TL;DR: OBS Studio fits teams that will record and stream locally at $0 and own the file. Loom fits async video that must live in a shareable link β Free with 25 videos and a 5-minute cap, then Business at $18/user/mo. ScreenPal (Screencast-O-Matic) fits training libraries on published personal/team plans. Tella fits polished marketing explainers on tella.com/pricing.
Screen recording software captures the display (and often the camera). It is not a webinar platform and not a full LMS.
Every entry uses the same fields: published pricing, host vs local file, time/video caps and the main limitation. The order below is not a quality ranking. OBS $0 first. Hosted link tools follow.
Screen recording software compared at a glance
| Provider | Published pricing | Hosted vs local | Best for | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OBS Studio | $0 open source on obsproject.com | Local file / your stream target | Full control, no per-seat host | Visit β |
| Loom | Starter Free: 25 videos, 5-minute cap. Business $18/user/mo. Business + AI $24/user/mo. Enterprise quote. Annual ~17% off | Hosted link in Loom/Atlassian | Async updates instead of meetings | Visit β |
| ScreenPal | Named Deluxe/Premier/team plans on screenpal.com/pricing | Hosted library + local export on paid | Course and support recordings | Visit β |
| Tella | Free plus paid on tella.com/pricing | Hosted, editor-first | Polished browser explainers | Visit β |
Loom Starter caps and $18 / $24 Business rows were read from Atlassianβs Loom pricing page on 19 September 2026. Creator-seat counting under Atlassian billing is the quiet invoice risk.
One tool never hosts your video. Three sell a link and a cap.
A link is a different product
OBS gives you an MP4. Loom gives you a page with view tracking. If legal wants files in SharePoint, OBS plus OneDrive beats a hosted cap. If sales wants βwho watched,β Loomβs meter is the product.
The four providers in detail
1. OBS Studio
FREE, LOCAL, NO SEAT
Best for: anyone who will accept a learning curve to own the recording without a 5-minute cap.
| Published pricing | $0. Donations optional |
| Hosted vs local | Local or streamed to a destination you configure |
| Caps | Your disk and encoder |
| Free plan / trial | The product is free |
| Main limitation | No Loom-style viewer analytics. Setup is on you |
- Use OBS when length or privacy forbids a 5-minute SaaS cap.
- Scenes and audio filters are the real work, not the download.
- Do not pick OBS to replace a shared Loom library without a file convention.
2. Loom
HOSTED ASYNC VIDEO
Best for: teams that record short updates and need a link, not an editing suite.
| Published pricing | Starter $0 (25 videos, 5 minutes, 720p). Business $18/user/mo. Business + AI $24. Enterprise quote |
| Hosted vs local | Loom hosts. Download appears on paid rows |
| Caps | Free time and count. Paid is unlimited length/videos on the public card |
| Free plan / trial | Permanent Starter |
| Main limitation | Every creator seat is $18. Watchers are not always free of seat logic β read current Atlassian rules |
- Stay Free until the 26th video or minute six.
- Business + AI is only worth it if you will use summaries/chapters.
- Count creators, not Slack headcount.
3. ScreenPal
TRAINING LIBRARY
Best for: support and L&D teams that want a recorder plus a simple hosted catalogue.
| Published pricing | screenpal.com/pricing β individual and team SKUs |
| Hosted vs local | Both, plan-gated |
| Caps | Watermarks and length on cheap/free rows |
| Free plan / trial | Limited free recorder |
| Main limitation | Not the default async tool in Atlassian shops |
- Use it when the output is a how-to library, not a Slack update.
- Compare team seats to Loom Business on the same creator count.
- Export before you bet the catalogue on one host.
4. Tella
BROWSER EXPLAINERS
Best for: marketers who want a clean talking-head + screen video without OBS.
| Published pricing | tella.com/pricing β Free plus paid |
| Hosted vs local | Hosted, editor in the product |
| Caps | Plan-gated minutes and branding |
| Free plan / trial | Free row exists |
| Main limitation | Wrong tool if you only need a raw local MP4 |
- Pick Tella for customer-facing explainers.
- OBS + a real editor is cheaper at volume if someone already edits.
- Branding removal is usually a paid row β same pattern as Loom.
Kurums Match: which one fits your situation
We need an unlimited local file
OBS Studio.
We replace status meetings with a link
Loom Free, then Business when the 5-minute cap bites.
Training catalogue
ScreenPal team plan, or Loom if the company is already on Atlassian.
Polished marketing clip in the browser
Tella.
Buying tip: decide hosted link vs local file first. That sentence eliminates half the shortlist.
How this comparison was put together
Loom/Atlassian pricing page and vendor sites, 19 September 2026. No paid placement. Kurums did not measure encoder quality in a lab.
Order is $0 local first. No badge reflects a commercial relationship.
Frequently asked questions
Is Loom still independent?
Atlassian owns billing. Use atlassian.com/software/loom/pricing.
Can we use Zoom recordings instead?
Yes for meetings. This page is deliberate screen capture, not a meeting archive.
Does OBS work on a locked-down laptop?
Only if IT allows the install and the encoder.
Did we test 4K capture?
No. Record one 4K minute on the device you will actually use.
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