Screencastify is a suite of video-creation tools for the classroom, from the company of the same name Chicago. It is used in K-12 classrooms around the world, for teachers and students, to create instructional videos, record presentations, and give better feedback, and to support remote learning.
$15
per month per user
Zight
Score 8.8 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
Zight (formerly CloudApp) is a solution with a community of over 4M users, offering visual asynchronous communication, eliminating the need to use different applications for screenshots, GIFs, screen recordings, and web recordings.
Screencastify is great for beginning video creators or teachers who need a tool to quickly record a screen. For those with a budget, the paid features offers basic editing and the ability to embed questions, which can make for a more polished and meaningful video. Screencastify is not for users who want to create a more polished video with an introduction or other media that needs to be included, such as background music or other images. My go to - if it's quick and easy, use Screencastify. If I want to make in-depth edits, use another solution.
When it comes to client-facing roles, this functionality is key. Before, I had to use an internal clipping or snipping tool and then download the content then share it as an attachment. With Zight, I simply capture what I want, then easily share a link that can be accessed within minutes by the ones I am engaging with. It is very easy to collaborate and clearly communicate. I would not recommend using it for internal documentation. Having too many screenshots might be hard to manage.
In all honesty I don't even have time to look for an alternative to CloudApp at this point in our business. CloudApp works for what we had planned to use it for and unless a competing service that offers the same quality and ease-of-use along with video screen capture comes out I will renew indefinitely.
If someone is used to using internal screen capture software Zight may have a small learning curve. Luckily, once you get the hang of your new capture method, it is a quick process. Updates can be tedious. Although I am glad the team is working on the application and consistently improving it.
I would give cloud app a 9/10 score on overall support mostly because I have had very little need of any support at all being that the tool was designed almost to use itself. In my opinion this level of forethought is equal to customer support. As of yet I've only had one real problem with cloud app which was the loss of a 20 minute video screen capture. Unfortunately I have not had the time to contact support about this loss. The only other minor issues that I confronted was within the initial set up which I was able to resolve via their website's support pages.
I was extremely satisfied with how quick and easy the implementation of Cloudapp was on my MacIntosh using MacOS Sierra was, along with how amazingly fast I was able to be up and going with the tool. most often with sass tools we are lucky if we can use 50% of the features without having to have consultations and a ton of back-and-forth email on how to use other features of the product. Cloud app has made it extremely user-friendly with almost no need for customer support. To My business, that equals time savings which as most business owners know, can be far more valuable than a few dollars saved.
Loom and Screencastify are the most direct comparison. They both are Chrome extensions that have a low learning curve for beginner users. Loom offers a pro license free to educators, which allows for unlimited numbers of recordings and a 45-minute cap on recording length, perfect for lessons. Screencastify's pro features are paid for but are also more in-depth. Their editing is more robust, allowing users to trim in the middle, not just the edges. Users also get unlimited recordings and no cap on video length, and some storage depending on the tier purchased. Screencastify also offers volume discounts, which can help reduce the cost significantly. Educators can also create assignments in Screencastify, which is unique to this product. Camtasia is a full-fledged editor and screen recorder, so a full comparison isn't fair, since the products have two different intended uses. Camtasia offers robust features to make a polished final video
The tools I have used in the past weren't available in the tool selector! Basically, I've mostly used Jing which I found to be quite clunky. The user interface is unnecessarily complicated and sharing files is more difficult. Trying CloudApp once was enough to see how much more superior it was to Jing! Honestly, if you need a tool that will help you take screenshots to help you communicate better with your team, give it a try!
The amount that I paid for it, I feel that it's paid for itself over and over and over multiple times, if for one reason, and that's time saved. If I have one app that does it all, quickly, and efficiently, that's my positive ROI.
