/mo (annual) |
| ScreenPal | Budget / hosting | Mac, Windows, Chrome | 15-min clips (watermark) | ~$3/mo |
| Vidyard | Sales video | Web, Mac, Windows | Unlimited recording | Team tiers |
| CleanShot X | Quick captures | Mac | No (one-time buy) | ~$29 one-time |
| Kommodo | Free + AI guides | Web, Mac, Windows, Chrome | Unlimited, no watermark | Free |
| OBS Studio | Unlimited local recording | Mac, Windows, Linux | Fully free | Free |
| Zight | Screenshots, GIFs, video | Mac, Windows | Yes | ~$9.95/mo |
| Loom | Async team video | Web, Mac, Windows | 25 videos, 5-min cap | $18/user/mo |
FAQ
Why are people leaving Loom in 2026? Two reasons dominate: the 2026 billing migration that retired the free Creator Lite seat and auto-upgraded those users to paid seats — producing surprise invoices — and performance complaints (lag, sync issues, failed uploads) since Loom moved onto Atlassian’s infrastructure. Loom’s free tier is also capped at 25 videos and 5 minutes each.
What’s the best free Loom alternative? For unlimited recording with no watermark, Kommodo and OBS Studio are the strongest free options. ScreenPal’s free tier allows 15-minute clips (with a watermark), and Vidyard’s free plan is the best free choice for sales teams thanks to viewer analytics.
What’s the closest all-around replacement for Loom? Tella. It records screen and camera on Mac, Windows, and in the browser, adds built-in editing, and produces share-ready links — the same core loop as Loom without the per-seat billing surprises.
Which Loom alternative is best for polished product demos? Screen Studio on Mac. Its automatic zooms, smooth cursor motion, and 4K export make a plain recording look professionally edited, which is why it dominates demo and launch videos.
More: Loom vs Zoom · Zoom alternatives · Best AI note-takers for Zoom, Teams & Meet · Best AI personal assistants
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