Cap
Screen Recording · cap.so
Cap is an open-source screen recording app for macOS, Windows and Linux that offers quick shareable-link recordings (Instant Mode) and a full editor (Studio Mode), with optional cloud sharing.
Switching to Loom saves $29 / year and covers 56% of the compared capabilities.
Find my alternative
Way less money.
Top Cap alternatives
We compared 8 products and found 6 cheaper alternatives · vs Cap Desktop License at $2.42/mo · scenario: single user, monthly billing, USD.
Cap’s own free plan covers this scenario. If you’re paying for features you don’t use, downgrading beats switching. The paid comparison below is for when you’ve outgrown free tiers — the “Free plans” view shows alternatives if you want free with different limits.
Cap costs $2.42/mo on the Desktop License plan at single user, monthly billing. We found 6 assessed alternatives that are cheaper in this scenario; 0 of them cover at least 75% of the 9 compared capabilities. Cap's own free plan covers this scenario, so downgrading may beat switching.
| Product | Match | Price | Annual savings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
TOP PICK Loom Starter plan · missing: Event tracking, Self-hosting / own storage, Custom domain, Desktop app | 56% | Free paid from $18/mo how? ⓘ | $29 / year 100% cheaper | |
Tella Free plan · missing: Event tracking, Self-hosting / own storage, AI summaries & chapters, Desktop app | 56% | Free paid from $13/mo how? ⓘ | $29 / year 100% cheaper | |
Zight Share plan · missing: Event tracking, Self-hosting / own storage, AI summaries & chapters, Desktop app | 56% | Free paid from $9.95/mo how? ⓘ | $29 / year 100% cheaper | |
Screen Charm Free plan · missing: SSO (SAML/SCIM), Event tracking, Custom domain, Password-protected shares, AI summaries & chapters, Desktop app capture editor — adjacent | 33% | Free paid from $6.58/mo how? ⓘ | $29 / year 100% cheaper | |
Komodo Free plan · missing: Transcription & captions, 4K export, SSO (SAML/SCIM), Event tracking, Self-hosting / own storage, Custom domain, Password-protected shares | 22% | Free how? ⓘ | $29 / year 100% cheaper | |
Screenity Free Chrome extension plan · missing: 4K export, SSO (SAML/SCIM), Event tracking, Self-hosting / own storage, Custom domain, AI summaries & chapters, Desktop app capture editor — adjacent | 22% | Free paid from $10/mo how? ⓘ | $29 / year 100% cheaper |
Which Cap alternative for which situation
Picked by the numbers in this scenario — same subtype unless stated, assessed products only.
- Best free plan
- Loom — $0/mo (Starter plan) · covers 56%
- Best open source or self-hosted
- Screenity — $0/mo (Free Chrome extension plan) · covers 22%
- Need transcription & captions, 4K export, SSO (SAML/SCIM), password-protected shares or AI summaries & chapters?
- Loom — from $0/mo (Starter plan)
- Need self-hosting / own storage?
- Screen Charm — from $0/mo (Free plan)
- Need custom domain?
- Tella — from $0/mo (Free plan)
- Need desktop app?
- Komodo — from $0/mo (Free plan)
What you give up
Capabilities Cap has that the top alternatives lack.
- SSO (SAML/SCIM) — Sign in through your company's SSO (SAML/SCIM).Missing from Screen Charm.
- Event tracking — Track specific user actions like clicks or sign-ups.Missing from Loom, Tella, Zight, Screen Charm.
- Self-hosting / own storage — Store recordings on your own infrastructure.Missing from Loom, Tella, Zight.
- Custom domain — Share recordings from your own domain.Missing from Loom, Screen Charm.
- Password-protected shares — Restrict a shared recording behind a password.Missing from Screen Charm.
- AI summaries & chapters — Generate AI summaries and chapter markers for a recording.Missing from Tella, Zight, Screen Charm.
- Desktop app — Record from a native desktop app.Missing from Loom, Tella, Zight, Screen Charm.
Feature comparison
Cap vs the top alternatives, on the 9 compared capabilities.
| Capability | Cap | Loom | Tella | Zight | Screen Charm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transcription & captions from Cap Pro | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 4K export from Free | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SSO (SAML/SCIM) from Enterprise | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Event tracking from Cap Pro | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Self-hosting / own storage | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom domain | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Password-protected shares | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| AI summaries & chapters | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Desktop app | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Scenario price cheapest qualifying plan | $2.42/mo Desktop License | $0/mo Starter | $0/mo Free | $0/mo Share | $0/mo Free |
✓ means the product offers the capability — possibly only on a higher tier than the plan priced below it. The price row shows the cheapest plan that qualifies for our comparison scenario, with its plan name; a $0 free plan may not include every checked capability.
What Cap covers
The capability set used for comparison. Grey entries are not available on self-serve plans.
- ✓ Transcription & captions — from Cap Pro
- ✓ 4K export — from Free
- ✓ SSO (SAML/SCIM) — from Enterprise
- ✓ Event tracking — from Cap Pro
- ✓ Self-hosting / own storage
- ✓ Custom domain
- ✓ Password-protected shares
- ✓ AI summaries & chapters
- ✓ Desktop app
Price ladder
Observed prices from the official pricing page.
Sources
Every claim traces to an official source and a check date.
- https://cap.so/pricing (official_pricing, checked 2026-08-26)
Frequently asked
How much does Cap cost?
Cap's Desktop License plan costs $2.42/mo in our scenario (single user, monthly billing). A free plan exists.
Is there a free Cap alternative?
Yes. Loom has a free plan that covers 56% of the 9 capabilities we compared against Cap.
What is the cheapest Cap alternative?
In our scenario (single user, monthly billing), Loom is the cheapest assessed alternative at $0/mo (Starter plan).
Does Cap have a free plan?
Yes. Cap's free plan exists; its limits are not stated on the pricing page.
When were these prices checked?
Between 2026-08-26 and 2026-09-07, on the vendors' official pricing pages.