Quick answer: Loom is a screen recorder that turns a walkthrough into a shareable video. StepGrab is a native Mac app that turns the same walkthrough into a written, illustrated step-by-step guide, with no video at all. Loom is built for quick async video messages, demos, and meeting recaps. StepGrab is built for how-to documentation you read next to the task, rather than something you watch and have to pause or scrub back through.
Loom is genuinely excellent at what it's built for: recording your screen and your face and sending a video message instead of writing a paragraph. It's used daily by huge numbers of teams for async updates, demos, and quick explanations. The real difference with StepGrab is the output itself. Loom hands you a video. StepGrab hands you a document.
This page compares what each tool actually produces and how you use the result, so you can pick the one that matches your workflow rather than the one with the longer feature list.
The table below summarizes publicly available information as of July 2026. Because third-party products change often, please confirm the current details on Loom's website (linked at the bottom).
| StepGrab | Loom | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | A written guide: a cropped, annotated screenshot with a numbered arrow for every click, plus a text description of each step | A screen recording video, with an optional AI-generated text summary or step document on paid plans |
| Platforms | Native macOS app only | Web dashboard, Mac and Windows desktop app, Chrome extension, iOS and Android apps |
| Where processing happens | 100% on-device. Nothing leaves your Mac | Recordings upload to Loom's cloud for storage, playback, and AI processing |
| Account required | No account, no sign-up | Yes, a Loom account is required to record and share |
| How the step text is written | A model running locally on your Mac (Apple's on-device framework) writes each step description as you record, no API key or server involved | The Business + AI plan can auto-generate a written step-by-step document from the video's transcript after you finish recording and it uploads |
| What it can capture | Any native Mac app, including menus, submenus, and system dialogs, not just a browser | Whatever is on screen during the recording, including apps and browser tabs |
| Export formats | PDF, animated GIF, MP4 | A shareable hosted video link by default; a text document export via the AI workflow feature on paid plans |
| Pricing (as of July 2026) | Free tier: 5 guides of 10 steps each with GIF export, no account required (20 guides of 20 steps when signed in). Pro is $9.99/year or $49.99 one-time (Lifetime) | Free Starter plan (25 videos per person, 5 minutes each). Business is $18/user/month and Business + AI is $24/user/month, billed monthly (both cost less billed annually) |
Pricing and feature details for Loom are summarized from publicly available information as of July 2026 and may have changed since. Always verify on the official site before deciding.
Loom's Business + AI plan includes an AI workflow that can generate a written step-by-step document from a recorded video's transcript, pulling in screenshots from the footage. It's a real, useful feature. But it's a post-processing step on top of a video you still have to record and upload first. StepGrab works the other way around: the written guide with numbered, annotated screenshots is the primary output, created the moment you record, with no video involved and no upload.
Not for everything, and it isn't meant to. If you need to send a video message or run a live demo, Loom is the better tool for that. StepGrab is aimed specifically at step-by-step documentation that someone reads and follows, not something they watch.
No. StepGrab is a native macOS app only, with no Windows, web, or mobile version. Loom supports Windows through its desktop app, so if you need cross-platform recording, Loom covers that and StepGrab does not.
StepGrab's free tier gives you 5 guides of 10 steps each with GIF export and no account. Signing in with a free account raises that to 20 guides of 20 steps. Pro removes the limits and adds PDF, MP4 and Social export for $9.99/year or a one-time $49.99 Lifetime purchase, as of July 2026.
No. StepGrab runs entirely offline. The step text is written by a model running locally on your Mac using Apple's on-device framework, with no API key and no server involved. Nothing is uploaded and there is no sign-up.
Yes. On the Business + AI plan, Loom's AI workflows can convert a recorded video's transcript into a text document using templates like SOP or step-by-step guide, with screenshots pulled from the video. It's a genuine strength for teams already recording in Loom, though it requires recording and uploading a video first and sits behind a paid plan.
See how StepGrab compares with Folge · Guidde · iorad · ScreenSteps · Snagit · Scribe & Tango.