How to Clone Loom
Async video messaging - record your screen and camera, share an instant link
What is Loom?
Loom is async video messaging for work. You hit record, it captures your screen and webcam at the same time, and the moment you stop, you get a shareable link - no editing, no uploading, no scheduling a meeting. The pitch is simple: replace the meeting (or the long explainer email) with a 3-minute video the other person watches whenever they want. That 'record and the link is ready' speed is the entire product, and it is why Atlassian acquired the company for about $975 million.
Under the hood Loom is a browser-and-desktop recorder plus a video host with a viewing page. The recorder uses the browser's screen-capture and camera APIs; the video is uploaded to cloud storage and served from a CDN; the viewer page shows the video with a transcript, timestamped comments, emoji reactions and view analytics (who watched, how far). Monetization is freemium: a free tier with recording limits, then paid plans per creator that unlock unlimited recordings, longer videos, transcripts, editing and engagement insights.
For a builder, Loom is one of the more clonable famous apps - the core recorder is a few browser APIs, and a niche viewer experience is very achievable. The hard, expensive parts are video processing at scale (transcoding, transcription) and bandwidth cost, so the clone opportunity is a focused one: async video for a specific audience - sales reps sending personalized walkthroughs, support teams answering tickets with video, teachers leaving feedback. Charge per seat, keep the recorder dead-simple, and let the niche viewer features do the selling.
Who it's for: Remote and hybrid teams who want to replace meetings and long messages with quick screen+camera videos. The realistic clone target is a vertical use case - sales walkthroughs, customer support replies, async standups, course feedback - where a tailored recorder and viewer beat a generic tool.
How Loom makes money
- $ Per-creator subscriptions: paid plans priced per recording user per month - the core revenue source.
- $ Free-to-paid conversion: a free tier with caps on video length and number of recordings nudges active users to upgrade.
- $ Premium features: unlimited recording, longer videos, transcripts, editing, custom branding and engagement insights gate paid tiers.
- $ Team and seat expansion: adoption spreads from one champion to the whole team as people receive and reply with videos.
- $ Enterprise: SSO/SAML, advanced security, admin controls and SCIM provisioning at custom pricing.
Rough estimate; Loom is now part of Atlassian and no longer reports standalone figures, so this is based on pre-acquisition estimates. CloneMRR is not affiliated with Loom; figures are for educational purposes.
Features to build
MVP ship this first
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โ Screen + camera recorderRecord the browser tab or screen with a webcam bubble overlay, using the browser's getDisplayMedia and getUserMedia APIs.
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โ Instant shareable linkOn stop, the video uploads and a unique watch URL is created and copied to the clipboard immediately.
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โ Video viewer pageA clean public watch page with the player, title, creator info and a privacy setting (public link / workspace-only).
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โ Library dashboardA grid of the creator's recordings with thumbnail, title, date, duration and view count; rename and delete.
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โ Comments & reactionsViewers leave timestamped comments and emoji reactions on the watch page; the creator gets notified.
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โ Accounts & workspacesEmail/Google auth, personal library plus a shared workspace so a team can see each other's videos.
Full version add later
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+ Auto transcription & captionsSpeech-to-text generates a searchable transcript and captions via a third-party API (e.g. Deepgram or Whisper).
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+ Trim & basic editingCut the start/end, remove filler, and stitch clips without re-recording.
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+ View analyticsPer-viewer engagement: who watched, completion rate, drop-off points and a viewer list.
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+ Custom branding & CTAsCustom thumbnail, logo, brand colors and a call-to-action button on the watch page.
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+ Folders, search & sharing controlsOrganize into folders, full-text search across transcripts, and granular link permissions.
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+ Integrations & embedsEmbed videos in docs and help centers, plus Slack/email notifications and one-click insert into tools.
Recommended tech stack
| Layer | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Frontend | Next.js + Tailwind CSS | The recorder and viewer are interactive React components; SSR gives fast, shareable watch pages with proper og tags. |
| Recording | MediaRecorder + getDisplayMedia / getUserMedia | Native browser APIs capture screen and camera with no plugins; canvas compositing draws the webcam bubble onto the screen track. |
| Storage & delivery | Cloudflare R2 / S3 + a CDN (or Mux) | Video files are large; object storage plus CDN keeps delivery cheap and fast. Mux or Cloudflare Stream handles transcoding if you outgrow raw files. |
| Backend & DB | Node.js + PostgreSQL (Supabase) | Metadata (videos, views, comments, workspaces) is relational; Supabase adds auth and storage with signed upload URLs. |
| Transcription | Deepgram or OpenAI Whisper API | Outsource speech-to-text rather than running models yourself; transcripts power search and captions. |
| Hosting | Vercel or Cloudflare | Edge-rendered watch pages worldwide and serverless functions for upload URLs and webhooks. |
AI prompts to clone Loom
Pick your builder, copy the prompt, paste it and iterate. Enter your email once to unlock all prompts on every page - we'll also send you this full prompt pack.
Build an async video messaging web app called ClipCast, modeled on Loom.
## Core concept
Users record their screen and webcam at the same time, and the instant they stop, they get a shareable link to a watch page. The whole point is speed: no editing, no upload wait the user has to think about - record, stop, share.
## User roles
- Creator: records videos, manages their library, sees who watched
- Viewer: watches via a shared link, leaves comments and reactions (no account needed for public links)
- Workspace admin: manages members and shared folders
Tools to build your Loom clone
Describe your app in plain English and Lovable builds a full-stack web app with auth, database and deployment included.
Best for: Full-stack web apps without writing code
StackBlitz's AI builder. Prompt, run and edit full-stack apps directly in the browser, then deploy in one click.
Best for: Rapid prototypes and web apps
AI app builder with built-in database, auth and hosting. Strong for internal tools and CRUD-heavy products.
Best for: Dashboards, marketplaces and internal tools
The AI code editor. Full control over your codebase with AI agents that write and refactor code for you.
Best for: Developers who want full code ownership
Generates production-grade React + Tailwind UI from a prompt, deployable to Vercel instantly.
Best for: Polished UI and front-ends
Workers, Pages, R2 and D1 - host your clone on a global edge network with a generous free tier.
Best for: Serverless apps and APIs
Cheap VPS and managed hosting with an AI website builder. Easiest way to put a clone online on a budget.
Best for: Budget VPS and WordPress-style sites
How to make money with a Loom clone
Pick a vertical use case
Don't build generic async video - build it for one job. 'Video replies for support tickets', 'personalized sales walkthroughs', or 'async feedback for online courses' each get a tailored recorder, viewer and integrations that a horizontal tool can't match.
Freemium with usage caps
Free tier with limits on video length and monthly recordings, paid per-creator plans that unlock unlimited recording, transcripts, editing and analytics. The caps create a natural upgrade moment for active users.
Sell the analytics, not just the recorder
Sales and marketing teams pay for engagement insight - who watched, how far, when. Make per-viewer analytics and CTAs on the watch page a premium feature; that data is worth more than the recording itself to a revenue team.
Embeds and integrations as the wedge
Let videos embed cleanly in help centers, docs and CRMs, and add one-click insert into the tools your niche already uses. Distribution inside existing workflows is what turns a recorder into a habit - and a paid seat.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Loom make?
Loom was acquired by Atlassian in 2023 for about $975 million and no longer reports standalone revenue. Pre-acquisition estimates put it in the rough range of $8Mโ$12M per month (low tens of millions ARR) from its freemium per-creator subscriptions. Treat any figure as an estimate.
How hard is it to build a Loom clone?
Medium. The recorder itself is surprisingly approachable - the browser's getDisplayMedia and getUserMedia APIs plus MediaRecorder do the heavy lifting, and compositing a webcam bubble on a canvas is a known pattern. The genuinely hard, costly parts are video transcoding, transcription and bandwidth at scale, which you can defer or outsource (Mux, Deepgram) in an MVP.
Is it legal to clone Loom?
Yes - screen recording and video hosting are legal and widely offered (Vidyard, Vimeo Record, Tella, Scribe). You cannot copy Loom's name, logo, branding or proprietary code, but the model - record screen + camera, share a link, host the viewer - is yours to build. Use your own brand and a focused niche.
What tech stack should I use for a Loom clone?
A solid 2026 stack: Next.js + Tailwind for the recorder and watch pages, the browser MediaRecorder/getDisplayMedia/getUserMedia APIs for capture, Cloudflare R2 or S3 behind a CDN for the video files, Supabase (Postgres) for metadata and auth, and Deepgram or Whisper for transcripts. Upload via signed URLs - never stream large files through your own server.
How much does it cost to build a Loom clone?
With AI builders, a working MVP costs under $100/month in tooling and 2โ3 weeks of evenings. The ongoing cost driver is storage and bandwidth: video is heavy, so a CDN and (eventually) a transcoding service like Mux or Cloudflare Stream become real line items as usage grows. A polished production build typically runs $15,000โ$60,000.
What is the hardest part of a Loom clone at scale?
Video infrastructure. Recording is easy; serving thousands of videos reliably across devices means transcoding to multiple formats, generating thumbnails and captions, and paying for CDN bandwidth. Most successful clones outsource this to Mux or Cloudflare Stream rather than building their own pipeline, and keep the differentiation in the niche viewer experience.
More apps to clone
CloneMRR is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Loom. Revenue figures are rough estimates based on public reports and are provided for educational purposes only. "Cloning" here means building an original product inspired by a proven business model - never copy a brand's name, logo, content or code.