PrintScreen.ly vs Loom — honest comparison

Looking for a Loom alternative? Here's an honest PrintScreen.ly vs Loom comparison — what each one does well, and where the other one wins. PrintScreen.ly records your screen to a standard MP4 on your own computer, on Mac, Windows and Linux (X11), with no limit on how many and nothing uploaded. It's a full screenshot tool too: scrolling capture, a markup editor and on-device text grab. Loom doesn't offer scrolling screenshots. If you send video to teammates and want to see who watched, Loom's hosted links are built for that job.

Try PrintScreen.ly free See PrintScreen.ly

Free for 24 hours: every feature, no card.

Verified 2026-09-26
Loom pricing
Where Loom wins

PrintScreen.ly vs Loom at a glance

At a glance	PrintScreen.ly	Loom
Entry price	$0 for 7 days, then $9.99/mo	Free Starter: 25 videos per person, 5 min each
Next plan up	$0 for 7 days, then $95.99/yr	Business + AI, $24 per user a month, or $240 a year (14-day free trial)
Lifetime license	$399 once	Not available — subscription only
Platforms	Mac, Windows, Linux, Web, iOS (companion), Android (companion)	Mac, Windows, Web, iOS, Android, Chrome extension

Where PrintScreen.ly and Loom each win

Pick PrintScreen.ly if

Records your screen to a standard MP4 on your own computer, on Mac, Windows and Linux (X11): a region or the full screen, with system sound and your microphone, at 30 or 60 fps, with pause. Make as many recordings as you like; nothing uploads. On Linux, Loom records through its Chrome extension, into its cloud library.
Takes screenshots too: region, window, full-screen and scrolling capture, a 3 or 5 second timer, a markup editor with pen, highlighter, arrows, boxes, circles, text, blur and crop, and on-device text grab. Loom's screenshots are a region or the full screen, marked up with text, rectangles, arrows, crop and blur, and Loom doesn't offer scrolling screenshots.
Costs $9.99 a month, or $399 once for a lifetime plan that also unlocks the 8 other Bravely apps. Loom Business is $18 per user a month, or $180 a year, and Business + AI is $24, or $240 a year.
Saves each recording as an ordinary MP4 in your Movies or Videos folder: edit it in the video app you already use, archive it, or attach it to an email. It stays on your computer.

Pick Loom if

Hosting is the product: every video gets a link your viewer opens in a browser, with comments, reactions and viewer insights. PrintScreen.ly never uploads a recording; you send the MP4 yourself.
A camera bubble on your screen recording, and phone apps that record your screen, your camera or audio (Android also records screen and camera together). PrintScreen.ly records the screen without a webcam, and only on its Mac, Windows and Linux (X11) apps.
Transcripts and captions on every plan; Business adds trim and stitch, and Business + AI adds auto summaries, chapters, filler-word removal and editing by transcript. PrintScreen.ly has no transcripts and no video editor.
A free Starter plan: 25 videos per person, up to 5 minutes each, plus unlimited screenshots, and no length limit on paid plans. PrintScreen.ly has no free tier, and a recording stops at 10 minutes by default (you can raise it to 60 on Mac and Windows).

PrintScreen.ly vs Loom, feature by feature

Verified 2026-09-26. Source linked at the bottom.

Feature	PrintScreen.ly	Loom
Pricing	$0 for 7 days, then $9.99/mo; or 24 hours free with no card; $95.99/yr; $399 once	Free Starter; Business $18 per user a month or $180 a year; Business + AI $24 or $240 a year (14-day free trial)
Runs on	Mac (macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon), Windows 10 (1809 or later) or 11 (64-bit), Linux (64-bit), iPhone and iPad (iOS 17 or later), Android 8.0 or later, and the web	Mac (macOS 12.3 or later), Windows 10 or later, iOS 15 or later, Android 10 or later, and a Chrome extension; no Linux desktop app
Account needed	Yes (a Bravely Account)	Yes: an Atlassian account (Starter is free)
Screen recording on Mac and Windows	Yes — MP4, region or full screen, system sound + mic, 30/60 fps	Yes
Screen recording on Linux	Yes (X11 desktops)	Through its Chrome extension (no Linux desktop app)
Recording on a phone	No	Yes (iOS and Android)
Camera bubble	No	Yes
Recording length	10 min by default; up to 60 min on Mac and Windows	5 min on Starter; unlimited on paid plans
Number of videos	Any number, saved on your computer	25 per person on Starter; unlimited on paid plans
Where recordings live	MP4 files on your computer (Movies on Mac, Videos on Windows and Linux)	Loom's cloud library, opened by link
Share link for recordings	No — you send the MP4 yourself	Yes (the core product)
Video editing	No	Trim and stitch on Business; edit by transcript on Business + AI
Transcripts and AI summaries	No	Transcripts on every plan; summaries and chapters on Business + AI
Viewer insights	No	Yes
Screenshots	Yes: region, window, full screen, scrolling, a 3 or 5 second timer	Yes: region or full screen, unlimited on every plan
Scrolling screenshots	Yes (Mac, Windows; Linux on an X11 desktop)	No
Screenshot markup	Pen, highlighter, eraser, arrow, rectangle, ellipse, text, blur, crop	Text, rectangle, arrow, crop, blur
Screenshot share links	From the iPhone, iPad, Android and web apps and the Windows library; each link lasts 24 hours	A link for every screenshot, copied automatically, with an AI title, on every plan
Copy text out of a screenshot (OCR)	Yes (on-device, on every app)	No (not in Loom's screenshot editor)

PrintScreen.ly vs Loom FAQs

Can I share a PrintScreen.ly recording the way I share a Loom?

No. PrintScreen.ly saves each recording as an MP4 in your Movies or Videos folder; to share it, attach the file to an email or upload it to a service you already use.

Does PrintScreen.ly record my webcam?

No. It records your screen with system sound and your microphone.

Do recordings sync to my other devices?

No. Screenshots sync to your library on every device; recordings stay on your computer as MP4 files you can move, edit or archive.

Is Loom free?

Loom's Starter plan is free: 25 videos per person, 5 minutes each, at up to 720p, and Starter can't download its videos. Business is $18 per user a month, or $180 a year; Business + AI is $24, or $240 a year, with a 14-day free trial.

Does Loom work on Linux?

Not as a desktop app. Loom's help says it doesn't support Linux, and its desktop app is Mac and Windows only. Loom's own Linux page points to its Chrome extension, which saves to Loom's cloud library. PrintScreen.ly's Linux app (x64, .deb or AppImage) takes screenshots, scrolling captures and text grabs, and records MP4. Scrolling capture and recording need an X11 desktop.

More PrintScreen.ly comparisons

All comparisons

PrintScreen.ly

Screenshots & recordings

Try PrintScreen.ly free All comparisons

Free for 24 hours: every feature, no card.

Pricing verified 2026-09-26. Loom pricing source. Subject to change.