The short answer
- Recording a few videos a month? Loom's free Starter plan allows up to 25 videos per person, with a 5-minute limit per screen recording. Modeled first-year saving per seat: $204. loom.com
- Need unlimited share links: Cap Pro costs $12/user/mo and is modeled to save $22 per seat in year one. Its code is AGPL-3.0 and self-hostable. the math
- Recording to files you share yourself: OBS Studio is free (GPL) but has no instant share links. the math
- Download what you want to keep before you downgrade: creators on the free Starter plan can't download videos. support.atlassian.com
Four ways to stop paying for Loom
A cheaper vendor
Cheaper plan Loom (free tier): saves $204 in year one (+1 more below)
Open source
An agent skill
Nothing in the catalog fits this job yet.
Replace with AI
Nothing in the catalog fits this job yet.
The best option of each kind, modeled, not measured: each figure links its math. Keeping Loom is a valid answer too.
Who should switch, and who shouldn't
Switch if
Stay if
- You rely on viewer comments and reactions, editing, AI summaries or viewer analytics. recipe
- Your screen recordings run longer than the 5-minute Starter limit and must stay as share links. loom.com
- You keep a large library: on Starter you can still watch videos over the 25 limit but can't record new ones. support.atlassian.com
What Loom costs today
List prices from the vendor's pricing page, as stored in the Stackcut catalog. Each price links its source.
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly (per month) | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loom Business | $18/user/mo | not shown | Unlimited videos and recording time, basic editing, no Loom branding |
| Loom Business + AI | $24/user/mo | not shown | Business plus Loom AI (summaries, chapters, text-based editing, meeting notes); 14-day free trial |
The alternatives, ranked
3 ways out, ranked by modeled saving in the first year after setup and upkeep (3 priced). Modeled, not measured: each figure links the math on the recipe page.
- Paths are modeled per seat against Loom Business at $18/user/mo. recipe
Compare a specific alternative
Considering a specific destination? Read its checked comparison before deciding what to move.
- Loom vs Cap Checked migration details, public switching accounts.
- Loom vs OBS Studio Checked migration details, public switching accounts.
What screen recording costs at 1, 5 and 20 users
Loom and Cap Pro charge per user. Loom Starter and OBS Studio are free; Starter caps videos per person.
| Option | List price | 1 user | 5 users | 20 users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loom Business today | $18/user/mobilled monthly | $18 | $90 | $360 |
| Loom Business + AI today | $24/user/mobilled monthly | $24 | $120 | $480 |
| Loom Starter25 videos per person, 5-minute recordings | $0free plan | $0free tier | $0free tier | $0free tier |
| Cap Pro (cloud) | $12/user/mobilled monthly | $12 | $60 | $240 |
| Cap Pro (cloud), billed yearly | $8.16/user/mobilled yearly | $8.16 | $40.80 | $163.20 |
| OBS Studiolocal files, no share links | $0 licenseGPL-2.0-or-later | $0+ your server | $0+ your server | $0+ your server |
How people actually left Loom
7 public accounts of leaving Loom: 4 switched, 2 evaluated, 1 went back. Summaries are ours; each links the original, and each was checked against its page before it appeared here.
XDA journalist describes moving from OBS to Loom for less friction, then trying Cap out of curiosity: Instant Mode matches Loom's record-and-share loop, Studio Mode's editor exceeded it, and she declares she is never going back to Loom or OBS. XDA Developers
Part of the same XDA review: the author had switched from OBS to Loom because OBS felt clunky for quick recordings, later landing on Cap - an account of leaving OBS (relevant as a warning for Loom users weighing OBS as a destination). XDA Developers
Hands-on Medium review ranking five Mac recorders: OBS is ranked fourth of five, called 'free and unlimited, but only worth it if you're already a streamer' - a negative evaluation for typical Loom-style async use. Article pushes affiliate links to a competing paid recorder. Medium
A developer's first-person account of replacing Loom with Cap: consolidated screenshots and video into one tool, likes the share links, auto-zoom and pricing, and recommends the free tier or Desktop License over Loom's subscription. Page contains a Cap referral link. DanyWalls
First-person write-up of self-hosting Cap on a home computer as a Loom replacement: Cap Desktop pointed at a self-hosted server behind a Cloudflare Tunnel with R2 storage, achieving the same record-and-share-link workflow with no subscription. ibtisam.dev
A week-long Windows hands-on review concluding Cap is the first open-source screen recorder the reviewer recommends without caveats for most small teams, with named rough edges (multi-monitor bug, integration and analytics gaps). Publisher also sells a competing screenshot app. ScreenSnap
Show 1 more
Detailed write-up of replacing Loom with an OBS-based workflow for workplace training videos: OBS scenes and hotkeys, noise suppression, Whisper captions and Handbrake embedding, with finished videos uploaded to his own storage instead of Loom links. Joshua Callandret
How to leave Loom
Export first, then cancel. Every step links the vendor's own help page, checked on the date shown.
How to leave Loom
Export first
- Videos: Library → the video → the menu above it → Download (MP4). Creators on the free Starter plan can't download. No bulk download is documented, so do it one video at a time before you downgrade. support.atlassian.com
What you lose
- Downloading your own videos, once you're on Starter
- Recording new videos while you're over the Starter limit
Cancel
- Download the videos you want to keep while you're still on a paid plan (see export).
- Atlassian Admin → Billing → Subscriptions → Loom → Manage → Deactivate, then choose Downgrade or Cancel subscription.
- Older Loom accounts: Workspace Settings → Plan & Billing → Manage Subscription → Downgrade to Starter.
- Takes effect
- At your next renewal date; you keep full access until then.
- Refunds
- No prorated refund for the rest of the billing period.
- After you cancel
- On Starter you keep access to all your videos, even over 25, but can't record new ones until you're back under the limit or upgrade.
Not covered by the paths above, per the recipe: Viewer comments and reactions, Video editing, AI summaries, Viewer analytics. If you rely on one of these, keep the incumbent or check the path closely.
Moving your data, destination by destination
What each destination's importer carries over, what it leaves behind, and any help it offers switchers.
To Cap
Official guide cap.so · Tools: Cap Loom importer (Dashboard > Import > Loom), Cap CLI / MCP server batch import, Free Loom video downloader
Moves: Video files (full); Titles (full); Transcript, summary and chapters (full); Owners and spaces (partial). cap.so
Doesn't move: Loom comments and reactions - Cap starts a fresh comment thread on every video; Loom view counts - Cap counts views from the moment a video is imported; Private, expired, password-protected, or deleted Looms until the source is made accessible; Nested Loom folder hierarchy - space_name maps to one flat Cap space label. cap.so
Watch out for:
- space_name is treated as one flat Cap space label; nested Loom folders need a separate explicit mapping plan cap.so
- Private/password-protected Looms cannot be imported until set to anyone-with-the-link; deleted Looms are unrecoverable cap.so
- The self-serve CSV UI caps at 500 rows; larger libraries need CLI/MCP batches or Cap's managed migration cap.so
Switching help: 20% off Cap Pro with code MIGRATE20 at checkout; the discount applies to every renewal. Aimed at Loom switchers since the Loom importer is a Cap Pro feature. cap.so
Switching help: Cap runs large Loom-to-Cap migrations with you: for libraries beyond the 500-row self-serve CSV limit, organizations can run controlled batches through the Cap CLI/MCP or have Cap run the migration; Cap says it has moved organizations with hundreds of users and tens of thousands of recordings. cap.so
To OBS Studio
Community guide callandret.com · Tools: OpenAI Whisper (CLI), Handbrake, DaVinci Resolve, Keycaster (macOS) and Locaal background-blur plugin
Doesn't move: Loom video library; Loom share links and viewer pages - OBS produces local files you must host yourself (e.g. Google Drive, YouTube); Comments, reactions and view analytics; Transcripts and chapters - regenerate captions with Whisper and embed via Handbrake. callandret.com
Watch out for:
- Starter Free Loom users cannot download videos, so export before downgrading or cancelling callandret.com
- No instant share link: OBS writes local files, so you need your own hosting and sharing path callandret.com
- No built-in captions, auto-zoom or editing - plan on Whisper/Handbrake and an editor for polished output callandret.com
To Tella
Official guide tella.com · Tools: Tella Transfer (desktop app), Free Loom video downloader
Moves: Video files (full); Folder organization (partial). tella.com
Doesn't move: Loom Spaces links - not supported; move videos to a My Library folder with a public link first; Videos longer than 30 minutes or larger than 2 GB via the free downloader (use Tella Transfer instead); Resume checkpoints - restarting a cancelled Transfer download re-downloads and overwrites same-named files. tella.com
Watch out for:
- Loom Spaces links are private and can't be fetched - use Tella Transfer, or move videos to a public folder tella.com
- Transfer doesn't save resume checkpoints; a restarted download replaces same-named files tella.com
- Credentials stay on the computer and Transfer only reads the Loom account, per Tella tella.com
Switching help: Loom buyout: teams with 20+ paid Loom seats can apply to have the unused balance of an active annual Loom plan credited to their first annual Tella invoice. Pro, Premium and Enterprise plans qualify; credit can't exceed the first invoice, be paid in cash, carry forward, or combine with LOOM30. tella.com
Switching help: Code LOOM30 gives 30% off the first 12 months on any Tella plan, aimed at Loom-switching teams with fewer than 20 seats (who don't qualify for the buyout). tella.com
From each destination's own migration docs and switching pages, plus community write-ups where no official guide exists, each checked against its page. Confirm terms on the linked page before you rely on an offer.
Open-source and forkable options
- OBS Studio: Free desktop recorder (GPL); saves video files locally, so you share them through your own storage. No instant share links. License: GPL-2.0-or-later · source code
Open source means no license fee, not free to run: the server, backups and upgrades are yours. Read the license before you fork or resell; several of these are open-core or source-available.
FAQ
What happens to my Loom videos if I downgrade to Starter?
You keep access to all of them, even over 25, but you can't record new ones until you delete some or upgrade. support.atlassian.com
Can I download my Loom videos?
Yes, as MP4 from each video's menu, but only on a paid plan: creators on Starter can't download. There's no documented bulk download. support.atlassian.com
Does Loom refund the rest of my billing period?
No. Cancelling takes effect at your next renewal date and Loom doesn't issue a prorated refund for the remaining time. support.atlassian.com
Is Cap free?
Cap's desktop app is free for personal use with local recordings; commercial use needs a paid plan. Cap Pro adds unlimited cloud share links, and the code is AGPL-3.0. cap.so
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find_alternatives({"vendor": "Loom", "seats": 5,
"features_used": ["Screen and camera recording", "Instant share links"]})