Detailed Full Review of Loom: All you need to know (2024)

What is Loom?

Loom is an easy to use video messaging application. It's not an app like Zoom, Google Meet, or FaceTime, as it's unidirectional, meaning you can only record yourself and your screen and then send the final video to others via a shareable link.

Loom is a video sharing application similar to Marco Polo or Snapchat. However, Loom places more emphasis on screen recording sharing and business use.

Let's see right now if using Loom might be worthwhile for you.

Features

Ready to use

The Loom recording software works on Windows or Mac OS as a desktop application, a downloadable Loom extension for Google Chrome (which is a great idea because you don't have to switch between a browser window and an application window to record or send a video), and for iOS. Interestingly, since so many people use Android devices, the application is not available for download for this operating system. I think that's a shame, because it's a market that developers can easily exploit.

Regardless of the platform, the Loom Recording application fulfills the following functions for users:

• screen recording for demonstrations and program visits; and
• Live audio-visual recording.

Those who use the Loom Chrome extension have three recording options: camera only, hybrid screen and camera, and screen only. The second option is ideal if you are doing virtual tours or if you are demonstrating the use of a software suite or application. However, using Loom on Chrome is pretty much useless if you're using another browser like Opera or Firefox.

You should also note that the desktop edition of the Loom software only works with Windows and Mac. It's impossible if you're on Linux and it doesn't work on netbooks or Chromebooks either. Considering Loom's price, you get a fully functional Loom recording app. You can share recordings through popular messaging apps like Facebook Messenger and Slack. Unfortunately, everyone who is on Android has to wait a bit longer than the edition. This particular platform is still under development.

Screen recording with Loom

For this Loom review, I like the Loom recording app because it makes recording material much easier than it used to be through more conventional platforms. Rather than switching between applications, everything about the registration process is included in a single package.

When you click the record button and choose your recording mode in the Loom software, everything is ready. Although visual quality always depends on the maximum resolution of the camera installed in your laptop or mobile computer or a separate camera, the screens are clear and no details are hidden during the recording process. The image quality on your screen will be similar (if not exactly the same) on your viewers' screens.

Audio quality also depends on your own equipment. Nonetheless, the quality of the final product is clear and audible, making it a great choice for educators who develop engaging and engaging content for younger viewers.

Editing with Loom

Easy as a pie is probably the best way to describe Loom's editing function. So with Loom, how do you edit your recordings? It's a matter of pointing and clicking to select the parts you want to remove or improve.

The “point and click” functionality allows users to select which sections to clean and delete without having to constantly read and reread the material. Likewise — and this is especially important for those who create videos for sale — creators can easily add calls to action (CTAs) at regular intervals or during highlighted segments.

Publishing and sharing with Loom

Loom videos can be shared internally with your workgroup via the team library. They can also be shared externally on a person's email or social media accounts. The video can also be shared via a widget on Twitter and Facebook, sent by Gmail, or linked/embedded in your blog or website.

Integrations

I find in this Loom review that integrations are a strong point of this screen recording tool. In addition to Twitter, Facebook, and Gmail, Loom software can record and share videos on the Jira productivity platform and Jira Service Desk.

Through its partnership with Embedly, Loom videos can be integrated into articles published on popular online publishing platforms like Medium and Notion.

This can help creators grow their audience on these platforms or fund crowdfunding projects on Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

Steps to make a Loom recording

You can easily register a loom by following the steps below:

• Loom Setup: First, you need to download and install the Loom app on your computer, Android, or iOS device. You can also download the Loom Chrome Extension to use directly from your browser.

After installation, open the Loom app or click on the Loom icon at the top right of your browser. When first used, only allow the necessary access by clicking on “One-Click Access” in the popup that appears on the screen.

• Configurations: Before you start recording, you can customize various settings in the upper right and lower left parts of the screen from the recording preferences of camera+voice, screen+voice, or all three captured at the same time. A circle at the bottom left shows your webcam, with options to resize or hide it.

You can also choose whether the recording buttons will remain visible or not. Additionally, there are options for setting the quality of the recording, capturing the current tab, and default configurations to launch the application as soon as your device starts up or allow background updates.

Another important setting to configure is the keyboard shortcuts for the various functionalities.

• Recording and viewing: Once the configurations are done, you can simply start recording using the start buttons. Ensure that you are in a noise-free environment and that the microphone is at an audible distance from your mouth to get the best audio quality. Once you're done, click on the red rectangular button to finish recording.

Once you've completed your Loom recording, a new tab will open where you can view, download, delete, or share your video.

• Sharing: Once you've finished editing your video, you can decide how you want to share it. Link sharing allows you to share a URL with a group of people who can only see it if they have the link.

The Public option, on the other hand, allows anyone to watch the Loom recording. Finally, the Custom Access option allows the video creator to add certain email addresses to their recording so that only those people can view it.

You can also choose to upload your Loom recording video file to edit with video editing tools or upload it to sites like Youtube.

Tips for recording on Loom

While the Loom tool is easy to use as it is, there are a few things to keep in mind that can make your Loom recordings more smooth and professional:

• Call to action: Sending a video isn't enough; you also need to provide options for customers to give you positive feedback. Loom's premium feature allows you to include a call to action at the end of your recorded video.

This feature can be useful when you want your customer to respond to your video after viewing it.

• Using the browser extension: For an even easier Loom experience, download and install the Loom Chrome extension on your Google Chrome browser. All you need to do is go to the Chrome store and click the “Add to Chrome” button.

The Loom extension will appear next to your URL bar when you follow the steps to enable access to your microphone and camera. You need to complete your installation by registering or signing in to your account after successfully adding the extension.

• Using the Preferences menu: Cam Only, Screen Only, and Screen+ Cam are the three recording modes available in the Loom desktop client. However, by clicking on the ellipses in the upper right corner of the client, you can easily access the Preferences menu and change the default recording choices to better suit your needs. For example, you can adjust the recording quality to the available bandwidth or to a specific number between 360p and 1080p HD.

• Changing the control menu: You can also choose whether the control menu is visible or not. You can change which side of the camera bubble you appear on and record your voice in Mono instead of Stereo if needed.
• Learn Loom shortcuts: For greater efficiency, it's good to learn Loom's established keyboard shortcuts for functions like starting, stopping, pausing, restarting, and cancelling the recording, etc. The best part is that you can customize the default shortcuts and entries as you see fit.

• Toggle default options: When you're done recording your video and ready to start editing, go to the Settings menu and enable or disable a few of the default settings.

These settings include enabling emoji responses to your videos (which is the default setting), the ability to leave comments on your video, and email notifications. Additionally, you can also set up your account information and choose whether Loom should start automatically and if you want to run software updates in the background.

• Adjusting the sticker: You can choose between an animated GIF thumbnail or an automatically created thumbnail for each video. A thumbnail will be automatically created from your video recordings if you have a basic Loom account.

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However, you can create custom thumbnails for your video if you have a Pro account. Loom suggests using only JPG or PNG files that have a resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels for the best visual result.

• Using the Trim function: The Trim button allows you to eliminate certain areas of the video for greater clarity or to correct audio faults and problems. You can review your footage at a speed of 1x to 2x the standard speed, drag the bars to determine the length of the part omitted, or change the length using the arrow counters.

You can also return to the original length of your video after editing it by returning to the trim function and selecting Return to Original.

• Keep your screen clean: When capturing your screen, it's important to keep the screen uncluttered to get the audience's attention. Also, try to use the current tab function to avoid accidentally sharing unnecessary details on your screen.

• Ensuring clear sound: If you're talking while the audio of what you're sharing is playing, you may have trouble being heard. Therefore, if the source video has sound adjustment functions, lower the volume before recording.

• Remove distractions: We move the mouse cursor a lot during our presentations. In a video recording, using the mouse is similar to hand movements.

The viewer's eyes follow the mouse cursor. The public will therefore be perplexed if the cursor moves erratically. Therefore, spinning the cursor in circles or shaking it back and forth while making a remark will almost certainly harm your video. Be sure to remove these distractions from your recording.

Pricing

And as for perhaps the most important section of this Loom review, let's talk about Loom pricing. The Loom pricing structure Starter Account is free, but features may be limited. Nonetheless, it offers greater creative freedom than most online products.

A business account with Loom will only cost you $8 per user per month. And the services included aren't that bad for that price. Likewise, users in the Business category who have special needs can easily negotiate rates that fit their budget. There is also a Loom Pro plan that is limited in availability.

Therefore, in this Loom review, the Loom tool is one of the most affordable tools on the market today.

Free trial/ money-back policy and guarantee

The Loom registration app offers new users a 14-day trial period.

During this period, you can test all the features of a Business Account.

If you like the performance of the application, you can opt for a Business subscription and be charged 8 dollars per month per user.

If you choose not to, you can still use the Loom software, but with limited functionality.

Customer Support

For this Loom review, I think the Loom software offers a fairly extensive knowledge base. First, its help center offers practical advice on how to optimize the use of the application. More tips are shared on the product blog. Finally, regular updates on developments or new features are shared regularly on the website.

For those interested in learning more about Loom, including future add-ons, releases, and potential new products for workplace productivity, the company's development roadmap is online. Users are also encouraged to provide suggestions and feedback to improve application performance over time.

Alternatives

This Loom review would be doomed to fail without a proper comparison. In a world where there's a rapid shift toward remote work teams that use video conferencing and online meetings on a daily basis, you need to know your options before you commit. So, we're going to briefly go over a few alternatives to Loom so you can make an informed decision.

Vimeo

Let's start with Vimeo, because it has always existed. In 2020, the company launched the free screen recorder - Vimeo Record. Despite Zoom's huge growth during the pandemic, the Vimeo CEO was convinced that some teams needed asynchronous video messages more than scheduled meetings or lengthy emails. She was right.

To get started with free Vimeo Record, you need to download the Chrome extension, as was the case with Loom. From then on, you access the screen recorder from the toolbar of your extensions. Vimeo Record is also available on mobile devices.

By far the biggest advantage of the free version of Vimeo Record is its unlimited nature. It's true With the free version, you can record as many videos as you want, up to 2 hours each. That's a huge improvement over Loom's 5 minute and 25 video limit.

Sounds good and all but the persistent Vimeo bugs and the lack of customer support. Like many online users, we find that Vimeo's support is not as good as Loom's. Depending on your needs, you can therefore opt for Loom if you are an individual user. But if you're considering using Vimeo's advanced features on your team, Vimeo Pro could be a great alternative for you.

Soapbox

Next up on our list of Loom alternatives is Soapbox, another great screen recording software that's very similar. Soapbox was developed by Wistia, a leading video host, especially for B2B marketers.

Again, the setup process is the same: you download a free Chrome extension and start recording your screen. Soapbox is more suited to the needs of marketing experts, helping users easily create high-quality video assets for product marketing, content marketing, and outreach.

As expected, Soapbox also has a freemium version for individuals and businesses that are just starting out. You get unlimited video recordings on the free plan, just like with Vimeo Record, but most of the great features, like video uploading, engagement, and conversion tracking, cost at least $300 per year for individuals or $420 per year for teams.

The main features missing in the free version are:

• Download recorded videos to share, send, or post
• Track engagement, conversions, and receive notifications
• Customizing video pages with the company logo
• Book meetings directly from your videos

Soapbox has an incredibly easy to use interface and a set of useful features, but for such a big price difference compared to Loom, you might want to reconsider your decision. Do you need in-depth analysis, integrated meeting planning, and personalization? If yes, go for Soapbox. If these features aren't necessary to cover your basic needs and you're looking to save a dollar or two, you can't go wrong with Loom.

CloudApp

Our review of Loom wouldn't be complete without one last top-tier competitor, CloudApp.

CloudApp is a communication application that allows you to create instant, shareable video recordings and GIFs.

The main characteristics of CloudApp are as follows:

• Screen capture
• Notes
• Screen recording
• GIF maker
• CTA button
• Customization
• Uploading and sharing files

Like Loom, it works with both a desktop application and a Chrome extension and also offers a freemium model. The catch is that the free version of CloudApp only allows you to record 25 videos that are up to 1.5 minutes long each. It's far from enough to get a complex message across if you want to use the free version to reduce the number of online meetings.

However, the tool comes with fun annotations to improve presentations and provides basic analysis in the free plan.

If you really want to get the best of CloudApp on your own, that is, without a team, you'll need to pay $9.95 per month. On the other hand, if you team up with two other people, the Team plan will only cost each user $8/month, the same price as Loom Business.

How to get started with Loom

Loom's ease of use is one of the things that makes it so appealing for modern work teams. It only takes seconds to sign up for Loom using your Google, Slack, or Apple ID. You can also create an account with an email address or SSO.

Once you've created an account, you can simply install your app on your device. Downloads are available for Windows and Mac, and you can get the iOS or Android app directly from the respective app stores. There's also a Chrome extension for Loom.

The Mac OS application allows you to record videos directly from the menu bar

After installing the app, you'll need to ensure that you've enabled the permissions to record from your microphone, webcam, and screen. The desktop application will appear in your system tray or menu bar, so you can start recording with a single click. You can also set up keyboard shortcuts.

Once the setup is complete, you can start recording your videos instantly. By default, the app records your screen with a webcam overlay, but you can also choose to record your face or screen individually. However, the iOS version of Loom does not allow you to record both your webcam and your screen at the same time.

Before you start recording, you can reposition and resize the webcam overlay, and choose to capture part or all of your screen. You can also choose to record system audio in addition to your voice.

Once the recording is complete, the entire video is automatically uploaded to the Loom cloud environment and can be accessed through your account. There, you can edit the video in a variety of basic ways, such as assembling different pieces of content, cutting out parts you don't need, and adding call-to-action buttons that are displayed to users at the end of the video.

The “looms” are stored in the cloud, making them easily accessible to your team.

Notably, every video created with Loom is automatically made “public.” You can share the link with anyone who can watch it without creating an account. The share button also offers one-click sharing for social media and access to the code for embedding videos on a website. The Chrome extension also automatically converts videos into embedded content for Google Doc, JIRA, Gmail, and GitLab.

Users who view your video can speed up playback, respond with emojis throughout the viewing process, see an automatic transcript, and leave comments.

FAQs

What is a Loom recording?

Loom is a screen capture application that records your voice and screen simultaneously.

A Loom recording captures your camera, microphone, and screen to produce a video that can then be immediately shared via a URL.

Once you've created a Loom, you can Easily share a video link to your feedback, instructions, presentations, or lessons via email, text message, or website. Plus, because you can add a password to protect sensitive videos, all of your private information will remain secure.

Since Loom allows you to provide feedback or navigate through a presentation while explaining it in simultaneous video/audio recording, it's the ideal service for any type of conversational communication.

And the best part is that you can record on the platform of your choice:

1. The Chrome Loom Extension
2. Office software
3. The iOS application
4. Or the Android app

NOTE : Loom is appreciated by trainers, Growth Hackers and commercial for everything related to the creation of quality content or the sharing of information at scale.

Is it worth using Loom?

Loom really shines when used by a band. For example, it's the ideal medium for communication, such as announcing company updates and creating welcome videos for new employees.

The use of Loom for personal projects is limited. But you could use it for YouTube videos since it allows you to record your screen. You could also use it for family photo slideshows to send to friends and family.

Be that as it may, Loom finally solves a niche problem, by allowing you to easily record screen videos and share them.

What can you do with Loom?

Packed with features like video editing tools, extended camera and microphone settings, emoji reactions, and more, Loom gives you a wide range of things to do:

• Camera only with audio: This feature is a basic video capture method with only your video and voice audio in the Loom recording.
• Screen only with audio: This feature allows you to record the tabs or applications that are open on your device as well as your interactions with what is on the screen. You can show a certain application while recording, or show your entire screen, as well as your voice audio.
• Camera and screen with audio: This is where the magic of Loom comes in, as it's a perfect blend of the two options mentioned above. This feature allows you to present things on the screen while your face is visible.

With Loom recordings, you can communicate in a way that draws attention instead of showing dead texts on a screen. After all, in this day and age, people prefer to watch videos rather than read a text.

How many users can there be on a Loom account at any given time?

Starter account holders can have a maximum of 25 creators, while Business account holders can have up to 100.

On which operating systems can I use Loom?

Loom is currently available for Windows, Mac, and iOS.

Is Loom recording secure?

Loom's commitment to your safety is unparalleled. They undergo periodic penetration testing, are designed in compliance with the GDPR, and will always do everything possible to keep our customers' data secure so that it can stay on Loom's secure cloud servers where it needs to be.

Final Verdict

In short, yes, of course you should.

Loom is one of those simple little tools that you don't need every second of the day, but when you need it, man, you really need it.

And when you combine Loom for video recordings and Markup Hero for screenshots and annotations, you get a productivity suit that can take you to the moon and bring you back.