Loom
Riverside
| Feature | Loom | Riverside |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $12.5/mo | Free / from $15/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | remote-teams, developers, customer-success, managers, educators | podcasters, content-creators, media-companies, video-producers |
| Founded | 2015 | 2018 |
| Screen Recording | ✓ | ✓ |
| Video Messages | ✓ | ✗ |
| Transcription | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reactions | ✓ | ✗ |
| Video Editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Analytics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Local Recording | ✗ | ✓ |
| Separate Tracks | ✗ | ✓ |
| 4k Video | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ai Transcription | ✗ | ✓ |
| Magic Clips | ✗ | ✓ |
| Live Streaming | ✗ | ✓ |
| Text Based Editing | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Riverside Pros
- Records locally for uncompressed studio quality
- Separate audio and video tracks per participant
- AI-powered editing with transcription and clips
- 4K video recording support
✗ Riverside Cons
- Free plan limited to basic features
- Requires stable internet for real-time monitoring
- AI editing features still maturing
The Verdict
Loom is built for remote teams and developers, with a focus on screen-recording and video-messages. Riverside targets podcasters and content creators and leads with local-recording and separate-tracks.
Pricing is close: Loom starts at $12.5/mo versus $15/mo for Riverside — 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, Riverside offers broader built-in capabilities (8 features vs 6), while Loom takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
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.
