Loom vs Screen Studio Comparison 2026
Loom records your screen and face together and hands you a shareable link the moment you stop, free on Starter with capped length, then $18 a month for Business. Screen Studio has no free tier at all, $29 a month, but zooms toward whatever was clicked and smooths the cursor automatically, so a first take looks edited. Screen Studio's own comparison draws the line plainly: Loom is for correspondence sent as a link, and Screen Studio is for a file meant to look produced on a sales page or a course, though it runs on macOS only.
At a glance
- Loom starts cheaper, at $18.
- Only Loom has a free tier.
Side by side
Loom | Screen Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $18 | From $29 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free plan, paid tiers | Paid subscription |
| Free tier (they differ) | Yes | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Yes |
Loom
Screen recordings that go out as a link
Loom records your screen and your face together and hands you a link the moment you stop, so the thing you would have written three paragraphs about arrives as a two minute video instead. Viewers can reply on a timestamp rather than describing where they got confused. Editing is trimming and little else, so a cut that needs more than that belongs somewhere else.
Our note
Loom is for the video nobody would otherwise have made. Buy it for correspondence rather than publishing, and check the free plan's length limit against the way you actually explain things before paying for anything.
Only on this side
- Covers video hosting
Screen Studio
Screen recordings that zoom themselves
Screen Studio records a screen and then does the editing nobody wants to do: it zooms towards whatever was clicked, smooths the cursor and animates the transitions, so a first take looks edited. Vertical export is built in for short-form. It is macOS only, which decides the question for a lot of people.
Why people weigh these two
- Screen Studio instead of Loom
- Screen Studio at $29 zooms the recording automatically, output that looks produced rather than captured, bought once instead of monthly.
- Loom instead of Screen Studio
- Screen Studio's own advice sends Windows and Linux users to Loom instead, since Screen Studio only runs on a Mac.
Which one should you pick
Choose Loom for the video nobody would otherwise have made: a client walkthrough, feedback on a draft, a team update watched at each person's own pace. The free Starter plan is worth checking against how long your explanations actually run before paying $18 a month for Business.
Choose Screen Studio if the recording is going on a sales page or inside a course rather than into a message thread, since automatic zoom and cursor smoothing make a first take look edited without a manual pass. It is macOS only, which settles the question immediately for Windows or Linux users, and there is no free tier to test it on.
Common questions
- Which one is cheaper?
- Loom has a free Starter plan and Business is $18 a month. Screen Studio has no free tier at all, starting at $29 a month, though a cheaper yearly option exists.
- Which one automatically zooms and smooths the cursor?
- Screen Studio does, which is its whole reason to exist: it zooms toward whatever was clicked and animates cursor movement so a first take looks edited. Loom's editing is trimming and joining takes, and not much else.
- Does Screen Studio work on Windows?
- No, it is macOS only, which decides the question immediately for anyone on Windows or Linux. Loom runs more broadly and is the closer answer for non-Mac users.
- Which one is better for sharing a quick explanation with a client?
- Loom, according to both listings: it hands you a link the moment you stop recording, built for correspondence rather than publishing. Screen Studio is aimed at a finished file for a sales page or a course, not a quick message.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.