What is the difference between Loom and Kap?

Loom is best for Remote teams that want to replace meetings with async video updates, while Kap is best for macOS developers wanting a simple open-source screen recorder. Loom starts at $12.50/user/mo and Kap starts at Free.

Is Loom or Kap cheaper?

Loom starts at $12.50/user/mo with a free tier. Kap starts at Free and is free.

Is there a free alternative to Kap?

Both Loom and Kap offer free tiers.

Loom vs Kap

Loom is async video messaging platform for recording and sharing screen recordings with your team, while Kap is open-source screen recorder for macOS with GIF and video export. The biggest difference up front: Kap is free, while Loom starts at $12.50/user/mo. Loom is built for remote teams that want to replace meetings with async video updates, whereas Kap targets macos developers wanting a simple open-source screen recorder.

At a glance

	Loom	Kap
Best for	Remote teams that want to replace meetings with async video updates	macOS developers wanting a simple open-source screen recorder
Starting price	$12.50/user/mo	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Analytics	✓	—
Async Video	✓	—
Drawing Tools	✓	—
GIF Export	—	✓
Lightweight	—	✓
Open Source	—	✓
Plugins	—	✓
Screen Recording	✓	—
Transcripts	✓	—

Loom

Strengths

One-click recording and instant link sharing
AI-generated titles, summaries, and transcripts
Viewer engagement analytics and CTA buttons
Browser extension, desktop app, and mobile support

Weaknesses

Free tier limits recordings to 5 minutes
Per-user pricing gets expensive for teams
Video quality depends on internet connection
Limited editing capabilities compared to dedicated tools

Try Loom → Full review

Kap

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Open-source codebase gives you full transparency and community-driven development
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
The core product is free with no paywalled essentials

Weaknesses

May lack some advanced features
Self-hosting is free but requires server maintenance and DevOps knowledge
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in screen recording

Try Kap → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Kap is completely free, which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Loom starts at $12.50/user/mo, but Free for 25 videos up to 5 minutes each. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Loom offers Analytics, Async Video and Drawing Tools that Kap lacks. Kap brings GIF Export, Lightweight and Open Source that Loom does not have.

Team fit: Loom is geared toward any size teams, while Kap is aimed at individual users and small setups. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Kap is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Loom is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Loom's biggest strengths are: one-click recording and instant link sharing. ai-generated titles, summaries, and transcripts. Kap's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. open-source codebase gives you full transparency and community-driven development.

Watch out for: With Loom, users commonly note that free tier limits recordings to 5 minutes. With Kap, the main complaint is that may lack some advanced features.

Choose Loom if...

You need a tool built for remote teams that want to replace meetings with async video updates
You specifically need Analytics and Async Video
You care about ai-generated titles, summaries, and transcripts
Your team size fits the any size profile Loom is designed for
The free tier works for you: free for 25 videos up to 5 minutes each

Choose Kap if...

You need a tool built for macos developers wanting a simple open-source screen recorder
Budget is a hard constraint — Kap is free, Loom is not
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need GIF Export and Lightweight
You care about open-source codebase gives you full transparency and community-driven development