Pullsy vs Cap: Which Free Loom Alternative Wins in 2026?
If you’re shopping for a Loom replacement in 2026, two names keep coming up: Cap and Pullsy Record. Both are free, both target the same audience (people who want Loom without Loom), and both market themselves as “free Loom alternative.” But they solve the problem in very different ways, and the right choice depends on what you’re actually doing with the recordings.
This is an honest side-by-side. We built Pullsy, so we have skin in the game — but I’ll be straight about where Cap wins.
Quick verdict
- Pick Pullsy if you need to record from a locked-down device (iPad, Chromebook, corporate laptop, a friend’s machine), hate downloading installers, want AI transcript + chat-with-video built-in, or just want to hit record and share a link in under 10 seconds.
- Pick Cap if you record regularly from a desktop you control, need 4K at 60fps, want polished native-app editing, and you’re happy installing a Tauri-based app.
Cap is an open-source desktop app built on Tauri. Pullsy is a hosted browser app at pullsy.online/record — we ship the same experience on the web without requiring an install; Cap ships the same idea as a desktop app from cap.so.
Feature comparison
| Pullsy Record | Cap | |
|---|---|---|
| Install required | No — runs in any modern browser tab | Yes — Tauri desktop app (~50MB) |
| Free recording length | 5 min (Pro = unlimited) | Unlimited |
| AI transcript | Free, automatic (Whisper) | Free on recordings ≤ 5 min |
| AI chat with video | Yes, free for all viewers | No |
| Loom import | Yes, paste a Loom URL → rehost | No |
| Self-host option | Yes (Cloudflare Worker, free tier) | Yes (you run the desktop client) |
| Embed anywhere | Yes (Notion, GitHub, Slack, LinkedIn oEmbed) | Yes (S3 / your own storage) |
| Custom domain | Yes (point any CF-fronted domain) | Yes (you host it) |
| Mobile recording | Camera only (iOS/Android can’t capture screen from a browser) | Yes via the desktop app on Android, no iOS support |
| Pricing | Free with limits / Pro for unlimited | Free / Studio for $9/mo |
| Works on iPad | Yes | No |
| Works on Chromebook | Yes | No |
Why I built Pullsy after trying Cap
I tried Cap first. It’s well-built — the editor is genuinely good, the Tauri app launches fast, and the desktop capture quality is excellent. But I ran into three real problems within a week of using it:
1. The 50MB download is a wall. Every time I wanted to record something for someone, I had to first wait for the install (or update). On a fresh laptop — borrowed, rented, or work-managed — that 50MB download turned a 30-second task into a 5-minute detour. Loom has the same problem. Pullsy Record runs in the browser tab you already have open.
2. iPad and Chromebook are just out. My wife’s an iPad-only user. Half my extended family are Chromebook-only. Cap can’t help any of them. Pullsy Record runs on anything that has Chrome or Safari, which today is more or less anything with a screen.
3. Loom import no longer works (Loom changed how their videos are served in 2026). When I was migrating off Loom, I had 200+ recordings there. Cap doesn’t import them either — you have to download each one manually from Loom and then re-upload through the Cap app. With Pullsy, the recommended path today is the same: download from Loom, then drop the file into the recorder. Free hosting for 30 days, no account needed. (See our guide on how to download a Loom video for free for the underlying pattern.)
None of this means Cap is bad. It just means the trade-off they picked — a desktop app, polished editing, more features per click — is the wrong one for the way I use a screen recorder, which is “captured a 90-second bug repro and need to send the link.” If that’s also your use case, Pullsy is built for you.
Who should still pick Cap
Cap is a genuinely better choice if any of these apply:
- You record at 4K 60fps. Pullsy’s browser-side MediaRecorder caps lower because the browser codec pipeline wasn’t designed for sustained high-bitrate screen capture. Cap’s Tauri app can hit the GPU encoder and stay there.
- You edit recordings. Pullsy only captures and shares — there’s no trim, no cut, no overlay, no zoom. Cap’s built-in editor is solid. If you want to skip the boring parts of a recording, you’ll want a real editor.
- You want native notifications and dock integration. Cap lives in your system tray and feels like a real piece of Mac/Windows software. Pullsy is a web page. If you record daily, that polish matters.
- You have a beefy desktop and never need to record from anywhere else. The Tauri install is a one-time cost. If the answer to “where are you recording?” is always “at my desk,” the install is fine.
How to switch from Cap to Pullsy
If you’ve been holding recordings on Cap’s hosting and want them on Pullsy:
- Export each recording from Cap as an
.mp4(Cap’s web app has an export-to-MP4 option for Pro users; for free, use the local file Cap stores after recording). - Go to pullsy.online/record, click the Loom importer, and paste the Cap share URL — or just hit record again and re-record what you need. The new file gets a permanent share link with an AI transcript attached.
- Update any internal docs that link to your old Cap URLs.
There’s no migration tool that bulk-grabs your Cap library — both tools treat recordings as user data and don’t expose a list endpoint. For a single recording the Loom-import flow takes about 10 seconds. For 50+ recordings, budget 15-30 minutes.
Try both
Pullsy Record: pullsy.online/record — no signup.
Cap: cap.so — downloads the desktop app.
If you try Pullsy and a feature’s missing that you actually need, hit us at hello@pullsy.online. We read every email.