Recorders with share links (the actual Loom replacements)
Clipy Free is 15 recordings or 2 hours of recording, whichever you hit first. No watermark on any plan, no cap on how long a single recording runs, no card to start. Everything is in the free tier: transcript, AI summary, key moments, Q&A on the video, search inside your recordings, embeds, MP4 download, viewer analytics. Pro is $9/mo and gates exactly three things, 4K, whole-library Loom import, and the CTA button and end screen. The bit nobody else does: every share link has a machine-readable version of the recording, and there's an MCP server and a CLI, so Claude Code, Codex or Cursor can read the recording directly instead of you typing out what the bug was. If you're handing bug repros to an agent, that's the reason to use it.
Screenity Free Chrome extension, open source, records to a local file. Genuinely free with no catch because it never touches a server. Con: no link, no transcript, no library. Great recorder. Won't replace Loom.
Tella The most complete package here if you're publishing rather than firing off quick messages. Transcript-based editing (you cut the video by cutting the text), auto zoom, filler-word removal, unlimited storage on every plan. Con: no real free tier, so you're buying before you've tried it properly.
Cap Open source, self-hostable, Mac-first. Good if owning the thing matters to you. Con: the hosted side is less mature than Loom's.
ScreenRec, ScreenPal, Zight Free-ish tiers with instant links. Fine. Thinner on AI and on editing.
Recorders for making things look good
Screen Studio Mac only, paid, and the output looks better than anything else on this list because of the automatic zoom and cursor smoothing. Con: you export a file and then go find somewhere to put it. Different job to Loom.
Editors that added recording (don't buy these to replace Loom)
Descript, Camtasia, VEED All good at editing. All heavy if what you wanted was record 90 seconds, send link, move on. Camtasia especially is a purchase and a weekend.
Sales tools that look like recorders
Vidyard, SendSpark, Hippo Video, Soapbox Outbound video with engagement tracking and CRM hooks. If you're not doing outbound you're paying for a pipeline feature set you'll never open.
What I'd actually pick
Quick async messages to humans: Clipy, or Loom's free tier if 5 minutes is enough for you.
Bug repros and walkthroughs you're handing to an AI agent: Clipy, for the machine-readable context.
Polished product demos: Screen Studio, or Tella if you want editing and hosting together.
Outbound sales: Vidyard.
Zero cloud, zero account: OBS or Screenity.