Loom
Rocket.Chat
| Feature | Loom | Rocket.Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $12.5/mo | Free / from $4/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.1 / 5 |
| Best For | remote-teams, developers, customer-success, managers, educators | security-conscious-organizations, government, self-hosters, enterprises |
| Founded | 2015 | 2015 |
| Screen Recording | ✓ | ✗ |
| Video Messages | ✓ | ✗ |
| Transcription | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reactions | ✓ | ✗ |
| Video Editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Analytics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Channels | ✗ | ✓ |
| Direct Messaging | ✗ | ✓ |
| Video Calls | ✗ | ✓ |
| Federation | ✗ | ✓ |
| E2e Encryption | ✗ | ✓ |
| Marketplace | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Rocket.Chat Pros
- Fully open-source and self-hostable
- End-to-end encryption
- Federation support between instances
- Highly customizable
✗ Rocket.Chat Cons
- Self-hosted requires maintenance
- Mobile apps less polished than Slack
- Smaller app ecosystem
The Verdict
Loom is built for remote teams and developers, with a focus on screen-recording and video-messages. Rocket.Chat targets security conscious organizations and government and leads with channels and direct-messaging.
On pricing, Rocket.Chat is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $4/mo compared to $12.5/mo for Loom. That $8.5/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Loom edges out on user ratings (4.5 vs 4.1). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Bottom line: Loom has a slight overall edge — but if fully open-source and self-hostable matters most to you, Rocket.Chat may still be the right call.
