Loom vs OBS Studio vs Riverside
A side-by-side look at Loom, OBS Studio and Riverside for filmmakers: what each one can do, what it costs, and where they actually differ.
-
Screen and camera video messages for teams, with AI summaries and edit-by-transcript.
- Price
- Free Starter plan; Business $18/user/mo and Business + AI $24/user/mo billed monthly (annual saves up to 17%)
- Learning
- Easy
- Best for
- Client review of a rough cut or dailies with time-stamped comments
-
Free, open-source app for live streaming and recording scenes from any source
- Price
- Free. No paid tier; optional donations via Open Collective or Patreon
- Learning
- Moderate
- Best for
- Recording a live performance, panel or stage event from several cameras with a laptop
-
Record remote podcast and video interviews in 4K, then edit by text and prompt.
- Price
- Free; Pro $24/mo billed annually ($29 monthly); Business custom
- Learning
- Easy
- Best for
- Remote podcast interviews recorded at 4K with separate tracks for post
The short version
Where they differ
- OBS Studio is the only one without team collaboration.
- Only Riverside offers text to image.
- Only Riverside offers text to video.
- OBS Studio is the only one without MCP server.
- OBS Studio is the only one without mobile app.
- Only OBS Studio offers open source.
All 3 offer: desktop / local, free tier.
Feature by feature
Loom vs OBS Studio vs Riverside: capabilities
| Loom | OBS Studio | Riverside | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free Starter plan; Business $18/user/mo and Business + AI $24/user/mo billed monthly (annual saves up to 17%) | Free. No paid tier; optional donations via Open Collective or Patreon | Free; Pro $24/mo billed annually ($29 monthly); Business custom |
| Node / flow builder | Partial | No | No |
| AI agent | Partial | No | Yes |
| Chat assistant | Not confirmed | No | Yes |
| Team collaboration | Yes | No | Yes |
| Text to image | No | No | Yes |
| Text to video | No | No | Yes |
| Upscaling | Partial | No | Partial |
| Third-party models | No | No | Partial |
| Public API | Not confirmed | Yes | Partial |
| MCP server | Yes | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | No | Yes |
| Desktop / local | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | No | Yes | No |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Commercial use | Not confirmed | Yes | Not confirmed |
Each column comes from that tool's own researched page. "Not confirmed" means the vendor doesn't say.
Plans
Pricing compared
Loom
| Starter | $0free |
|---|---|
| Business | $18monthly per user |
| Business + AI | $24monthly per user |
| Enterprise | customannual, custom |
OBS Studio
| OBS Studio | $0free |
|---|
Riverside
| Free | $0n/a |
|---|---|
| Pro | $24/mo annual ($288/yr); $29 monthlyannual or monthly |
| Grow | $34/mo annual ($408/yr); $39 monthlyannual or monthly |
| Webinar | $79/mo annual; $99 monthlyannual or monthly |
| Business | Customby request |
The verdict
Which one should you pick?
Loom
Pick it for
- Client review of a rough cut or dailies with time-stamped comments
- Screen-capture tutorials and how-to videos for a production team
- Recording a script read or a voice-over take for an editor who needs the transcript
Stands out
- Recording-first: screen, camera and mic captured together, shared as a link in seconds, with no export step needed for the viewer.
- Native to Atlassian: Jira, Confluence and Jira Service Management integrations, plus Loom AI turning recordings into tickets and docs.
Watch out
- Free Starter caps at 25 videos per person, 5-minute recordings and 720p
- Not a picture or timeline editor: no multitrack timeline, color, effects or generative video
OBS Studio
Pick it for
- Recording a live performance, panel or stage event from several cameras with a laptop
- Recording screen walkthroughs and tutorials for film or editing courses
- Feeding a scene into video calls or a client review via the virtual camera
Stands out
- Free with no paid tier, no watermark, no export or recording-length cap, and no account required
- Unlimited scenes and sources, with Studio Mode, Multiview and per-source audio filters (noise gate, noise suppression, gain) plus VST plugin support
Watch out
- Not an editor: recordings need to go into a separate NLE or export tool
- Interface is dense and has a real learning curve for first-time users
Riverside
Pick it for
- Remote podcast interviews recorded at 4K with separate tracks for post
- Turning a long interview into vertical clips, show notes and social posts
- Documentary talking-head interviews that need clean multitrack audio from remote subjects
Stands out
- Local multitrack capture: each guest is recorded on their own device, so a bad connection degrades the stream, not the file.
- Transcript-first editing: the AI editing agent and edit-by-prompt work from the transcript, so filler removal and cuts happen in text.
Watch out
- Free plan exports are 720p with a watermark, and recording is capped at 2 hours one-off
- Recording caps are inconsistent: the pricing table lists hours per month, while the FAQ says recording is unlimited and the cap only applies to downloads
Each column comes from that tool's own researched page, checked against vendor pricing and changelog pages (oldest check: ). Sources are listed on each tool's page.