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Dolly vs Loom

Dolly vs Loom: a polished file, or an instant link?

Loom is built for quick async messages with a link and viewer insights. Dolly is built for screen videos people enjoy watching, with no time limit on the free plan. Here's how they really compare, including what Loom does better.

DollyLoom
PriceFree · Pro €59 a year · Lifetime €99 onceFree · $18 per user a month · $24 with AI
Free planNo time limit, no video limit, up to 1080p with a small logo25 videos, 5 minutes each, up to 720p, watermark
Pay once instead of per seatLifetime, €99 onceNo
Editing on the free planFull editor and Auto editTrim and stitch on Business
Download your video fileYesBusiness plans
Share right after you stopStop → link with one shortcut, in under a second, or the video itselfA link, instantly
Hosted share linkGet link: 10 active on Free, unlimited on ProYes
Viewer insights, comments, reactionsComments and reactions; insights without cookies on ProYes
Viewers reply with a videoYes, no account neededYes
Clickable interactive demo from a recordingYesNo
Title, summary and chaptersMade on your Mac, on every planBusiness + AI
Team workspace and libraryTeam plan, from 3 usersYes
Automatic zoom on clicksYesNo
Smooth, redrawn cursor25 cursor setsNo
Backgrounds and framesYesNo
Camera bubbleYesYes
Captions and transcriptOn your MacYes
Export up to 4KPro and LifetimeBusiness plans
PlatformsMac (Apple silicon)Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome
Where videos liveOn your Mac; shared links onlineLoom's cloud

Dolly

Price
Free · Pro €59 a year · Lifetime €99 once
Free plan
No time limit, no video limit, up to 1080p with a small logo
Pay once instead of per seat
Lifetime, €99 once
Editing on the free plan
Full editor and Auto edit
Download your video file
Yes
Share right after you stop
Stop → link with one shortcut, in under a second, or the video itself
Hosted share link
Get link: 10 active on Free, unlimited on Pro
Viewer insights, comments, reactions
Comments and reactions; insights without cookies on Pro
Viewers reply with a video
Yes, no account needed
Clickable interactive demo from a recording
Yes
Title, summary and chapters
Made on your Mac, on every plan
Team workspace and library
Team plan, from 3 users
Automatic zoom on clicks
Yes
Smooth, redrawn cursor
25 cursor sets
Backgrounds and frames
Yes
Camera bubble
Yes
Captions and transcript
On your Mac
Export up to 4K
Pro and Lifetime
Platforms
Mac (Apple silicon)
Where videos live
On your Mac; shared links online

Loom

Price
Free · $18 per user a month · $24 with AI
Free plan
25 videos, 5 minutes each, up to 720p, watermark
Pay once instead of per seat
No
Editing on the free plan
Trim and stitch on Business
Download your video file
Business plans
Share right after you stop
A link, instantly
Hosted share link
Yes
Viewer insights, comments, reactions
Yes
Viewers reply with a video
Yes
Clickable interactive demo from a recording
No
Title, summary and chapters
Business + AI
Team workspace and library
Yes
Automatic zoom on clicks
No
Smooth, redrawn cursor
No
Backgrounds and frames
No
Camera bubble
Yes
Captions and transcript
Yes
Export up to 4K
Business plans
Platforms
Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome
Where videos live
Loom's cloud

Loom details from loom.com/pricing and Loom's help center, checked on 14 October 2026, per user per month, before tax. Loom Free limits (5 minutes per video, 25 videos, 720p, watermark) from Layerpath, checked 7 September 2026. Check them before you buy; they change often.

Different jobs.

Pick Dolly if

  • Your videos run longer than five minutes, and you'd rather not pay per seat.
  • Your video is the product: a demo, a tutorial, a launch post.
  • You want zooms and a clean cursor without editing by hand.
  • You want to paste the video itself, or a link, depending on the chat.
  • Your recordings should stay on your Mac.

Pick Loom if

  • You record from a Chrome extension or a phone.
  • You need to know exactly who watched, by name.
  • Your team shares a workspace and library of videos.
  • People record on Windows, Chromebooks or phones.
  • You send videos to prospects and need to know who watched.

Two kinds of screen video

Loom made the async message popular: hit record, talk over your screen, paste a link in Slack, see who watched. Speed and the link come first. The free Starter plan covers a lot of that, within its limits: 25 videos per person, recordings of up to 5 minutes, video up to 720p, and a Loom watermark.

Dolly is for the video you'd put your name on: a product demo on your homepage, a tutorial in your help center, a walkthrough for a customer. That's where auto zoom, a smooth cursor and a designed frame matter. Since version 0.4.1 Dolly also handles the everyday message: with Quick share, the video is on your clipboard when you press Stop.

Price, over a year

Loom lists Business at $18 per user per month and Business + AI at $24, with up to 17% off when billed yearly. At the listed price, a five-person team on Business pays $1,080 a year. Dolly is free with no time limit. Pro is €9.99 a month or €59 a year (no logo, 4K, GIF, unlimited links with stats), Lifetime €99 once, and Team €11.99 per user a month. Five people on Dolly Free pay nothing.

The free plans, side by side

Loom Starter stops each recording at five minutes (Loom help) and counts every video, archived ones included, toward 25. Trimming, downloads and 4K are on Business. Dolly Free has no time limit and no video count, includes the full editor and Auto edit, and exports up to 1080p. The catch: a small "Made with Dolly" logo sits in the corner of free exports, and Free keeps up to 10 Dolly links active at a time. More in Loom's 5-minute limit, explained.

Sharing: where Loom is ahead

This is Loom's home ground. Every Loom video has a link that plays in any browser, with comments, reactions and viewer insights, and Business adds password protection. Dolly now has two ways to share. Get link (Dolly links: 10 active on Free, unlimited on Pro) puts a short link on your clipboard in under a second and uploads while the video renders; it plays as soon as it's ready, on a page with timestamped comments, reactions, a transcript, a password or expiry if you want, and insights without cookies on Pro. Quick share puts a 1080p MP4 on your clipboard when you stop, so ⌘V pastes the video itself into Slack, Mail, Notion or Messages, with nothing uploaded. Loom still goes further for sales teams: it tells you by name who watched, and its team library goes further than Dolly's Team plan. See how to send a screen recording in Slack.

How the video looks

Loom records your screen as it is. Dolly records the cursor separately and redraws it, zooms in on your clicks and typing, and places the recording on a background with padding, rounded corners and a shadow. On a phone or in a chat preview, that's the difference between reading the button and guessing at it.

Platforms and privacy

Loom runs on Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and in Chrome, and stores videos in its cloud. Dolly runs on Macs with Apple silicon only (Windows is in the works), with no account: recording, editing and export happen on your Mac, and a video goes online only when you choose Get link.

Questions

Is Dolly a good Loom alternative for Mac?

For videos longer than five minutes, or videos that need to look polished, yes: no time limit on the free plan, auto zoom and a redrawn cursor. For a team library and knowing by name who watched, Loom is still better.

Is there a free Loom alternative without a time limit?

Yes. Dolly's free plan has no time limit and no video count, and exports up to 1080p with a small Made with Dolly logo in the corner.

Can I share a Dolly video as quickly as a Loom?

Yes. Get link puts a short link on your clipboard in under a second, and the page plays the video as soon as it's uploaded. Or use Quick share to paste the MP4 itself into Slack, Mail or Notion.

Does Dolly have share links or view counts?

Yes. Get link gives a short link with comments, reactions and a transcript; Free keeps up to 10 links active, Pro has unlimited links with stats. Insights count visitors without cookies, so you see how far people watched, not who they are.

Is Dolly cheaper than Loom?

Yes. Dolly Free has no time limit, and Pro is €9.99 a month or €59 a year. Loom Business is listed at $18 per user per month.

Keep comparing

Roll camera.

Screen Studio quality. Free. No 5-minute limit.

First time: open Dolly, click Done, then System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway (macOS 13–14: right-click Dolly → Open). Once only. Installation help

© 2026 DollyRecorded and edited on your own computer.