BobbinThe short version
- Loom Starter: many short videos. 5 minutes each, up to 25 stored, 720p.
- Vidyard Free: few longer videos. Up to 30 minutes each, but 5 recordings a month.
- Neither lets you download on the free plan. Both need an account and store videos in their cloud.
- If you need unlimited recordings as files with no account, that's what Bobbin is for. It has no links or analytics.
Free plans side by side
| Loom Starter | Vidyard Free | Bobbin Free | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recording length | 5 minutes | 30 minutes | No limit |
| How many videos | 25 per person (archived count) | 5 recorded per month (deleted ones still count) | No limit |
| Quality | Up to 720p | Not stated on the pricing page | Up to 1080p at 30fps |
| Download the file | No | No | Yes, it's saved on your computer |
| Share link | Yes | Yes | No (you send the file) |
| Comments / reactions | Yes | Not listed for Free | No |
| Transcripts | Yes | Captions on Teams and up | No |
| Account | Required | Required | None |
Paid plans
| Loom | Vidyard | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry paid plan | Business: $18 per user/month | Starter: $59 per seat/month, billed annually |
| Next tier | Business + AI: $24 per user/month | Teams: custom pricing |
| Trial | 14-day trial of Business + AI | Free plan, no card |
| Built for | Teams doing async video messages | Sales teams sending trackable video |
Competitor facts checked on 22 October 2026 from their own pages: loom.com/pricing · Loom help: How long can I record? · Loom help: Download your Loom video · vidyard.com/pricing · Vidyard help: Video usage and length limits in Vidyard Free · Vidyard help: How to download a video. Plans change often; check the linked page before you decide.
Which one should you pick?
Loom, if you send lots of short messages
Daily updates, quick answers and code-review context are usually under 5 minutes. Loom's comments, emoji reactions and transcripts make it feel like a conversation, and Atlassian integration (Jira, Confluence) is strong.
Vidyard, if you sell with video
Vidyard's paid plans revolve around sales: view tracking, CRM and sales-engagement integrations, CTAs on the video page, AI avatars. The free plan is mainly a way to try it; 5 recordings a month is tight for anything else.
Neither, if you mostly need the file
Lessons, product demos for a website, bug reports for a tracker, and recordings that must stay private all end up as files anyway. With both free plans you can't download. A local recorder skips that problem entirely: Bobbin vs Loom covers the trade-offs.