Working professionals in the past year have probably come to know the names of a horde of apps that they otherwise would have remained in the dark about. Video chatting and messaging apps have taken priority as one of the foremost ways of team communication.
However, being on calls 24×7 can take its toll, and hence screen recording software came to the fore.
Loom is such a platform that allows people to record screens and share them with their teams. It cuts down on prep time for meetings and allows you to be free for other work.
With a Forever Free package that allows up to 50 Creators and a Chrome extension, Loom is a lucrative tool, but maybe not for everyone. It does get laggy and any engagement insights can only be viewed with the paid package.
Moreover, editing is severely restricted and you might need another app for that.
Also, with the free version, videos can only be a maximum of 5 minutes long!
Whatever the reason may be, if you’re looking for Loom alternatives, we’ve got you covered.
1. Snagit
Snagit excels in its screen capturing. One can take panoramic captures by scrolling or navigating to the sides or below. In other words, it is capable of taking rolling screenshots.
Other than that, it can record portions of a screen and export it as an MP4 or as a GIF. One can add text or annotations as needed. Webcam capture is available.
After recording, one can trim videos. For images, Snagit has many more editing options. Like Photoshop, one can rearrange elements, delete parts of them, and blend others.
By adding a series of images, you can convert it into a video or a GIF. Stickers can be added to images. Another interesting feature is Grab Text. With Grab Text, you can extract text from an image and copy it to the clipboard and then paste it elsewhere.
With Snagit, you can also post it directly on YouTube or social media or even export it to Camtasia!
However, it cannot directly generate a link for sharing that you can paste in places. You can only share videos using Screencast.com as a mediator. Snagit has many features that make it a great choice for sharing and recording videos.
Snagit does not have any free version. The lowest version starts at $37.49 as a one-time fee for a single-user license. Educational institutes can get a single license for $22.49 (one-time payment).
2. CloudApp
With great editing capabilities, CloudApp is a brilliant choice for recording and sharing messages.
Moreover, it supports different types of messages – customer support, sales, product explanations, education, designers and engineers, and more.
After recording your screen, CloudApp lets you add text and annotations as needed. You can even convert shorter portions of it into GIFs to distribute via other channels.
People in the customer care industry might find GIFs extremely useful in creating follow-along tutorials for their customers. Teachers, too, might find it useful for explaining shorter concepts.
Moreover, while recording the screen, you can also switch on your webcam to include a view of yourself. While screen capturing, you can set the exact amount of screen you want to be recorded.
You can exclude features like the status bar or taskbar. Now comes the best part. CloudApp offers its cloud hosting services absolutely at no extra charge!
All your videos are stored in the cloud and you can share them in the form of links, as well as set passwords and expiration dates. You can also sort your videos into groups and collections and search them easily.
CloudApp has a forever-free plan.
However, this only allows a maximum recording time of 90 seconds. If you are simply looking to make short GIFs, this is enough. A major con of CloudApp is that one cannot trim videos in any way within the platform.
3. VEED
If the interface of Camtasia looks too hard to you, then VEED is probably the alternative you’re looking for.
VEED is a screen recording and video editing tool that performs as well as any video editor. While recording, you can access multiple split or shared screen layouts. Then, you can take it to the edition screen.
However, you can also simply import any other video and edit it on VEED as well.
The VEED video editor has everything one could possibly need. From audio trimming, green screen removal, video looping, GIF making, and more. You can add auto-subtitles by transcribing the audio into text, convert your video into multiple formats, and even get a separate SRT file for subtitles.
VEED comes with a special YouTube Clip Maker where you can trim videos, annotate or add transitions, and then directly upload them onto the platform.
However, despite its many features, VEED has an extremely easy-to-use interface. With many tutorials on their website, one can easily master this tool in a day.
The free version allows one to make videos of up to 10 minutes in length and a size of 50 MB, with an assigned cloud storage space of 2GB.
All collaborative features are only available in the paid versions. The free version does have the auto-subtitle feature. With the Pro plan, one can record for up to 2 hours.
4. Clip by ClickUp
While ClickUp is most known for its project management tool, Clip is another venture by the team to bring out an exemplary screen recording tool.
The best part of Clip is that when used with ClickUp, you get seamless integration between the two and features like goal tracking, chatting and time tracking.
Now back to Clip. Clip allows one to record their screen or part of their screen along with audio capture using the microphone. As of now, Clip does not support webcam usage.
Once recorded, Clip generates a link that you can copy and share. If you are already using ClickUp, you can paste the link anywhere and it will simply play within the browser itself.
You can also add texts or tasks along with the clip. With ClickUp, these videos can become actionable items that one can assign to team members. Moreover, you can easily integrate it with YouTube, Giphy, or Google Drive.
Similar to CloudApp, you cannot trim or edit the videos in any way other than by adding annotations and texts to them. The Forever Free plan allows one with 100MB of storage and the ability to create unlimited videos while adding unlimited members onto the plan.
5. Soapbox
Soapbox is a great screen recording tool and one that allows much more flexibility than the earlier two when it comes to video editing.
Made by Wistia, Soapbox allows on to record screens, along with microphone audio and webcam video. Users can switch between the three, making any a bigger part of the screen as and when needed.
So you can allow webcam video as a small box or make it a split-screen. You can even customize the video player that the video will play in, by creating your own CTA buttons.
It is available as a Chrome extension that makes recording screens on the browser extremely easy. The videos can be shared using Wistia Channels. You can also use Wistia Channels to build up your own library of videos, so Soapbox is a great choice for those looking to make podcasts or tutorial videos.
Post-processing with Soapbox is quite easy and flexible. One can directly share the video to social media channels. You can also edit it to add annotations and text overlays (or create GIFs from it).
Additionally, one can add transitions but trimming is not allowed. The free version allows one to access a single channel. The video player will also have Wistia branding.
However, the free version comes with the A/B Testing – something not seen in the other free versions! With this, you can set different thumbnails, choose a control video, and track the user engagement, play rate, play count and action counts of up to 2 videos at a time.
You can see detailed breakdowns like an engagement graph to identify weak portions of the video, check video heatmaps to see skipped parts, and integrate all this with Hubspot or Google Analytics.
6. Fluvid
If there’s one thing that most tools have not been able to provide until now – it’s the video trimming capability. Most efforts at video editing are woefully limited.
But not so with Fluvid!
Fluvid, apart from being a screen recording tool, allows webcam and audio capture as well. Along with this, it generates an easy-to-share link.
Once done, you can trim the videos or crop them from the sides to exclude unnecessary data. Fluvid also allows live streaming options directly to social media platforms that support it (Instagram Live, Twitch etc.).
While recording, annotation features are available so you can annotate while recording instead of doing it in post-production. You can even choose for the mouse to get highlighted and use it as a pointer. All videos get stored onto the Fluvid Video Dashboard where you can edit them further or manage them.
Finally, if you’re advertising via these videos, you can add a lead generation form or a CTA within the video. Similar to Soapbox, Fluvid’s platform allows sharing simultaneously to multiple social media sites. Access to these videos can be restricted by password-protecting them.
Available as a Chrome extension and a desktop version for Windows, Fluvid is a great choice for educators. However, there is no iOS version as of now.
Fluvid has a forever-free plan that comes with no watermarks, a limit of 50 videos and a video recording limit of 1 hour, which is a great deal! With the Pro Plan, one can access advanced analytics, group sharing, and live streaming.
7. Camtasia
Camtasia presents itself as the best screen recording tool for presentations, training, and how-to videos. Let’s take a look at this claim!
Camtasia allows screen recording for all types of apps; supports part-screen recording with audio and webcam capture.
Where Camtasia excels is in its editing capabilities. It offers multiple video templates and allows one to edit their videos as well as any basic video editor! So you can add elements, not limited to text but even pictures, and traditions.
Camtasia has its own library of elements, including royalty-free music that you can add to the background. Any transition set you like, you can save it as a favorite. Their editor works with a drag-and-drop feature that, despite its many abilities, makes it simple to learn and use.
Along with this, Camtasia allows cursor highlighting or magnification, cool animated effects and customized bran colors.
Working on a green screen?
Replace it using Camtasia’s green screen editor and add stock footage from their library.
Finally, Camtasia allows one to increase engagement by adding interactive quizzes onto their videos. From the video library, you can directly upload it onto YouTube and Vimeo. You can also include closed captions, and reduce background noises in post-processing.
On the whole, Camtasia is a well-rounded editing and recording tool.
The con?
Camtasia has no free plan. It comes with a one-time fee that allows a single-user license and access to all features.
8. JumpShare
JumpShare markets itself as a Loom alternative, which makes it a perfect inclusion to this list.
With over 200 supported file formats, JumpShare allows one to capture screenshots and record the screen along with the audio. The tool manifests as a tray towards the right, from where you can control the recording aspects as well as the files.
While recording, you can draw on the screen and enable click tracking for cursor highlighting. JumpShare allows 4K screen recording and GIF exports. During post-production, you can embed a CTA button on your video. You can customize this based on the shape and color.
Moreover, JumpShare is also present as an icon on the taskbar so that you can open it anytime. Unlike browser extensions, you can use it to record other OS screens as well.
You can directly use their emailing service to send the video as a shareable link over email. You can set up link expiration dates and even enable or disable downloads. JumpShare also offers real-time tracking where you can see who viewed these files and when. You can even set up reminders every time someone downloads or sees the videos.
The JumpShare dash allows for easy organization of files; collaborators can leave comments on timestamps. The forever-free version allows only 30 seconds of recording with 2GB of cloud storage space.
However, with the Plus Plan at $8.25 per month, you can access analytics, password-protect files, set up self-destruction, collaborate, and add custom branding.
9. Vidyard
Vidyard allows one to record screens and webcams with audio for up to 1 hour. These videos can then be edited and posted with a thumbnail.
With Vidyard, you can share the videos as a link, send them over emails, embed them on a website, or share them on social media platforms. An additional feature offered is the ability to embed smaller animated previews onto the thumbnail.
The videos can contain CTA buttons or links to landing pages.
However, where Vidyard succeeds is in its insights and analytics. For shares, you can follow up on the individuals who saw it, their scene time, and their location.
Generally, you can look at total engagement, the total number of views, unique views, and more. All this is displayed on a monthly or week-wise basis.
If you’re working with a team, you can see whose videos have the best engagement rate. From here on, you can directly export this data onto a CRM for actions. They also offer hosting services for the videos.
However, after all this, Vidyard offers limited editing opportunities.
Vidyard’s free plan allows unlimited recording, uploads, and sharing. However, one cannot collaborate or access insights.
The Pro Plan at $15 per month, allows one to embed CTA buttons. For insights, one needs the Teams plan that comes at $300 per month.
On the whole, Vidyard comes with a hefty tag that may suit specific businesses only.
10. ActivePresenter
Available for a one-time payment fee of $199 per month, ActivePresenter is certainly one of the best screen recording tools out there.
ActivePresenter allows one to record the screen, along with audio and webcam capture. If you’re alternating between a screen and notes, you can set ActivePresenter to record a single task so that any other open windows will not be captured.
After recording, ActivePresenter exports the video into a Powerpoint-like simulation where one can slow it down, trim it, or add transitions in much the same way as one would in Powerpoint.
The UI offers some semblance of familiarity; however, it’s still quite complex and has many features. For beginners, ActivePresenter may be a bit heavy to get used to.
Originally made as an e-learning tool, ActivePresenter can be easily configured with any Learning Management System. With an LMS, you can intersperse sources with graded questions and quizzes.
You can also track the performance of the students. Using the HTTP method, ActivePresenter can track user progress without the help of any LMS as well.
There is a free version meant for personal and non-commercial use only. ActivePresenter does not offer any direct link sharing options, which could be a severe limitation for office purposes.
However, those running e-learning sites or teaching online for schools could greatly benefit from this.
Conclusion
There we have it! A list of tools with much better editing capabilities and sharing ease than Loom.
Depending on your needs, you might want to opt for something like Camtasia that allows editing flexibility, or something like VEED that allows multiple recording layouts.
For office purposes, it certainly helps to pick a tool with cloud hosting like Soapbox or CloudApp to share videos via links.
However, ActivePresenter can be a great option for schools where there are dedicated pages for embedding videos.
If you’re managing multiple videos in a place, it’s best to get something that offers a good dash like CloudApp.
Let us know which tool suits your needs best!
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