Screen capturing tools are a staple of asynchronous communication. They enable colleagues to send a quick video recording of their desktop or webcam, sharing crucial information without sacrificing the energy of face-to-face interaction. Switch to video recording to regain hours of your workweek, skip endless meetings, and replenish your energy stores—all the while maintaining exceptional communication with your teammates.
There are dozens of screen capture tools out there. But if you've narrowed the field down to Loom vs. Screencastify, this article provides an honest appraisal of each. Keep scrolling to learn the main differences and similarities between these screen recording tools. First, to help you make up your mind, why not click the button below to try Loom for free?
An overview of Loom
Loom is an asynchronous video solution that allows you to communicate wherever you are. The beauty of Loom is its versatility—it's perfect for distributed teams large and small in any industry, setting and based anywhere in the world. Sign up for Loom to receive:
async screen & cam recording
drawing tools and mouse emphasis
calls-to-action
emoji reactions
viewer insights
password-protected videos
unlimited viewers
shared video library.
Here are a few suggested use cases that highlight how Loom is just as integral to your daily interactions as your preferred email, video conferencing, or direct messaging tools. Use Loom for:
Loom’s pricing model
Loom offers three different pricing tiers, starting with a free version. Take a 14-day free trial if you’d like to see what the premium features can offer your biz.
Starter: Record up to 25 high-quality videos up to 5 minutes. Loom’s free version also offers unlimited transcriptions, privacy features, and viewer insights, so you know how people interact with your recorded content.
Business: For $12.50 per month (annual plan), record unlimited videos of any length. Loom also offers custom branding, password protection, and enhanced engagement insights. Include call-to-action buttons and embed links in your vid for even greater functionality.
Enterprise: Equip your entire company with access to Loom on the Enterprise plan. Your package includes everything offered in the Business package, plus SSO and SCIM, advanced content privacy, activity logs, and more!
An overview of Screencastify
Screencastify is a video recording tool that allows you to record your Chrome browser tab or webcam, edit the video and then send your message to your recipient via a magic link. The software covers three main areas:
Record: choose whether to record your browser tab, desktop, or webcam only.
Edit: crop video recordings straight from your browser.
Submit: videos are saved in Google Drive by default, with YouTube and email sharing options available too.
Screencastify pricing
Screencastify also offers three pricing options.
Free: this offers up to 10 videos, with a 30-minute max screen recording length per video and 10GB of storage.
Starter: the first tier of the priced options provides unlimited recordings of any length and 25GB of storage. This costs $7 per user/month for an annual plan or $15 for a paid monthly plan.
Pro: unlimited assignment recordings and YouTube exports cost $10 per user/month for an annual plan or $20 for a paid monthly plan.
What do Loom and Screencastify have in common?
Before we get into the differences, there’s plenty of similarities between these two tools.
Each offers a free plan so you can nose around the tools’ functionality before extending to a premium plan.
Each allows you to access your async tool via a Chrome browser extension (although Loom offers extra options.)
Each offers easy sharing with any recipient you please.
Each provides the ability to edit your video to give it a polished finish.
Main differences between Loom vs. Screencastify
Some key variations emerge between Loom and Screencastify when we pit these screen recorders head-to-head.
Video recording
Loom allows you to record your entire screen, a browser tab, or an application window and you can simultaneously record your webcam to ensure that personal touch. Do this from any device using either Loom's desktop or mobile app or the Chrome extension, which works in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Brave.
In contrast, Screencastify also records your screen and webcam but it's only available as a Chrome extension. There's no dedicated desktop version in Screencastify, so you do miss out on some of the additional functionality you get with Loom. For example, the ability to record a custom-sized area of your screen if you want to zoom in on the detail or keep parts of your screen private. Mobile recording is also a no-go with Screencastify—which is a problem if you need to record or share videos from your smartphone.
Screencastify does allow you to record offline, and your recording will sync as soon as you reconnect to the internet. This might be useful if you experience frequent power dips or record when you're traveling without wi-fi access, but it's unlikely to be a deal breaker for most.
Video editing
Raise your hand if you regularly nail your video in one take? Nope, us neither. And that's why basic editing features are such an important consideration when deciding between Loom and Screencastify. Both tools allow you to cut and trim videos, but Loom's Business plan goes the extra mile by erasing those embarrassing ums and ahs for a more polished finish.
As an additional feature in Loom, you and your viewer can add emojis and time-stamped comments to make your video a truly interactive experience. You can even add confetti with an easy keyboard shortcut if there's cause for celebration. The call-to-action button allows your to add a link directly to your video if you want to guide your viewer toward the next step. These features ensure your team stays connected and engaged with your communication—it's a fun way to keep in touch.
Screencastify sports its own suite of editing tools, including a pen tool, cursor spotlight, and screen drawing using shapes and emojis. Compared to Loom, though, Screencastify doesn't offer the ability to stitch several videos together, which you might miss if you're putting together a presentation using several recordings.
Video sharing and exporting
Once you’ve made your video, the next step is to share it with your chosen recipients.
Screencastify allows you to download your video in multiple file formats, including an audio file or GIF, and share it straight to your Google Drive. This could be useful if you’re preparing a presentation and need to embed videos in Google Slides or similar. There's also a 1-click share option if you need to integrate with Gmail. Once you've submitted it, your recipients can respond with their own recordings.
Loom provides an instant link after you've finished your screen recording. You can share this absolutely anywhere you want, whether that be an email, Slack message, social media post, or on a web page. Your viewers will love that they don't need to create an account or log in to view your video message. All they need to do is hit play to watch your masterpiece.
Video insights and analytics
When you record content, it's always useful to know how well your audience engages with it.
Loom's video analytics reveal how many "views" a specific recording receives; your recipient doesn't need to log in for the data to clock up so it doesn’t matter if they have a Loom account or not. On the premium plan, Loom's Engagement Insights show the completion rate of each video and whether or not your viewer clicked your call-to-action.
Screencastify also offers viewer analytics, but they're not as granular as Loom. For example, you can't see the percentage of the video your viewer has watched. Also, it's not possible to track views if a Screencastify user watches a video via Google Drive or when it's embedded or downloaded.
Video security and privacy
Online security doesn’t just give us peace of mind that our video content won’t fall into the wrong hands; it’s also a compliance matter for businesses.
Loom takes security exceptionally seriously, clearly displaying its GDPR framework, which explains how user data is handled and protected. Video password protection is available in the premium version of Loom and at the Enterprise level, so you can lock videos down to be private to your workspace.
Along with Loom, Screencastify is also GDPR-compliant.
Loom vs. Screencastify: the bottom line
Need a final roundup? Choosing between these two solutions comes down to who you're video messaging with and which of the different features suits your needs.
Choose Loom if you're looking for:
A video messaging solution for any team, any business in any industry
Interactive features like comments, emoji reactions, and confetti
Custom recording dimensions
The ability to stitch several screen recordings together to build a super Loom as a presentation
4k video quality
Advanced video analytics
Automatic transcriptions.
Choose Screencastify if you’re looking for:
A Chrome-based recording tool and don’t need access to desktop or mobile device recording
1-click sharing of your video content to Google Drive
Offline recording with the ability to sync your videos up later.
Don’t just take our word for it, check out what an incentivized reviewer for Screencastify had to say:
Are you ready to add Loom to your communication toolbox?