How to Record a Loom-Style Video (and the Alternatives)

To record a Loom-style video, you want a screen recording with a small circular webcam "bubble" composited into one file. In Loom (free), open the desktop app or Chrome extension, choose Screen and Camera, drag the bubble to a corner, and hit record — but the free tier caps you at 5 minutes per video and 25 videos total. Free no-watermark alternatives that produce the same format: Cap (cap.so), Flat.social (browser, no sign-up), and OBS Studio (manual, unlimited). Below: exact steps for each, plus when a clickable demo beats a linear video.

What a Loom-style video actually is

The format is a screen recording with a small webcam picture-in-picture overlay — circular or rounded-rectangle, usually pinned bottom-left or bottom-right, baked directly into the output file. Loom's three capture modes are Screen and Camera, Screen Only, and Camera Only. For the bubble, you pick Screen and Camera. The webcam circle is draggable and resizable while you record, so you can move it off whatever you're pointing at mid-recording.

That's the whole trick. Any tool that composites a webcam PiP into a screen capture produces a "Loom-style" video.

Option 1: Record one in Loom (free)

1. Install the Loom desktop app or the Chrome extension and sign in.
2. Open the recorder and choose Screen and Camera.
3. Pick your screen or window, confirm your mic and webcam, and (optional) open the effects/sparkle icon in the desktop app to add a frame around the bubble.
4. Drag the webcam bubble to a corner that won't cover your content. Resize it if it's too big.
5. Start recording. When you stop, Loom uploads and gives you a shareable link automatically.

The catch is the free Starter plan's 2026 limits: 5 minutes max per video, 25 videos max in your library (archived videos count toward the 25), up to 720p, up to 50 workspace members. Paid plans are Business at $15/user/mo (unlimited videos, up to 4K) and Business + AI at $20/user/mo (auto-summaries, AI editing).

Option 2: Free, no-watermark tools that match the format

Cap is the closest like-for-like free swap: a camera bubble plus the record-to-instant-link workflow, with no watermark. Flat.social is the fastest if you don't want to install anything — it runs in the browser with no account. OBS is the choice when you need full control and don't mind doing the work yourself.

Build a round webcam bubble in OBS Studio, step by step

OBS doesn't give you a round bubble out of the box — you build it.

1. In the Sources panel (bottom-left), click "+" → Video Capture Device and select your webcam.
2. Add the screen: "+" → Display Capture (whole monitor) or Window Capture (a single app). Use Window Capture if you don't want notifications or a second screen leaking into the frame.
3. Round the webcam. The reliable, widely documented method is the Alpha Mask:
   • Create or download a PNG with a transparent background and a centered solid circle.
   • Right-click the webcam source → Filters → under Effect Filters click "+" → Image Mask/Blend → set Mask type: Alpha Mask (Color Channel) → browse to your circle PNG.
   • Newer OBS builds also offer a crop/round approach, but the Alpha Mask filter is the dependable one.
4. In the preview, drag the bounding box to a corner. Hold Shift while dragging a corner handle to resize without distorting the circle into an oval.
5. Click Start Recording (lower right). Then File → Save Scene Collection so you don't rebuild this next time.

Settings and framing that make it look professional

• Record at 1080p where the tool allows it. Loom free caps at 720p; Cap and OBS don't.
• Place the bubble in the emptier corner. Bottom-right often covers a CTA button or toolbar. Move it before you record, not after.
• Check your audio toggles. Mic and system/tab audio are separate switches in most tools. Recording your voice but forgetting tab audio (or vice versa) is a silent failure you only notice on playback.
• Script the beats. Loom-style is one take — a single fumble means re-recording the whole clip. Write down the three or four things you need to hit.

When a clickable interactive demo beats a Loom video

A Loom video is linear: viewers watch your cursor at your pace, can't skip to the step they need, and you re-record the whole thing for one typo. That's fine for a quick async "here's what I changed." It's a poor fit for showing multi-step software to a prospect who wants to poke around.

For showing multi-step software, an interactive demo beats a screen-plus-webcam video: the viewer clicks through at their own speed, jumps to the part they care about, and you edit a single step instead of re-shooting. With createademo you record your product once via a Chrome extension, then add clickable hotspots, tooltips, zoom, and optional per-step audio narration — so you still get a voice, without the one-take risk.

Here's the quick test. If the answer is mostly "watch me explain something," record a Loom-style video. If the answer is "click through this product and see how it works," build a clickable product demo instead. And if you genuinely need the linear-video format with good audio, our guide to recording a software demo covers mic setup and pacing in more depth.

Pick the format to match the job: a webcam bubble for talking, a clickable demo for showing.