Loom vs Vidyard vs Tella: Client Video Updates in 2026
Async video is replacing status-update meetings. Real 2026 pricing and a verdict on which recorder fits freelance client work.
The Delivvo team· September 7, 2026 7 min read
Pick Loom if you want the fastest, most familiar screen-and-face recorder for quick client updates. Pick Vidyard if video is part of your sales and outreach, not just your project updates. Pick Tella if you want recorded updates that look polished and produced rather than plain. All three let you record your screen and yourself and send a link, replacing a meeting the client can watch whenever they want. For freelancers, async video is turning the dreaded status-update call into a two-minute recording, and the right tool depends on whether you are updating clients, selling to them, or trying to look produced doing it.
Why async video beats another meeting
The case for recording an update instead of scheduling a call is the state of the workday. Microsoft found workers are interrupted roughly every two minutes, around 275 times a day, and receive 117 emails plus 153 Teams messages on a typical weekday, per its Work Trend Index. Adding a live meeting to that is a tax on both you and the client. A recorded update lets them watch on their own time, at their own pace.
The scale of the shift is real. Loom customers recorded 88 million videos in 2024, which the company estimates replaced 202 million meetings, per Atlassian. For a freelancer, that math is personal: every recorded walkthrough is a call you did not have to schedule, attend, and recover from.
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Keep it short, and they will watch
The one rule of client video is brevity. Vidyard's benchmark of hundreds of thousands of videos found those under one minute had a 65% completion rate, while videos over 20 minutes fell to 20%, per Vidyard. A tight two-minute update gets watched to the end. A rambling fifteen-minute one gets abandoned halfway. Record like the client is busy, because they are.
A person on a video call using a laptop at a home office desk
The 2026 pricing, side by side
| Tool | Free | Paid | Best for | |---|---|---|---| | Loom | yes (25 videos, 5-min cap) | Business $18, Business + AI $24 | fast client updates | | Vidyard | yes | paid tiers (sales-focused) | video in sales and outreach | | Tella | trial | paid, from the mid-teens | polished, produced updates |
Loom is free for up to 25 videos with a five-minute recording cap, then $18 a creator a month for Business and $24 for Business plus AI, per Loom's pricing page. It is owned by Atlassian, which acquired it for $975 million in October 2023 and has pushed it hard into AI features like auto meeting notes. Vidyard offers a free plan and paid tiers aimed more at sales and marketing video than internal updates. Tella is the design-forward option, focused on making recordings look produced, with paid plans and no permanent free tier. Confirm the current Vidyard and Tella prices on their own pages, since both move.
Where each one wins
Loom wins for pure client updates. It is the fastest to record, the most familiar to clients, and generous enough on the free tier to start today. For sending a quick screen walkthrough of a design, a build, or a report, it is the default, and 25 million people at 400,000 companies already use it, per Fast Company.
Vidyard wins if video is part of how you win work, not just how you report on it. Its analytics, hosting, and integrations lean toward sales and outreach, so if you send video pitches or embed video in proposals, it is built for that job.
Tella wins on production value. If you want your updates to look intentional, with clean backgrounds, layouts, and transitions, rather than a plain screen recording, Tella is the one that makes a two-minute clip look designed.
Async video fits a broader way of working that many freelancers are adopting. Our guide to async-first freelancing and why Loom is killing standups covers the wider shift. However you record the update, where you deliver it matters: a recorded walkthrough dropped into a branded client portal reads as part of a professional service, while the same link buried in an email thread gets lost.
How to record a client update people actually watch
The tool is the easy part. The skill is recording something a busy client watches to the end. A few habits make the difference. Lead with the point in the first ten seconds, since that is where you either earn the next two minutes or lose them. Show, do not tell: share your screen and walk through the actual work rather than talking at the camera about it, because a visual walkthrough is faster to follow than a description. Keep one update to one topic, so the client can watch the two-minute clip that concerns them instead of scrubbing through a fifteen-minute catch-all. And end with a clear ask, the one decision or approval you need, so the video drives an action rather than just informing.
The momentum behind this way of working is real. Video creation jumped 88% in 2024 over the prior year, and 241% more per user, per Vidyard's benchmark, as more teams replace live meetings with recordings. The reason is not novelty, it is time. When the workday already runs long, with Microsoft noting meetings after 8pm rose 16% year over year, per its Work Trend Index, a recorded update the client watches on their own schedule is a genuine relief for both sides. A tight, well-structured video is not just more convenient than a meeting, it often communicates the work better, because the client can pause, rewind, and revisit the exact moment they need.
Delivvo gives freelancers one branded portal for proposals, contracts, file delivery, and invoices, so a recorded update lives alongside the deliverables and the invoice instead of getting lost in an inbox. Clients pay you directly through your own gateway, and Delivvo takes 0% of it. See how it works
Frequently asked questions
Is async video really better than a status call?
For most updates, yes. A recorded walkthrough lets the client watch on their own schedule and rewatch the parts they need, without adding a meeting to an already-interrupted workday. Live calls still win for real discussion and decisions, but for one-way status updates, video is faster for everyone.
How long should a client video update be?
Under two minutes wherever possible. Videos under one minute complete at around 65%, while those over 20 minutes drop to about 20%. Keep it tight, lead with the point, and record as if the client is busy, because they are.
Is Loom free enough for a freelancer?
For light use, often yes. The free plan covers 25 videos with a five-minute cap, which suits occasional updates. If you record regularly or need videos longer than five minutes, the $18 Business plan removes those limits and adds AI features.
Which tool is best if I send video in my proposals?
Vidyard, because its analytics and hosting are built for sales and outreach video, so you can see who watched and for how long. Loom can work for this too, but Vidyard is the stronger fit when video is part of how you pitch and win clients rather than just how you update them.
Can clients reply to a recorded video update?
Yes, and that is part of the appeal. Loom, Vidyard, and Tella all let viewers leave timestamped comments or reactions on the video, so a client can respond to a specific moment without scheduling a call. That turns a one-way update into an async conversation, which is usually faster than a meeting for feedback and approvals.
Do I need a fancy setup to record client videos?
No. A laptop with its built-in camera and microphone, in a quiet room with a plain background, is enough for a professional client update. Good lighting and clear audio matter more than expensive gear. If you want the recordings to look more produced, that is where a tool like Tella helps, but plain screen-and-face recordings are perfectly acceptable for most client work.
The takeaway
Async video is quietly replacing the status-update meeting, and that is good news for a freelancer's calendar. Loom is the fast, familiar default for client updates, Vidyard is the pick when video is part of your sales, and Tella is for making updates look produced. Keep every recording short so it actually gets watched, and deliver it somewhere professional so it strengthens the client relationship instead of vanishing into an inbox. The tool you pick matters far less than two habits: keep every update short enough that a busy client watches to the end, and deliver it somewhere they will actually see it rather than a buried email link. Get those two right, and a tight two-minute recording does more for the relationship than a thirty-minute call ever could, while handing you back the time that call would have cost.
