Around
Loom
| Feature | Around | Loom |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $10/mo | Free / from $12.5/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | remote-teams, hybrid-teams, developers, creative-teams | remote-teams, developers, customer-success, managers, educators |
| Founded | 2019 | 2015 |
| Floating Bubbles | ✓ | ✗ |
| Noise Cancellation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Auto Leveling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Screen Sharing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reactions | ✓ | ✓ |
| Meeting Notes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Calendar Integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Screen Recording | ✗ | ✓ |
| Video Messages | ✗ | ✓ |
| Transcription | ✗ | ✓ |
| Video Editing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Analytics | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Around Pros
- Minimal screen footprint with floating video bubbles
- Excellent AI noise cancellation
- Auto-equalizes audio levels between participants
- Designed for casual always-on collaboration
✗ Around Cons
- Limited features for formal presentations
- Smaller user base than major platforms
- No recording on free plan
✓ Loom Pros
- Instant async video communication
- Screen + webcam recording
- Auto-transcription and captions
- Slack and Notion integration
✗ Loom Cons
- 25-video limit on free plan
- 5-minute recording limit on free
- Requires good internet for fast uploads
The Verdict
Around is built for remote teams and hybrid teams, with a focus on floating-bubbles and noise-cancellation. Loom targets remote teams and developers and leads with screen-recording and video-messages.
Pricing is close: Around starts at $10/mo versus $12.5/mo for Loom — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Around offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Loom takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for remote teams, developers — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.
