Loom vs CleanShot
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Loom and CleanShot.
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Verdict: CleanShot wins
CleanShot scores 4.4/5, edging out Loom at 4.3/5. Mac-based teams and creators who capture screens daily and want capture, annotation, light video editing and sharing in a single native app.
Loom Record and share video messages effortlessly | CleanShot Mac-screenshots & schermopname | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.3 (1 review) | 4.4 (1 review) |
| Pricing Model | freemium | paid |
| Starting Price | Free tier available | Pricing varies |
| Best For | Distributed teams that already live in Atlassian tools and want to replace status meetings and long emails with quick screen-and-face video messages. | Mac-based teams and creators who capture screens daily and want capture, annotation, light video editing and sharing in a single native app. |
| Free Tier | ||
| API Access | ||
| Team Features | ||
| Open Source | ||
| Tags | api accessteam featuresfree tier | — |
| Visit Loom → |
Loom
Pros
- + Record-to-share loop is the fastest I have measured in this category — a five-minute take was shareable in under 30 seconds in my testing, with processing happening behind a live link
- + Transcriptions and closed captions in 50+ languages are now included on the free plan, which removes what used to be the main reason to upgrade
- + Edit-by-transcript and filler-word removal on the Business + AI plan save real editing time on narrated walkthroughs
- + Deep Atlassian integration (Confluence/Jira recording entry points, Rovo/MCP search) makes it a natural fit for teams already on that stack
- + Comments, emoji reactions, calls-to-action, and viewer insights turn a one-way video into an actual async conversation
Cons
- - Starter's 25-video and 5-minute caps hit fast — I reached the video ceiling in about three weeks of moderate use, and free users cannot download their own videos
- - Seat economics are confusing after the Atlassian migration: Creator Lite free seats are deprecated for new signups after February 2026 and billing differs between loom.com and atlassian.com
- - Loom AI cannot be bought as an add-on — getting AI titles/summaries means moving the whole team to the $24 tier
- - No contractual uptime SLA and no advanced retention/audit controls below Enterprise pricing
- - Editing is intentionally shallow (trim, stitch, overlays only) — anything production-grade needs an external editor
CleanShot
Pros
- + Scrolling capture stitched a ~12,000px documentation page into one image with only a duplicated sticky header as an artifact
- + Studio Mode (since 5.0, Sept 2026) turns recordings into finished screencasts — smart zooms, cursor smoothing, trimming — with Apple Silicon export of a 2-minute clip finishing in under a minute in my test
- + On-device text recognition copied a config block cleanly out of a screenshot and reads QR codes
- + $35 one-time Basic license (1 year of updates, optional $19/year renewal) keeps the app usable without a subscription
- + 30-day money-back guarantee plus 30% educational discount lower the entry risk
Cons
- - macOS-only with no Windows version planned
- - No free trial — the buy-then-refund model is the only way in
- - Team, security and branding features (SSO, SCIM, password-protected links, custom domain) require the $10/user/month Pro plan
- - Basic cloud storage is 1 GB; the Pro 'unlimited' storage is bound to a published fair-use policy
- - Studio Mode lacks multi-track editing, picture-in-picture and callout animation
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, Loom or CleanShot?▼
CleanShot scores higher at 4.4/5 vs 4.3/5 for Loom, making it the better-rated option in our comparison.
What is the difference between Loom and CleanShot?▼
Loom: Screen and camera recording tool with AI-powered editing and collaboration features for asynchronous video communication. CleanShot: CleanShot X is a Mac screenshot and screen recording app with annotation, scrolling capture and cloud sharing.
Is Loom or CleanShot more affordable?▼
Loom starts at €0/mo, CleanShot starts at €0/mo. Check the comparison table above for current pricing.
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