The results are in: 92% of real-time meetings are costly and unproductive, and 70% of them actively distract employees from engaging in productive work. If endless video calls are plaguing your remote team, ask yourself: could this meeting have been a video recording instead? And if it could, the obvious solution is to switch to asynchronous communication.
The next step is to find the perfect video messaging tool for your business. If you’ve been scratching your head trying to decide between Loom and Cloudapp, this is the guide for you. Here, we’ll break down the main similarities and differences between these video platforms. By the end, you’ll have nothing left to do but try your preferred choice out for size.
The gist of Loom
Loom is a best-in-class screen-capturing and video-recording tool for easy asynchronous work communication. You can use it for any team and any type of communication, including creating a sales pitch, company announcement, or delivering thoughtful feedback to a colleague. Whether you want to send a quick video response to clarify a point or record more substantial training content, Loom is your go-to video messaging platform.
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!
The gist of Cloudapp
Cloudapp is a screenshot, screen recording, and annotation tool that offers greater functionality for Mac than Windows users. It has a few key features that might appeal to businesses, such as password protection, a GIF creation module, and drawing tools so you can annotate your recording. However, G2 stats highlight that it falls short in terms of user-friendliness compared to Loom.
Cloudapp’s pricing model
Free: Record up to 25 screenshots, files, or videos of 90 seconds each in Cloudapp under their startup plan. You’ll also receive basic analytics to show how many people have watched your video.
Individual: Record unlimited videos of any length with video quality up to 4k. This package starts from $9.95 per user per month.
Team: Available for a minimum of 3 users, offering the same features as the individual level. This package costs a minimum of $24 per month.
Enterprise: The top-tier plan includes admin controls and transcription of your recorded content. Price is available on application.
What are the similarities between Loom and Cloudapp?
As screen recorder tools, there’s much to compare between Loom and Cloudapp. Each allows you to:
Access your collaboration tool from a Chrome browser extension or native desktop app
Record your entire screen or browser along with a webcam recording
Generate shareable video links to send to your chosen recipient
Use drawing tools to annotate your video
Add call-to-action buttons to your content
Save recordings and screenshots in the cloud for easy access
Try a premium version of each tool for free
What are the main differences between Loom and Cloudapp?
Now we’ve covered the basics, let’s figure out what separates the wheat from the chaff.
Video recording
In Loom and Cloudapp, both tools allow you to record:
your entire desktop screen
a specific application window
a single browser tab.
But what if you want to highlight a detail of your screen, or omit a section of your window from the recording? Only Loom supports the ability to record a custom area of your screen.
If you're interested in recording video content, you probably want to know some stats. First up, know that the free versions of Loom and Cloudapp differ in terms of recording length.
Cloudapp only allows you to record videos up to 90 seconds, which can be a little "blink and you miss it." You'll need to deliver a concise, confident message in one hit, especially as Cloudapp's editing tools are slightly lacking (see below.) Loom's free plan is more generous here, offering up to five minutes of recording time, so there's much less pressure to perform.
Both communication tools offer unlimited recording lengths once you hit the premium pricing plans.
Video editing
You're not alone if you struggle to make a polished video in one take. Almost all of us need a few editing tips and tricks up our sleeves. Loom has a full suite of video editing tools to trim and crop videos down to size. For example, the Loom Business plan includes filler word removal to wipe out those awkward ums and ahs from your dialogue.
Need a bonus? How about the ability to stitch several screen recordings together to create a super loom—a powerful presentation that could feature recorded contributions from different team members, for example.
Cloudapp’s video editing software isn’t quite as advanced. There’s no option to stitch recordings together, and the trimming and cutting features are only available to Mac users, which is frustrating for Windows users.
Like Loom, it does offer transcriptions if you want to export your video dialogue as text. But unfortunately, Cloudapp only unlocks the transcription feature at the Enterprise level, whereas Loom provides this as standard across all pricing plans including the free version.
Video annotating
Both tools offer the ability to draw and highlight screen areas with drawing tools using a wide range of colors. This is a great way to add clarification for your audience and injects a little life and personality into your presentation too.
But Loom excels here by allowing users and recipients to add comments, emojis, and even a blast of confetti as a keyboard shortcut. These interactive videos really showcase the best of what async collaboration should be about.
User-friendliness
If you're new to video messaging or just new to either of these tools, you won't want to spend hours figuring out how to navigate the respective dashboards. So, how does Loom vs. Cloudapp compare in terms of UX?
G2 rates Loom as scoring higher in the following categories: Ease of Use, Ease of Setup, and Quality of Support.
It's also worth noting that Cloudapp for Windows sometimes suffers from minor connectivity issues due to firewall issues blocking the connection. This may be frustrating for non-tech-savvy teams or if you're just itching to start recording! It's a pretty easy fix, but you might need to fiddle with various whitelist settings to get Cloudapp to work correctly from your PC.
Value for money
Perhaps the biggest question of all is: does Loom or Cloudapp offer more value for money?
When you look at the free versions, there are many similarities, but with Loom's five-minute recording length vs. Cloudapp's shorter 90-second offering, it's clear that Loom is better value here.
Be aware also that while Loom allows you to distribute your free video to whoever you please, Cloudapp has a limit of 10 views per item, which may be frustrating depending on your intended audience size.
When you’re ready to try a free trial of the premium plans, Loom gives you a 14-day trial compared to Cloudapp’s 7-day trial, so you only have half the time to make your mind up if you’re interested in Cloudapp.
There are numerous advanced features you'll love in both Loom and Cloudapp's paid plans. Be aware that if you want to sign up for Cloudapp's Team package, you'll need to pay for a minimum of three users. And if you need four? Then you must pay for six! So, it might be worth checking that your team has a multiple of three individual users; otherwise, you'll be paying for more than you need!
The bottom line: is Loom or Cloudapp the best choice for your business?
Now you have everything you need to know about Loom vs. Cloudapp to help you choose the best video-sharing tool for your business. Need a quick recap?
Choose Loom if you need:
A screen recording tool that works perfectly on Windows, Mac, and your mobile devices
The ability to trim, cut, and stitch your videos together
To deliver presentations, training, or feedback via screen recording
Shareable screenshots at the click of a button
Engaging video content, including features like comments, emojis, and confetti blasts
Custom recording dimensions to zoom in or out
4k video quality
Unlimited transcriptions as a standard feature
A free 14-day trial of the premium version
To record 5-minute videos as an absolute minimum
An intuitive user interface and first-class support (as needed!)
Choose Cloudapp if you need:
A screen recording app that makes snappy 90-second videos (free version)
To add expiry dates to your video files
An excellent gif creation module.
All that’s left is to sign up for Loom’s 14-day free trial if you’d like to give us a whirl. 👇