5 Free Loom Alternatives for Course Creators (2026)
If you're hitting Loom's 5-minute recording cap or its 25-video free-plan ceiling, these are the tools worth switching to — all with usable free tiers.
1. ScreenPal (full review →)
The most direct Loom replacement: unlimited free recordings up to 15 minutes each, with a real (if basic) timeline editor included — Loom's editor is more limited even on its paid tier. The tradeoff is a watermark until you upgrade, but at $3/month to remove it, ScreenPal is also far cheaper than Loom's $18/user/month Business plan. See the full Loom vs. ScreenPal comparison.
2. OBS Studio (free setup guide →)
Completely free, open-source, and has no recording length cap, no watermark, and no subscription at all. The tradeoff is real: no built-in editor and a setup process with a learning curve, so budget time to configure scenes and audio before your first recording. For anyone recording a full course on a zero budget, it's the most capable option here.
3. Descript (full review →)
60 free transcribed minutes per month with watermarked exports — tighter than ScreenPal's cap, but the transcript-based editing workflow is a genuinely different (and for talk-heavy lessons, faster) way to cut filler words and dead air than either Loom or ScreenPal offer for free.
4. Windows Game Bar / macOS Screenshot Toolbar
Both Windows 11 and macOS ship a built-in recorder with no install required — Win+G on Windows, Cmd+Shift+5 on Mac. No length cap, no watermark, no account. The catch: zero editing features and no automatic cloud upload/sharing link, so you'll need a separate tool to trim and host the result. Best for quick one-off clips, not a full course pipeline.
5. CapCut (with screen recording via OS + import)
Not a screen recorder itself, but free and genuinely capable as an editor once you've captured footage with your OS's built-in recorder — auto-captions, basic multi-track editing, and easy export presets for common platforms. A reasonable free pairing if you want editing depth beyond what ScreenPal's free tier offers, without paying for Camtasia or Descript.