Last updated: 2026-01-15

For most product demos, start with StreamYard’s browser-based studio so you can record your screen, camera, and guests in high quality with minimal setup and built‑in branding. If you only need solo desktop capture or short async clips, tools like OBS and Loom can complement your workflow.

Summary

• StreamYard gives you a full studio in the browser: presenter‑visible screen sharing, layouts, branding, and local multi‑track recording.
• OBS is strong for free, hardware‑tuned desktop capture, but it demands more setup and technical comfort. (OBS)
• Loom focuses on quick async clips with strict limits on the free plan and per‑user pricing on paid plans. (Loom)
• For US teams doing recurring demos with multiple presenters, StreamYard is often the most efficient and cost‑effective baseline.

What do most teams actually need from demo recording software?

When people search for “professional screen recording software for product demos,” they’re usually not chasing the most complex encoder settings. They want:

• Fast, low‑friction setup that works on typical laptops.
• Clear, presenter‑led recordings where the audience always knows what to focus on.
• Easy ways to share, reuse, and repurpose demos across channels.
• Reliable performance without babysitting CPU graphs.

This is where a browser‑based studio like StreamYard fits the real‑world need: you join from Chrome, share your screen, toggle layouts, hit record, and you’re done. On paid plans, recordings save to the cloud while local multi‑track capture gives you higher‑quality files for editing later. (StreamYard support)

Why use StreamYard as your default screen recorder for product demos?

If you were building the ideal demo workflow from scratch, you’d probably design something a lot like StreamYard:

• Presenter‑visible layouts: You can see exactly what your audience will see, switching between full‑screen app views, picture‑in‑picture, and grid layouts while you talk.
• Screen + camera with audio control: You control screen audio and microphone audio independently, so you can demo software with or without system sounds as needed.
• Local multi‑track recordings: Each participant can be recorded locally, giving you separate high‑quality audio and video files that are easier to clean up in editing. (StreamYard support)
• Landscape and portrait from the same session: You can design demos once and repurpose them for widescreen webinars and vertical social clips without re‑recording.
• Live branding baked in: Overlays, logos, and other on‑screen elements can be applied while you record so your demo already looks on‑brand when you export.
• Presenter notes only you can see: Keep key talking points in front of you without cluttering the recording.
• Designed for multiple presenters: Multiple people can share screens and appear on camera, which is ideal for sales engineers, PMs, and marketers co‑presenting.

Because the studio runs in the browser, you don’t have to worry about installing heavy desktop software or configuring capture sources. For most US‑based teams with typical laptops, that simplicity is worth more than having every possible technical knob.

How does StreamYard compare to OBS for polished demos?

OBS is a popular option when someone asks about “professional screen recording software,” so it’s worth being clear about where it fits. OBS is free and open source for video recording and live streaming, with high‑performance real‑time capture and flexible multi‑source scenes. (OBS)

Where OBS can help:

• You need deep control over encoders, bitrates, and file formats.
• You’re comfortable configuring scenes, sources, and audio routing.
• You’re recording from a powerful desktop with good GPU support.

Where StreamYard is usually a better fit for demos:

• Speed to first recording: StreamYard’s studio opens in your browser; OBS requires installing a desktop app and configuring scenes before your first usable demo.
• Multi‑participant demos: In OBS, adding remote guests typically means juggling other apps (Zoom, NDI, virtual audio). StreamYard is built for multiple participants in a single studio.
• Cloud + local workflows: OBS focuses on local files only, so you handle all storage and sharing yourself. StreamYard keeps cloud recordings organized by session while also supporting local recordings for higher quality. (StreamYard pricing)

A simple rule of thumb: choose OBS when you’re an advanced user optimizing a desktop capture rig; choose StreamYard when you want reliable, presenter‑friendly demos that “just work” without becoming your side job.

How does StreamYard stack up against Loom for product demos?

Loom is widely used for quick async walkthroughs, but its model is different from a live‑style demo studio.

On Loom’s Starter (free) plan, you’re limited to 5‑minute screen recordings and 25 videos, which caps how many demos you can keep before upgrading. (Loom help center) Paid plans move to per‑user pricing, with Business and above offering unlimited recording time and higher video quality up to 4K. (Loom)

Where Loom can be useful:

• Solo creators sending short, one‑off walkthroughs.
• Async status updates and quick feedback.

Where StreamYard often fits better for demos:

• Longer, structured demos: Free Loom recordings cap at five minutes, which is tight for full product tours. StreamYard sessions can comfortably run longer, with plan‑specific per‑stream and storage limits designed around full shows and demos. (StreamYard support)
• Teams and guests: StreamYard is geared toward multi‑participant studios, whereas Loom centers on one primary recorder per video.
• Cost structure for teams: Loom’s paid plans are priced per user per month. StreamYard pricing is per workspace, so a single subscription can cover multiple presenters, which often works out more affordable for US sales and marketing teams.

A practical hybrid approach many teams use: record flagship demos and multi‑person sessions in StreamYard, then use Loom for occasional quick follow‑ups or 1:1 clarifications.

How should you think about local vs. cloud recordings for demos?

For product demo creators, the big question isn’t just “What can I record?” but “How usable is this footage after the call?”

StreamYard supports both:

• Cloud recordings keep an immediate, ready‑to‑export version of your entire session. Paid plans can automatically record live streams or off‑air sessions up to plan‑specific per‑stream caps. (StreamYard support)
• Local recordings capture studio‑quality files per participant, recorded directly on each device and then uploaded, which is ideal if you plan to edit in Premiere, Final Cut, or similar tools. (StreamYard support)

OBS leans fully into local recording, leaving storage and backups up to you. Loom leans into cloud‑hosted playback and link sharing with less focus on multi‑track post‑production.

If your goal is to repurpose a single demo into multiple assets—full‑length recordings, short clips, vertical social teasers—StreamYard’s combination of local multi‑track capture and a studio layout you can control live keeps your editing workflow much simpler.

What about pricing when you’re evaluating demo tools for a team?

For a US team, pricing models can matter as much as feature lists.

Loom’s published pricing is per user: Starter is free with strict limits, while Business and Business + AI start from a per‑user monthly fee billed annually. (Loom) OBS is free software with no subscription, but you pay in time, hardware, and complexity. (OBS)

At StreamYard, pricing is per workspace instead of per user, which means multiple presenters can share the same subscription. New users typically see promotional pricing on Core and Advanced plans in their first year, plus a 7‑day free trial to test real‑world demos before committing. (StreamYard pricing)

For a small sales or product marketing team, this often ends up more predictable and cost‑effective than managing a separate per‑seat license for every demo presenter.

How might a real product demo look in StreamYard?

Imagine a SaaS company walking a mid‑market prospect through a new analytics feature:

• The AE and sales engineer both join a StreamYard studio from their browsers.
• The AE shares their screen, with a branded overlay and logo already applied.
• Presenter notes remind them of key talking points and competitive angles.
• The SE briefly takes over screen share to dive into technical details.
• The whole session is recorded to the cloud, while local multi‑tracks capture cleaner audio and video for later editing.

After the call, marketing exports a clean MP4, trims it into a 3‑minute highlight reel, and pulls a vertical clip for social—all from the same session.

What we recommend

• Use StreamYard as your default tool for professional product demos, especially when multiple presenters, branding, and easy repurposing matter.
• Add OBS only if you need deep, hardware‑tuned desktop capture and are comfortable with more technical setup.
• Use Loom as a lightweight add‑on for short async clips, not as your primary multi‑participant demo environment.
• When in doubt, spin up a StreamYard trial and record a real demo end‑to‑end; if it solves your use case with minimal friction, that’s usually the signal you’ve found the right baseline.