Verdict: pick Loom for internal and team communication, pick Vidyard for sales video. Loom is the better tool for walkthroughs, updates, and onboarding across a whole company, and costs $18 per user monthly. Vidyard is the better tool when videos go to prospects and you need branded pages, viewer analytics, and CRM follow-up; Starter costs $89 per seat monthly or $59 billed annually, and CRM integrations start on the quote-only Teams plan.
Put simply, Vidyard’s value appears after a prospect watches, while Loom’s value appears when a colleague understands the message without a meeting. That also explains the price gap: Vidyard is not just an expensive recorder, and Loom is not a lightweight sales platform.
Loom vs Vidyard at a glance
| Question | Loom | Vidyard |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Cross-functional team communication | Sales, marketing, and revenue teams |
| Core workflow | Record, send link, discuss | Personalize, send, measure, follow up |
| Free plan | Starter: 25 videos per person, 5-minute recordings | Free: 5 recordings/month, up to 30 minutes, 15 AI videos |
| Paid entry | Business: $18/user monthly (about $15 annually) | Starter: $89/seat monthly or $59 annually |
| AI tier | Business + AI: $24/user monthly (about $20 annually) | Video Agent add-on: $29/seat monthly or $24 annually on Starter |
| Analytics | Viewer insights; admin insights on Business + AI | Full and team-performance analytics on Starter |
| CRM integration | Salesforce on Enterprise | CRM/MAP integrations on Teams (quote) |
| SSO | Enterprise | Enterprise |
| AI focus | Titles, summaries, chapters, filler-word removal, meeting recaps | Scripts, stock and custom avatars, automated personalized videos |
Need a simpler team-video workflow? If you’re comparing tools for walkthroughs, updates, or onboarding, see how Chairkick prices out for your team. Compare pricing
All prices were checked on October 6, 2026; see the sources at the end.
Loom is the broader communication tool
Loom works across product, engineering, design, support, operations, and management. A creator records a screen or camera explanation, then sends a hosted page with transcript, comments, and reactions. Its simplicity suits frequent, imperfect, internal messages:
- bug reproductions and feature demos;
- project updates and handoffs;
- support walkthroughs;
- design or document feedback;
- onboarding explanations;
- replacing status meetings.
Starter is fine for light use. Business removes the 25-video and five-minute limits, adds downloads, basic editing, branding removal, and up to 4K. Business + AI adds automatic titles, summaries, chapters, filler-word and silence removal, and meeting notes.
Vidyard is built around revenue outcomes
Vidyard is positioned for B2B revenue teams. A rep can create a personalized video, put it on a branded page, see who engaged, and connect the activity to sales tools. Starter covers unlimited recording with hosting, analytics, branded sharing pages, and password protection. Teams, aimed at groups of five or more, adds CRM and marketing-automation integrations, domain playback restrictions, and custom permissions. Enterprise adds unlimited integrations, SSO, API access, and custom metadata.
That is valuable when a view should trigger action:
- prospecting and personalized outreach;
- account-based sales sequences;
- proposal or deal follow-up;
- customer onboarding owned by revenue teams;
- coaching a distributed sales team.
If nobody uses the analytics or integrations to change a follow-up, most of Vidyard’s advantage goes unused.
Pricing and free plans
Vidyard Free gives five recorded videos per month, recordings up to 30 minutes, 15 AI videos, stock avatars, and three custom avatars. Vidyard’s published plan comparison lists video hosting as not included on Free, so test how recorded messages are delivered before relying on it. Starter offers a 14-day trial. The Video Agent add-on, which creates and sends personalized AI videos, costs $29 per seat monthly or $24 annually on Starter.
Loom Starter is $0 with 25 videos per person and five-minute recordings. Business is $18 per user monthly and Business + AI $24, with roughly 17% off billed annually. Enterprise is quote-only and adds SSO, SCIM, and the Salesforce integration.
For a five-person team billed annually, Loom Business runs about $900 a year and Vidyard Starter about $3,540. Whether that gap is worth it depends entirely on whether the sales analytics change outcomes.
Analytics: useful signal or expensive decoration?
Vidyard Starter’s analytics answer whether a prospect watched, where engagement dropped, and how consistently reps use video. Teams adds advanced analytics and pushes that data into the CRM.
Loom’s viewer data reads more naturally as communication feedback: did colleagues watch and respond? Its comments and reactions help collaboration even when no CRM record exists.
Before paying for analytics, write down the decision each metric drives. “The prospect watched 80%” is only valuable if the rep knows what to do next.
Integrations and AI
Loom’s strategic integration is Atlassian (Jira, Confluence, centralized administration), and its AI improves human-recorded messages. Vidyard connects to CRMs and marketing automation from Teams up, and its AI generates scripts, avatar videos, and automated personalized outreach. That scales outreach but raises brand, consent, and authenticity questions, so review generated videos before they reach buyers.
Security and external access
Vidyard Starter includes password protection. Teams adds domain playback restrictions and custom permissions; Enterprise adds SSO and secure playback. Loom puts SSO and SCIM on Enterprise.
For both, test public and restricted access, downloads and forwarding, account removal and content ownership, and consent for viewer tracking.
A lightweight middle ground
If you need neither a revenue-video platform nor Loom’s per-user pricing, Chairkick records screen, camera, and microphone in the browser and shares an unlisted page with a transcript, summary, and timestamped comments. Links can be restricted to workspace members, and videos can be embedded elsewhere. New workspaces receive a 14-day Pro trial without a card; Pro costs $9 per recorder monthly or $72 yearly, and people who only open share links don’t need paid seats.
It does not replace Vidyard’s CRM automation or sales reporting. See Vidyard alternatives for more sales and non-sales options, or the email video guide for delivery choices.
FAQ
Which is better for onboarding new hires, Loom or Vidyard?
Loom. Onboarding new hires is internal communication: walkthroughs of tools, processes, and codebases that colleagues watch and comment on. Loom’s libraries, comments, and Atlassian integration fit that, and its Business plan costs a fraction of Vidyard Starter. Vidyard’s analytics and CRM features target external buyers and add little to employee onboarding. Customer onboarding run by a revenue team is the exception, where Vidyard’s engagement data can be useful.
Does Vidyard have a free plan?
Yes. Vidyard Free allows five recordings per month of up to 30 minutes each, plus 15 AI videos, stock avatars, and three custom avatars. Its plan comparison lists video hosting as not included. Starter adds unlimited recording with hosting and has a 14-day trial.
Does Loom have a free plan?
Yes. Loom Starter is free with 25 videos per person and recordings capped at five minutes.
Is Vidyard more expensive than Loom?
Yes. Vidyard Starter is $59 to $89 per seat per month; Loom Business is $15 to $18 per user. In a Vidyard vs Loom decision, the extra cost buys sales analytics and branded conversion pages, not a better recorder.
Can Loom replace Vidyard for sales?
For simple personal videos to prospects, often yes. For CRM-logged engagement, CTAs, and team sales reporting, no, unless you move to Loom Enterprise for its Salesforce integration.
Final recommendation
Choose Loom when the organization needs a common format for asynchronous video across many departments. Choose Vidyard when sales-video analytics, branded conversion pages, and revenue integrations are requirements with owners behind them.
If the only requirement is “record my screen and send a link,” test a simpler recorder before buying the sales stack.
Sources and fact check
Checked October 6, 2026 against Loom’s pricing page, Vidyard’s pricing page, and Vidyard’s published pricing snapshot (dated July 16, 2026). Annual Loom prices are rounded from its 17% annual discount. Confirm current prices at checkout.