Loom
Loom's viewer engagement analytics — showing who watched, when they stopped, and what they rewatched — transforms async video from a one-way broadcast into a feedback loop that synchronous meetings can't provide. Essential in this category.
The take
What is Loom?
Loom is a screen and camera recording tool founded in 2015 by Shahed Khan, Vinay Hiremath, and Joe Thomas in San Francisco. It enables asynchronous video communication — replacing scheduled meetings with shareable recorded messages. Atlassian acquired Loom for $975 million in October 2023, making it one of the largest productivity software acquisitions of that year. As of 2024, Loom has over 25 million users across 200,000+ companies.
The product’s core workflow: open the browser extension or desktop app, click record, capture your screen and camera simultaneously, stop, and share a link. The recording is immediately accessible to anyone with the link — no account required for viewers. Loom’s viewer engagement analytics track who watched, for how long, and which sections they rewatched, making async video accountable in a way that email can’t be.
Loom sits at the center of the 80/20 of screen recording tools we cover for async communication. It integrates with Slack, Notion, Jira, and GitHub — the core collaboration tools of most distributed teams.
How does Loom work?
Loom is built on three components: the recording tool, the viewer platform, and the analytics layer. Together they make async video a two-way communication loop rather than a one-way broadcast.
Recording and sharing
The Loom browser extension installs in Chrome or Edge in under a minute. Clicking the extension icon opens a recording panel where you select what to capture: screen, camera bubble, screen plus camera simultaneously, or camera only. There’s no render wait — the video link is ready to share while recording is still processing. Desktop apps for Mac and Windows offer the same workflow with additional quality settings.
Recording quality defaults to 720p on free plans and reaches 4K on Business and Enterprise tiers. The camera bubble appears in a fixed corner of the screen during recording, making the speaker visible without taking up meaningful screen space. Most Loom recordings run between two and eight minutes — long enough to communicate context, short enough to watch in one sitting.
Viewer platform and comments
Loom’s viewer platform plays recordings in any browser with no app required. Viewers can leave timestamped comments at any point in the video — “at 1:34 you mentioned the Figma file, can you share the link?” — creating a threaded discussion anchored to specific moments. Emoji reactions let viewers signal agreement or confusion without a full comment. The recording creator receives notifications for every interaction.
This comment system converts async video from a presentation format into a conversation format. A Loom recording with active comments approaches the information density of a synchronous meeting without requiring schedule coordination. Product managers sharing feature walkthroughs in Loom often receive more detailed feedback via comments than they would in a live demo session where participants hesitate to ask questions.
Viewer engagement analytics
Loom tracks who watched each video, how long they watched, where they paused or rewound, and whether they left a comment or reaction. This data appears in the Loom dashboard per video. For customer-facing use cases, engagement analytics tell customer success managers whether a client watched the onboarding video before their next call. For internal use, they tell team leads whether their update video was absorbed before the next sprint review.
This analytics layer is what separates Loom from basic screen recording tools. A QuickTime recording shared in Slack disappears into the message stream with no confirmation it was watched. A Loom link generates a viewer report that makes async accountability visible.
How does Loom compare to Screen Studio, Vidyard, and Zight?
Loom leads on viewer analytics and team collaboration features. Screen Studio leads on production quality for Mac-only creators. Vidyard leads on sales-specific engagement tools. Zight (formerly CloudApp) leads on lightweight screenshot and GIF workflows alongside video.
| Attribute | Loom | Screen Studio | Vidyard | Zight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Team async communication | High-production Mac demos | Sales video prospecting | Quick screenshots + GIFs |
| Viewer analytics | Yes — per viewer data | Basic views only | Yes — sales-focused | Basic |
| Platform | Web, Mac, Windows | Mac only | Web, Mac, Windows | Mac, Windows |
| Free tier | 25 videos | No free tier | Unlimited videos | 25 items/month |
| AI features | Summaries, action items | None | AI script generator | None |
| Team collaboration | Yes — workspaces, folders | No | Yes | Limited |
| Jira/Confluence integration | Native (Atlassian-owned) | None | Limited | None |
| Starting price | $18/user/month | $89 one-time | $19/user/month | $9.95/user/month |
| 80/20 verdict | Pick for team async | Pick for Mac product demos | Pick for sales outreach | Pick for screenshots + GIFs |
“Loom changed how our team communicates — instead of a 30-minute status meeting, I record a 3-minute video and everyone watches on their own schedule. The viewer analytics confirm it was actually watched,” said Maya Chen, Productivity Editor at tools8020 and a former operations manager at a distributed SaaS company.
Who uses Loom in 2026?
Loom’s primary users are distributed and remote teams at companies where asynchronous communication is a deliberate operating choice, not just a workaround. Product managers recording feature walkthroughs for engineering teams, engineering leads explaining technical decisions for product teams, and customer success managers sending personalized video responses to support tickets are the three highest-volume use cases.
Atlassian’s acquisition reflected their observation that Loom was already deeply embedded in Jira and Confluence workflows through user-generated integrations. Now those integrations are native: a Loom recorded during a code review embeds directly in the relevant GitHub PR or Jira ticket with full playback.
Solo founders and freelancers use Loom for client communication — sharing design iterations, explaining invoice line items, or walking through a deliverable in two minutes rather than scheduling a review call. The free tier’s 25-video limit is generous enough for this use case. When client volume grows, the Business plan at $18/user/month pays for itself in one meeting avoided per month.
When should you skip Loom?
Loom is the wrong tool in three scenarios. Identify these before building an async video workflow that the platform can’t support.
- You need live real-time discussion. Async video reduces meeting load for status updates and information sharing, but decisions requiring immediate back-and-forth still need Zoom or a synchronous tool. Don’t replace all meetings with Loom — replace the ones where live discussion isn’t necessary.
- You’re producing polished marketing or sales videos. Loom’s editor is limited to trimming start and end points. For multi-clip editing, B-roll, transitions, or polished brand videos, use Descript for spoken content or CapCut for social media clips.
- You’re on Mac and need cinema-quality screen recordings for product marketing. Screen Studio produces Mac screen recordings with Apple-quality aesthetics — zoom animations, smooth scrolling effects, device frames — that Loom’s recording engine doesn’t replicate.
How much does Loom cost?
The free Starter tier includes up to 25 videos per person (5-minute recording cap) with unlimited viewer access. The Business plan at $18/user/month removes the video and recording caps and adds team workspaces, engagement analytics, custom branding, and 4K recording.
| Plan | Price | Key inclusions |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0 | Up to 25 videos/person, 5-min recordings, transcripts in 50+ languages, up to 50 members |
| Business | $18/user/month | Unlimited videos, unlimited recording time, 4K, basic editing, remove Loom branding |
| Business + AI | $24/user/month | Everything in Business plus Loom AI — auto summaries, titles, chapters, tasks, meeting notes |
| Enterprise | Contact Sales | SSO/SCIM, Salesforce integration, 99.95% uptime SLA, advanced admin controls, dedicated support |
Pricing verified at loom.com/pricing on 2026-05-25. Monthly billing is shown; Loom notes you save up to 17% paying annually. Teams of five on Business pay roughly $90/month — evaluate actual video volume and meeting reduction to confirm the ROI before purchasing.
How we evaluated Loom
This review draws on Maya Chen’s three years of daily Loom use for async team communication, customer documentation, and onboarding video workflows, including direct comparison with Screen Studio, Vidyard, and Zight on equivalent recording tasks. Pricing was verified at loom.com/pricing on 2026-05-25.
See our evaluation methodology for the full criteria. For live video conferencing, see Zoom. For the 80/20 stack for solo founders, Loom is the default pick for async communication in distributed solo and small-team operations.
Strengths & trade-offs
What earns the score
- Zero-friction recording — start a Loom in under 5 seconds from any browser
- Viewer engagement analytics tell you whether your video was actually watched
- Atlassian acquisition ($975M, 2023) means Jira and Confluence native integrations are first-class
- Free tier is genuinely useful — up to 25 videos per person and unlimited viewers (screen recordings capped at 5 minutes)
Where it falls short
- Free tier caps at 25 videos; teams with high recording volume need Business plans quickly
- Not a video editor — trimming is limited to cut start/end; no timeline editing for complex productions
- AI summary quality drops on recordings over 30 minutes or with multiple speakers
- Video quality maxes at 4K but defaults to 720p compression on free tier
Frequently asked questions
Is Loom free?
Loom's free Starter tier includes up to 25 videos per person with a 5-minute recording cap and unlimited viewer access. The Business plan at $18/user/month removes the video and recording-length caps and adds team workspaces, custom branding, 4K recording, and engagement analytics. For consistent team use, Business is the necessary tier.
How does Loom compare to Zoom for team communication?
Loom and Zoom solve different problems. Zoom is synchronous — everyone meets at the same time. Loom is asynchronous — you record when convenient, and viewers watch on their schedule. Loom is better for status updates, feedback sessions, and information sharing that doesn't require real-time discussion. Zoom is better for live decision-making, brainstorming, and conversations where immediate back-and-forth matters.
What is Loom AI?
Loom AI generates automatic summaries, action item lists, and chapter markers for recorded videos. It's included on the Business + AI plan ($24/user/month) and Enterprise. The summaries are accurate for structured recordings like product walkthroughs and feature explanations. For freeform discussions or recordings over 30 minutes with multiple speakers, summary quality is moderate and benefits from manual review before sharing.
Can viewers comment on Loom videos?
Yes — Loom supports timestamped comments that link directly to the specific video moment being referenced. Viewers can leave emoji reactions and text comments at any point in the video. The video creator receives notifications for comments and can reply. This comment system makes async video collaborative rather than one-directional.
Does Loom integrate with Slack?
Yes — Loom's Slack integration lets you share recordings directly in any Slack channel with a preview that plays in-line. Recipients can watch without leaving Slack. You can also record a Loom and share it in a Slack message in one action from the Loom browser extension. This integration is the most common Loom workflow for distributed teams using async updates.
What happened after Atlassian acquired Loom?
Atlassian completed the $975 million acquisition in October 2023. Since then, Loom videos embed natively in Jira tickets and Confluence pages, and Loom is included in some Atlassian suite bundles. The core Loom product has continued as a standalone subscription, with pricing unchanged. Atlassian has used Loom internally for async engineering communications, which informed tighter Jira integration depth.
Is Loom good for customer-facing communication?
Yes — customer success and sales teams use Loom for personalized video replies, product demos, and onboarding walkthroughs. A short Loom answering a support ticket is more personal and clearer than a written response for complex technical questions. Viewer engagement analytics confirm whether the customer watched, letting CSMs follow up only when needed.