Loom will not let you download a video larger than 20GB. That ceiling is written into its own help center, and it is a completely different number from the 4GB cap you run into when you upload a file into Loom.
People meet both limits in the same afternoon — download a long recording, try to put it somewhere else, get stopped again. Here is what each one covers, in Loom's own wording, plus the size conversion Loom supplies and almost nobody quotes.
The limits, at a glance
| What you are doing | Official figure | Loom page |
|---|---|---|
| Downloading a Loom video | You "won't be able to download Loom videos over 20GB" | Download your Loom video |
| How big 20GB is, per Loom | "Approx. 3 hours recorded in 4K" | Download your Loom video |
| Downloading something bigger | Loom says to contact its support team | Download your Loom video |
| Uploading or importing into Loom | "4 GB or 12 hours, whichever is less" | Upload or import videos |
| Uploading from mobile | Same 4GB or 12 hours rule | Upload or import videos |
| Downloaded file format | Always ".MP4" | Download your Loom video |
| Max recording resolution | Up to 4K on the desktop app for paid roles; up to 1080p on the Chrome extension | Manage your video recording quality |
| Max size of a single recording | Not stated on the pages above — check the official documentation |
The 20GB rule, verbatim
The cap lives in a single FAQ answer on Loom's download page:
"No, downloading videos with Variables is not possible. Additionally for Loom meeting recordings only the Meeting organizer has the ability to download the video. In addition to this, you won't be able to download Loom videos over 20GB. (How big is 20GB? Approx. 3 hours recorded in 4K). However, if you do need to access a larger download, please contact our support team and we'll do our best to assist."
That is four separate blocks in one answer: videos with Variables cannot be downloaded, meeting recordings only by the organizer, anything over 20GB is refused, and support is the stated escape hatch for a larger file.
The parenthetical is the part worth keeping. "Approx. 3 hours recorded in 4K" is Loom's own conversion, not a third-party estimate, and it is the only place in these pages where a Loom file size is tied to a duration. Note what it is not: Loom gives no bitrate here, so treat it as a rough conversion for one case rather than a formula for your own footage.
Who can even produce a 20GB Loom
Two other sets of Loom numbers mark the outer edge of what could land in that range:
- 4K is desktop-app territory. Loom's recording quality page lists "Windows desktop app: up to 4K" and "Mac desktop app: up to 4K" for paid roles, while the Chrome extension tops out at 1080p — Loom's plan FAQ explains that gap in one line: "This is a limitation of Chrome and one of the reasons we built the desktop app." Meeting recordings are fixed too: "The quality is set at 1080p to preserve memory and CPU resources, and can't be adjusted."
- Recording length depends on which page you read. Loom's "How long can I record?" page says "Loom Business, Business + AI and Enterprise can enjoy unlimited recording time," and the Enterprise plan FAQ lists "Unlimited recording length." The Business plan FAQ and the plan comparison page instead list "Up to 6 hours recording length." Those are Loom's own pages disagreeing — check the current limit in the official documentation rather than planning around either figure.
Free Starter accounts sit outside this entirely: five minutes per recording, and no downloading at all. That one is covered in Loom's 5-minute recording limit.
Check permissions before you blame the file size
A refused download is more often a role problem than a size problem. Loom's download page is explicit:
"The download feature is only available on Business, Business+ AI, or Enterprise plans. Users on the Starter Free plan can't download videos."
"Note that Creator Lite and Viewer roles don't have download permissions on any plan."
Loom adds a condition creators miss: "Viewers who are not signed in to Loom or have the Starter free plan will not be able to download your video regardless of your video settings." Regardless — the download toggle on your video does not help them.
There is also a workspace-level switch: Loom's page on disabling downloads says that once it is on, "users in your workspace will no longer have the ability to download videos and transcripts."
The other cap, pointing the other way: 4GB
This is where the two limits collide. Loom's documented route for moving a video between accounts is to download it and upload it again: "Simply download your videos from one account, then log into your preferred Loom account and upload the video." A separate page notes this "requires a paid Loom plan and paid seats on both" accounts.
But the upload side has its own ceiling: "Loom limits uploads to 4 GB or 12 hours, whichever is less." Loom also names the usual failure modes: a "Failed to process" message "most often occurs because the file is over 4 GB, its frames per second are over 60, or its resolution is over 4096 x 2160."
So a 6GB file can be perfectly downloadable and still be rejected on the way back in. Downloading is capped at 20GB; re-uploading is capped at 4GB. The gap between those two numbers is yours to handle.
What to do when you hit it
- Over 20GB and you need the file: Loom's stated route is to contact its support team.
- Under 20GB but too big for its destination: compress the downloaded MP4 before you send or re-upload it.
- Planning ahead: pick the recording resolution deliberately. Loom "will default to the resolution best suited to your device and connection," but you "can still manually select a different resolution from the drop-down menu."
For the middle case, re-encoding is the whole job:
Try it right here
Runs in your browser. Your file is not uploaded anywhere.
That runs inside this browser tab — your file is read from disk, re-encoded locally, and handed back, so a recording that was private in Loom is not uploaded to a third-party server to be shrunk. It outputs H.264 in an MP4 container, which is what Loom recommends for uploads: its own guidance is to export "using the media specifications in the above table (H.264/AAC to . MP4 file.)". The standalone compress video page is the same engine.
Gotchas worth knowing before you download
The download is always MP4, and "similar" is not "identical." Loom writes that "All videos downloaded from Loom will be in a .MP4 format" and that "The MP4 media encoding specs are similar to the RAW media recorded." The encoding parameters are not given on these pages.
Captions do not come with it. Loom lists "CTAs, Filler Word + Silence removal, Chapters, and Closed Captions" among the things that "will not be included in the downloaded file," while trims are retained. If you need subtitles in the exported file, see Loom downloads with no captions.
Very long videos may be past the editor's ceiling. Loom's editing page states "You will only be able to trim videos that are five hours or less in length," and "up to 500 trims per clip." That is a limit on trimming, not on recording — but it means a very long recording cannot simply be cut down inside Loom first.
FAQ
What is the maximum size of a Loom video you can download? 20GB. Loom's download FAQ states you "won't be able to download Loom videos over 20GB," and directs anyone who needs a larger download to contact its support team.
How long a video is 20GB? Loom's own answer is "Approx. 3 hours recorded in 4K." That is the conversion Loom publishes; it does not give a bitrate on these pages, so it is a rough guide for 4K rather than a rule you can apply to a 720p or 1080p recording.
Why can't I download my Loom video even though it is small? Size is only one of the blocks. Loom also lists videos with Variables as undownloadable, restricts meeting recordings to the organizer, excludes Starter Free plans, and gives Creator Lite and Viewer roles no download permission on any plan.
Can I download a Loom video and upload it to another account? That is Loom's documented route, and it needs paid seats on both accounts. Watch the second limit: uploads are capped at "4 GB or 12 hours, whichever is less," so a download between 4GB and 20GB has to be compressed before it goes back in.
Is there an API for downloading Loom videos in bulk? No. Loom's own page says "Loom does not offer a open API at this time," and describes the Loom SDK as something that "is not an open API and does not provide the same functionalities as APIs." Plan on downloading video by video.
Figures quoted from Loom's help center pages on downloading videos, uploading videos and recording quality, checked 16 September 2026. Loom's pages sometimes give different numbers for the same thing — verify against the current documentation. More platform ceilings live in the limits guides, and the browser-based converters in Clapr tools.
