Take vs Loom: a link to a cloud video, or a file you own?
Loom made async video normal, and its whole design is the shareable link. Take is a Mac app that turns a capture into a finished recording on your own machine and hands you the file. If you have hit Loom's five minute cap or its monthly bill, this is the comparison you are looking for.
Last updated: July 2026
Full disclosure: this page is published by the makers of Take. Loom's prices and limits below are taken from Loom's own pages, checked in July 2026, and the things it genuinely does better are listed as plainly as our own side.
The short version
Pick Loom if the point is sending a link to people who should not have to download anything, with viewer analytics, comments and a team library behind it. Take does none of that.
Pick Take if you want the recording itself: no cap on length, no watermark, no account for the person watching, and a plain .mov you can put anywhere. And you would rather pay once.
Side by side
| Take | Loom | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $24.99 one-time | Free, or $18 to $24 per user per month |
| Free plan limits | Full app for 7 days, then it is yours or it is not | 25 videos, 5 minute screen recordings |
| Recording length | No limit | 5 minutes on the free plan |
| Where the video goes | Your Mac, as a .mov | Loom's cloud |
| Works offline | ||
| Automatic staging | Zooms from your clicks, smoothed cursor, backdrop, idle skips | |
| Editing | A live timeline: the preview IS the export | Trim, and AI edits on paid plans |
| Sharing | You send the file | A link, viewer analytics, comments |
| Watermark | Never | None |
| Platforms | macOS 14+, universal | Mac, Windows, web, mobile |
| Presents live in Meet and Zoom (virtual camera) | Yes, the staged screen as a camera |
Where Loom is better
- Sharing is the product. One link, no download, viewers can comment at a timestamp and you can see who actually watched. If that loop is your job, Take is not a replacement.
- It works everywhere. Windows, the browser, phones, and a team library everyone can search. Take is a Mac app.
- Instant delivery. You stop recording and the link is ready before the file would have finished exporting.
- It is free to start. 25 videos at five minutes each costs nothing, which is a real way to find out whether async video suits your team.
Where Take is better
- The recording is finished when you stop. Zooms placed where you actually clicked, a cursor that glides instead of jitters, dead air sped up, and a real backdrop. Loom hands you the raw capture unless you pay for its AI editing.
- Nothing is capped. No five minute limit, no video count, no per-seat bill. Your Mac does the work.
- You get a file. Plain .mov in a folder you own, no watermark and no account needed to watch it. Put it in a doc, a PR, an email, or a page that has to keep working in five years.
- It works with the wifi off. Recording, staging, editing and export all run locally, so nothing about your screen is uploaded to anyone.
- You buy it once. $24.99. Loom Business at $18 a user passes that in under two months.
- It can present live, not just record. New in 2.1, Take's Live Studio puts the same staged screen into Google Meet, Zoom or FaceTime as a virtual camera, with scenes on hotkeys and one-click switches for the face bubble and the zoom. Loom sends recordings; it does not present live in a call.
The pricing math
Loom Starter is free with 25 videos and a five minute cap on screen recordings. Business is $18 per user per month, Business + AI is $24. Take is $24.99 once.
For one person, Loom Business costs more in two months than owning Take outright. That is not the whole story, because you are also paying Loom to host, share and measure the video, which Take does not do at all. The question is whether you are buying a recorder or a distribution channel.
FAQ
How much does Loom cost?
Starter is free with 25 videos and a 5 minute limit on screen recordings. Business is $18 per user per month and Business + AI is $24, with a discount for annual billing. Prices from loom.com/pricing, July 2026.
Is there a screen recorder with no time limit?
Yes. Take records for as long as you like and is $24.99 once, because the recording and the editing both happen on your Mac.
Can Take share a link like Loom?
No. Take gives you a .mov file and stops there. If the link, the comments and the view analytics are the point, Loom is the right tool.
Does Take add a watermark?
Never, on any plan, including during the trial.
Which Macs does Take run on?
macOS 14 Sonoma or later. The app is universal, so Apple Silicon and Intel both run natively.
Keep the recording
Stop the capture and it is already staged: zooms where you clicked, dead air trimmed, a real backdrop, and a plain .mov you own. $24.99 once, no subscription.
Get Take, $24.99 Try free for 7 daysmacOS 14 or later · Universal · no watermark, ever · 7-day trial, no card up front
More comparisons: Best Mac screen recorders in 2026 · vs Screen Studio · vs CleanShot X · vs Descript · vs Camtasia · vs ScreenFlow · No watermark, no time limit · Record a demo that looks edited · Take overview