Tella vs Loom vs Showplain: Which Screen Recorder Fits Your Work in 2026?

Tella vs Loom comes down to one question: do you want a polished video or a quick one? Tella is built for edited, good-looking videos like product demos, tutorials and course lessons. It has no free plan. Loom is built for fast team messages, with a free plan, apps on every device and team features. We make Showplain, the third tool here, so please read our parts with that in mind. Showplain is for quick videos that people can read: every recording gets an AI summary, key points and transcript, free.

We checked every price and feature below on the official pricing and help pages on 1 November 2026.

Tella vs Loom vs Showplain: comparison table

Sources: Tella pricing, Tella web app recording, Loom pricing, Loom AI features, Loom recording length, Loom install options, Loom trial FAQ, Carly on Loom yearly prices, Showplain pricing. Prices as of November 2026.

Tella vs Loom: the core difference

Both tools record your screen and camera and give you a share link. They are built for different jobs.

Tella is a recording studio. Tella’s own docs say it’s designed for recording in separate clips and combining them in the editor, rather than nailing one long take (Tella help). After recording, you can edit on a timeline or by transcript, remove filler words and silences, add layouts, auto zoom, backgrounds, borders, music and subtitles, and export in up to 4K (Tella pricing). The result looks like a finished product video.

Loom is a messaging tool. You hit record, talk, stop, and paste the link into Slack or email. Its strength is speed and reach: desktop apps, a Chrome extension and mobile apps (Loom), plus comments, reactions and viewer insights, even on the free plan (Starter plan FAQ). Editing exists, but only on paid plans.

Recording and editing

• Tella records clips of up to 6 hours each on all plans. Its Mac and Windows apps record in native 4K with system audio. You can also record in the browser with Tella’s web app, though multi-clip recording and the editor are for computers, not phones.
• Loom caps free recordings at 5 minutes and has no limit on paid plans. Trim and stitch come with Business. The Chrome extension has basic features; drawing, virtual backgrounds and HD need the desktop app.
• Showplain records up to 15 minutes free and 60 minutes on Pro. It has no editor. You can pause while recording, and the link is ready the moment you stop.

AI features

• Tella lists AI-generated titles, descriptions and chapters, an AI mistakes finder, AI audio enhancement, AI document generation and a chat-based AI editor (Tella Agent, in beta, using monthly credits). Transcription covers 106 languages. Its pricing page does not mention AI summaries.
• Loom gives auto titles on every plan. Summaries, chapters, filler word removal, edit by transcript and AI workflows need Business + AI (Loom AI features).
• Showplain writes a transcript, short summary and key points for every recording on Free, and adds clickable chapters and action items on Pro. You can speak in many languages, but the summary is written in English.

Pricing (as of November 2026)

Tella’s pricing page shows yearly prices only, so we can’t confirm its monthly price. Sources: Tella, Loom, Carly, Showplain.

Where each tool falls short

No tool wins everything. Here are the honest weak spots.

Tella

• No free plan. After the 7-day trial, you pay or stop.
• More work per video. The editor is the point, but quick updates take longer than in Loom or Showplain.
• Removing Tella branding and using a custom domain needs Premium at $19 per user per month.

Loom

• The free plan is tight: 5-minute recordings, 25 videos, 720p, and you can’t download your own videos. See our full guide to Loom’s free plan limits.
• AI summaries and chapters cost $24 per user per month billed monthly.
• You need the desktop app or Chrome extension to record.

Showplain

• Chrome and Edge on a computer only. No Safari, Firefox, phone or desktop app.
• No editing, no comments, no viewer analytics and no team workspaces.
• Free share links stop working after 90 days.
• The AI summary is in English only.
• It’s brand new (launched November 2026), so there are no reviews yet.

Who should pick which

Pick Tella if:

• You make product demos, course lessons, YouTube tutorials or launch videos, and polish matters.
• You want layouts, zoom effects, 4K export and a real editor.
• You’re fine paying from the start, at $13 per user per month or more billed yearly.

Pick Loom if:

• You send many quick videos to coworkers and want comments, reactions and viewer insights.
• You need to record on a phone or across desktop apps.
• Your company already uses Atlassian tools, or you want a free plan and can live within 5 minutes and 25 videos.

Pick Showplain if:

• You want your viewers to read the video: summary, key points and transcript next to it.
• You can’t install apps or extensions on your computer.
• You want AI notes free, or full AI notes (with chapters and action items) for $12 a month or $79 once.
• You need a quick demo with your logo and a “Book a call” button under it.

We go deeper on the last two in Showplain vs Loom.

Loom vs Tella (and Showplain) for common jobs

Looking for a Tella alternative?

People usually search for a Tella alternative for one of two reasons: they want something free, or they want something faster for everyday videos.

• If you want free: Loom Starter and Showplain Free both cost $0. Loom gives you 25 videos of up to 5 minutes. Showplain gives you unlimited recordings of up to 15 minutes, with AI notes, but links last 90 days. Neither has Tella’s editor.
• If you want heavy AI editing: Descript has a free plan with 60 media minutes a month and watermarked 720p exports, and paid plans from $16 per month billed yearly as of November 2026 (Descript pricing). It’s an editor first, not a quick-share tool.
• If you want quick videos people can read: Showplain records in your browser and puts the summary next to the video. You can start free with 14 days of Pro, no card needed.

For more options, see our list of the best Loom alternatives, many of which also work as Tella alternatives.