The best Loom alternatives for Mac in 2026 are JustRec for private client videos, CleanShot X for screenshots plus quick recordings, Cap for an open-source option with a free tier, Screen Studio for polished demos, Tella for edited presentations, Zight for a Loom-style cloud workspace, and the free macOS recorder for files you send yourself. Prices below were checked on each vendor’s official site in November 2026.
Disclosure: we make JustRec. It’s listed first because it’s ours, not because it wins every row. It also isn’t released yet.
Loom alternatives compared
| App | Best for | Price | Free option | Where videos live | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JustRec | Client videos with expiring links | €19 once (early bird), Personal €6.90/month yearly | No | Your Mac; shared copy in the EU until the link expires | Mac |
| CleanShot X | Screenshots and quick recordings | $35 once, Pro $10/user/month yearly | No (30-day money-back) | Your Mac; optional CleanShot Cloud | Mac |
| Cap | Open source, local or cloud | Free, $58 once, Pro $8.16/user/month yearly | Yes, personal use | Your Mac; Cap cloud or your own S3 | Mac, Windows (beta), Linux |
| Screen Studio | Polished product demos | $9/month yearly, $29 monthly | Not listed | Your Mac; uploaded when you create a link | Mac |
| Tella | Edited, branded presentations | $13/user/month yearly | 7-day trial | Tella’s cloud | Mac, Windows, Chrome |
| Zight | Loom-style cloud workspace | $9.95/user/month yearly | Yes, 5-minute videos | Zight’s cloud | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome |
| macOS recorder | Free recordings you send as files | Free | Built in | Your Mac | Mac |
| Loom (for reference) | Team video library | $18/user/month, $180/user/year | Yes, 25 videos, 5 minutes | Loom’s cloud | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome |
Loom is a trademark of Atlassian. All other product names are trademarks of their owners. Prices in USD from each official site except JustRec (EUR, excluding VAT, may change before launch). Checked November 2026.
How to choose
Ask three questions before you look at features:
- Who watches? Teammates who comment and reuse videos need a cloud library. A client who watches once needs a link that opens without an account.
- Where should the video live? Cloud tools keep every video online until you delete it. Local-first tools keep the original on your Mac and upload only what you share. We explain the difference in local-first screen recording.
- How do you want to pay? Per user per month, or once. Over a few years the gap is large.
JustRec
A menu bar app for Mac that records your screen and camera and copies a share link when you press stop. Recordings stay in a library on your Mac. Shared copies are stored in the EU and deleted when the link expires: after 3 days on Lifetime, 30 days on Personal and Team. Subtitles are generated on your Mac. The client page has no cookies or tracking.
Price: Lifetime €19 once (early bird), then €29, videos up to 10 minutes. Personal €6.90/month billed yearly or €8.90 monthly, Team €4.90/user/month billed yearly (minimum 3 users), both up to 30 minutes. Prices exclude VAT and may change before launch.
JustRec is good at
- Link in your clipboard the moment you stop
- Links expire and the online copy is deleted
- Shared copies stored in the EU
- On-device subtitles
- One-time Lifetime plan
JustRec falls short on
- Not released yet: waitlist only
- Mac only, macOS 15 or later
- No comments, reactions or viewer analytics
- No integrations or cloud library
- 10-minute limit on Lifetime
The full head-to-head is in JustRec vs Loom, and the short version on our Loom alternative for Mac page.
CleanShot X
A Mac screenshot app that also records the screen, with a video editor with smart zooms, annotation tools and 4K quality. Uploads go to CleanShot Cloud for sharing. It requires macOS 13 or newer and there is no Windows version.
Price: CleanShot Basic is $35 once, with one year of updates (optional renewal at $19 a year) and 1 GB of Cloud storage. CleanShot Pro is $10 per user per month billed annually, with unlimited storage, custom domain and branding, password protection and team management. No free plan; a 30-day money-back guarantee. It’s also included in Setapp.
CleanShot X is good at
- Screenshots and recordings in one app
- One-time price for the app
- Recordings stay on your Mac until you upload
CleanShot X falls short on
- Mac only
- Only 1 GB of Cloud on Basic
- Updates beyond the first year cost extra
Cap
An open-source screen recorder with apps for macOS, Windows (beta) and Linux, and a Studio Mode with a full editor. It can be self-hosted, and Cap Pro can store videos in your own S3 bucket or Google Drive.
Price: Free for personal use, with unlimited local recording and 25 shareable links a month of up to 5 minutes each. The Desktop License adds commercial use for $29 per year or $58 once. Cap Pro is $12 per user per month, or $8.16 a month billed annually, with unlimited links and storage, transcriptions, viewer analytics, password-protected shares, custom domain and a Loom importer.
Cap is good at
- Open source and self-hostable
- Free plan and a one-time license
- Bring your own storage on Pro
- Imports your Loom library on Pro
Cap falls short on
- Free plan is personal use only
- Cloud links capped at 5 minutes without Pro
- Windows app is still a beta
Screen Studio
A Mac recorder made for polished demos and tutorials: automatic zoom based on your clicks, smoothed motion, camera cutout and hide-during-silence for the webcam. Its FAQ says recordings are stored and processed locally and AI features such as transcription run on your computer. Shareable links upload only when you create one, in 1080p at 60 fps for videos up to 30 minutes, with comments and view counts.
Price: $9 a month on the yearly plan or $29 month to month, every feature in every plan. One-time licenses are no longer sold to new buyers. macOS 13.1 or later is recommended; there are no near-future plans for Windows.
Screen Studio is good at
- The most polished-looking demos here
- Local processing and on-device transcription
- Links with comments when you need them
Screen Studio falls short on
- Mac only
- $29 a month if you don't commit to a year
- More editing than a quick client message needs
Tella
A recorder and editor for presentation-style videos, with layouts, zoom effects, subtitle editing and styling, and transcription in 106 languages. It has native macOS and Windows recorders and a Chrome extension. Videos are hosted by Tella and shared as a video page or embed, with analytics, comments and call-to-action buttons.
Price: Pro is $13 per user per month billed annually, Premium $19 per user per month billed annually (custom domain, Tella branding removed). No free plan; a 7-day free trial.
Tella is good at
- Strong editing for presentation videos
- Subtitles in 106 languages
- Mac and Windows recorders
Tella falls short on
- No free plan
- Videos live in Tella's cloud
- Per-user subscription
Zight
Zight is the closest to Loom in this list: a cloud workspace for screenshots, GIFs and videos, with desktop apps for Mac and Windows, mobile apps and a Chrome extension. Paid plans add video expiration, view notifications, transcription in 50+ languages and custom call-to-action buttons.
Price: Share is free, with 1 GB of storage, recordings up to 5 minutes and up to 720p. Create is $9.95 per user per month billed annually, with unlimited recording time and 5 GB of storage. Collaborate is $12 per user per month billed annually. Annual billing saves 20% compared with monthly.
Zight is good at
- Free plan to try it
- Link expiration on paid plans
- Apps on every platform
Zight falls short on
- Free videos capped at 5 minutes and 720p
- Everything lives in Zight's cloud
- Per-user subscription
The macOS screen recorder
Every Mac can record its screen for free: press ⌘⇧5 to open the Screenshot toolbar and record the whole screen, a selected portion or, on macOS Tahoe 26 or later, a single window. macOS 27 adds an Include System Audio option. Recordings are saved as .mov files on your desktop, and QuickTime Player can trim them.
Price: Free, built in.
The macOS recorder is good at
- Free, nothing to install
- Records system audio on macOS 27
- Files never leave your Mac
The macOS recorder falls short on
- No share link: you send a file
- No camera bubble
- No subtitles
Our guide to screen recording on Mac walks through it, and JustRec vs QuickTime shows what it leaves out for client work. If you go this route, here’s how to send a large video to a client without email bouncing it.
Our pick by situation
- You send short videos to clients and care where they end up: JustRec (join the waitlist), or Cap if you want something free today.
- You take more screenshots than videos: CleanShot X.
- You publish product demos and tutorials: Screen Studio.
- You make edited presentations or sales videos: Tella.
- Your team wants Loom’s model at a lower price: Zight, or Cap Pro.
- You record now and then and email the file: the built-in recorder.
If your concern with Loom is data protection rather than price, read Loom and GDPR and why expiring links are safer before you choose.
Sources
- Loom pricing and Atlassian Support: How long can I record?, checked November 2026.
- CleanShot X pricing, checked November 2026.
- Cap pricing and Cap download, checked November 2026.
- Screen Studio, pricing and FAQ, checked November 2026.
- Tella pricing, checked November 2026.
- Zight pricing, checked November 2026.
- Apple Support: How to record the screen on Mac, checked November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free Loom alternative for Mac?
For recording only, the Screenshot toolbar built into macOS is free and needs no install. If you also want share links, Cap and Zight have free plans, both limited to videos of up to 5 minutes.
Which Loom alternatives have a one-time price?
CleanShot X Basic is $35 once with one year of updates, Cap's Desktop License is $58 once, and JustRec Lifetime will be €19 once at the early-bird price, then €29. Screen Studio no longer sells one-time licenses to new buyers.
Which Loom alternative keeps recordings on my Mac?
JustRec, CleanShot X, Cap, Screen Studio and the macOS recorder all save recordings on your Mac and upload only when you share. Tella and Zight are cloud platforms like Loom.
Is there a Loom alternative that also works on Windows?
Yes. Cap, Tella and Zight have Windows apps, and Cap's Windows app is a beta. JustRec, CleanShot X and Screen Studio are Mac only.
Which Loom alternative is best for sending videos to clients?
It depends on what the client needs to do. If they just watch and reply, a tool with share links and no viewer account works, such as JustRec or Cap. If you need comments and view tracking on the video, Zight, Tella or Cap Pro offer them.