The honest answer to “best free Loom alternative” depends on which Loom feature you actually use. There isn’t one tool that replaces every Loom feature for free — but there are six that each do at least one Loom feature better. We ranked them by what the typical user moving off Loom is looking for in 2026: no watermark, no time limit, no account required, and ideally a free hosted share link with no per-seat cost. Loom plan details reflect Loom’s public pricing pages as of July 2026.
Disclosure: Pullsy is our tool and it sits at #1. We’ve tried hard to give the other five a fair shake — every entry says what the tool is genuinely good at, not just why we beat it.
1. Pullsy — best overall for browser-based recording with no watermark
Why it’s here: Pullsy’s free tier gives you a recording, an automatic transcript, an auto-summary and auto-chapters, free view analytics on the hosted link, and a chat-with-video reader where viewers can ask questions and get timestamped answers. No watermark. No account to watch. Hosted share link included free. Recording length cap is 5 minutes per take on free; Pro is unlimited.
Best for: Anyone who records from a device they don’t control (work laptop, friend’s machine, iPad, Chromebook) or who wants AI transcript + chat-with-video built in. The free tier doesn’t require an install.
Honest downside: 5-minute recording cap on free tier is the same as Loom Starter. Pro tier is required for long takes. Browser-side recorder means you’re capped by what your browser can do (1080p on most machines, audio quality depends on the browser’s audio stack).
Full comparison at pullsy.online/loom-alternative.
2. OBS Studio — best for power users who want full control
Why it’s here: OBS is the desktop gold standard for free screen recording. Open source, no watermark, no time limit, no account. Captures at full monitor resolution, including 4K 60fps with the right settings. Records to a local file you own outright.
Best for: Long-form tutorials (30-min walkthroughs, multi-hour workshops), anyone with a desktop they control who wants control over bitrate, scene composition, and audio routing.
Honest downside: Steep learning curve. There’s no hosted share link — you have to upload the file to YouTube, Vimeo, Google Drive, or self-host. No free analytics. No AI transcript built in (you’d run Whisper yourself or pay someone). Setup takes 30–60 minutes the first time.
3. QuickTime Player — best for one-off Mac recordings
Why it’s here: Pre-installed on every Mac. No install, no watermark, no time limit. File > New Screen Recording and you’re done.
Best for: One-off recordings on a Mac. Recording a UI bug, capturing a quick walkthrough for a colleague, saving a slice of your screen for a doc.
Honest downside: No face cam, no audio editing, no hosted share, no analytics, no AI. The file is yours but getting it to someone else is on you. Recording length is essentially unlimited (until your disk fills up), but file sizes grow huge for long captures.
4. Screencastify — best for quick Chrome-tab captures
Why it’s here: Browser extension, one-click record of the current Chrome tab. The fastest way to send a short screen recording if you live in Chrome.
Best for: Recording browser-tab walkthroughs (e.g. showing someone a CRM workflow). Useful for sales engineers and customer support who want a quick capture without leaving the browser.
Honest downside: Free tier puts a Screencastify watermark on every recording. Recording limited to 30 minutes. Chrome only — doesn’t help on iPad, Safari, or Firefox. No AI transcript or analytics on the free tier; the subscription is around $7–9 per user per month.
5. Vmaker — best for AI-augmented recording
Why it’s here: Vmaker wraps a screen recorder with an AI editor that auto-removes silences, adds captions, and pulls out highlights. Useful for content creators who want a faster editing workflow.
Best for: Solo creators producing frequent video content for YouTube or LinkedIn who want the AI editor to handle trimming.
Honest downside: Free tier watermarks recordings. Auto-editor makes some calls you might not agree with (cuts a pause you wanted to keep). No free hosted share link on the same tier — you upload to YouTube/Vimeo yourself. Recording length is limited on free.
6. ScreenPal (formerly RecordCast) — best for one-click browser recording with captioning
Why it’s here: Web-based recorder with one-click start. Adds automatic captions to the recording. Free tier captures in 720p, up to 15 minutes per recording. No install needed.
Best for: Quick educational recordings, internal demos, anyone who values the auto-captioning step.
Honest downside: Watermark on free tier. Free plan caps storage. The captions are useful but the editing tools are minimal — no chaptering, no transcript-based editing, no view analytics on free.
A quick comparison table
| Tool | Free? | Watermark | Time cap | Account | AI transcript | Free analytics | Install |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pullsy | ✅ | None | 5 min / unlimited Pro | None to watch | ✅ | ✅ | None |
| OBS Studio | ✅ | None | None | None | ❌ | ❌ | Required |
| QuickTime | ✅ | None | None | None | ❌ | ❌ | Pre-installed on Mac |
| Screencastify | ⚠️ | Yes | 30 min | Required | ⚠️ paid | ❌ | Chrome extension |
| Vmaker | ⚠️ | Yes | Limited | Required | ✅ paid tier | ❌ | Required |
| ScreenPal | ⚠️ | Yes | 15 min | Required | ⚠️ paid | ❌ | None |
| Loom (for reference) | ⚠️ | Yes | 5 min | Required | ⚠️ paid | ⚠️ paid | None |
What about the things Loom does that none of these match?
The hosted-and-shareable-as-a-link feature with an attractive player is the Loom thing that’s hardest to replace. OBS and QuickTime give you a file; you have to put it somewhere. The free-tier hosted link is where Pullsy lines up the closest — same shape as Loom, just with no watermark and AI on top.
If hosted-and-shareable matters more than anything else, your real comparison is Pullsy vs the Loom free tier, both browser-based with a hosted share link. We compared them in detail on Pullsy vs Loom.
What about my old Loom videos?
If you’re moving off Loom but still have 25 (or fewer) videos sitting in your Loom library, our Loom to MP4 tool lets you grab each recording as a local MP4. Once you’ve got the files on your own drive, they’re yours — they don’t depend on Loom staying up or pricing staying where it is.
A brief note on what each alternative isn’t
- Pullsy — 5-min cap on free (Pro unlocks). Browser-based, so record quality is bounded by the browser’s media stack.
- OBS — High friction to set up. No hosted share. No AI. No free analytics.
- QuickTime — Mac only. File only — no share link, no analytics, no AI.
- Screencastify — Chrome only. Watermark on free. Subscription to remove.
- Vmaker — Editor makes decisions for you. Watermark on free.
- ScreenPal — Recording limited to 720p on free. Watermark on free. Storage capped on free.
Different tools for different jobs. If you just need “a quick thing for a colleague,” any of them works. If you need “no watermark, no per-seat, hosted share link with analytics,” Pullsy is the only one that gives all three free.
Frequently asked questions
The quick rule
- Browser-only, hosted share link, free AI, no watermark → Pullsy
- Desktop power, no time limit, you’ll host the file yourself → OBS
- One-off Mac capture, no fuss → QuickTime
- Chrome-tab capture, fast → Screencastify (accept the watermark on free)
- AI-assisted editing for content → Vmaker (accept the watermark)
- Captions out of the box → ScreenPal
If you want to test the #1 option without installing anything, open pullsy.online/record — no signup, no install, recording in 30 seconds.
Loom is a trademark of Atlassian. Pullsy is not affiliated with or endorsed by Loom. Loom plan details reflect Loom’s public pricing pages as of July 2026.