Last updated: 2026-09-03
Scribe is a screen-recording tool that auto-generates step-by-step process guides as you click through a workflow, used by over 6 million people including 94% of the Fortune 500. It produces text-and-screenshot documentation only, with Scribe Optimize flagging workflow inefficiencies as you capture them; unlike real-time overlay tools, it builds a searchable guide library rather than live on-screen prompts.
About Scribe
Scribe was founded in 2019 by Jennifer Smith and Aaron Podolny and is based in San Francisco. The company, formally Colony Labs, Inc., raised a $75 million Series C in November 2025 led by StepStone, valuing it at $1.3 billion, bringing total funding to $135 million.
The tool works by recording your screen as you complete a task: clicks, keystrokes, screenshots, then automatically assembling those steps into an editable guide you can rename, redact, annotate, and export or embed wherever you need. It's commonly used for documenting SOPs, onboarding new hires, training staff on internal software, and writing support articles, since a process that takes an hour to explain verbally can be captured in minutes just by running Scribe while you work.
Pricing
Basic: free, web-app capture only, limited guides. Pro Personal: $25 per seat per month billed annually or $35 per seat per month billed monthly, 1-seat minimum, adds desktop and mobile capture, branding, screenshot editing and PDF/HTML/Markdown export. Pro Team: $13 per seat per month billed annually or $17 per seat per month billed monthly, 5-seat minimum, adds collaboration comments.
Enterprise: custom pricing (third-party reports put contracts at $18,000 to $600,000+ per year) with PII/PHI auto-redaction, SSO, role-based access and multi-team management. No free trial is advertised.
| Tier | Monthly price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic (Free) | Free | Free tier, web app capture only |
| Enterprise | Free | Custom pricing, contact sales. |
| Pro Team | $13/mo | $13 per seat per month billed annually, or $17 per seat per month billed monthly; 5-seat minimum ($65/month annual, $85/month monthly at the minimum) |
| Pro Personal | $25/mo | $25 per seat per month billed annually, or $35 per seat per month billed monthly; 1-seat minimum |
Key Features
- Automatic Process Capture: Browser extension and desktop app that records clicks, keystrokes, and screenshots to automatically generate step-by-step guides without manual documentation
- AI-Powered Workflow Optimization: Scribe Optimize analyzes captured workflows to identify automation opportunities and efficiency improvements across teams
- Interactive Guide Me: In-browser walkthroughs that guide users through processes step-by-step with interactive coaching
- Enterprise Security & Compliance: SOC 2 Type II certified, HIPAA/CCPA compliant, with automated PII redaction, SSO, and role-based access control
- Multiple Format Sharing: Export guides as HTML, PDF, markdown, or embed in Confluence, Zendesk, wikis, and other team tools
- Sidekick Discovery: Browser-based feature that surfaces relevant guides while users work across any website
Pros
- Dramatically reduces documentation time with automatic capture and AI generation
- Intuitive interface makes it accessible to non-technical users
- Enterprise-grade security with SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, and CCPA compliance
- Large, well-established user base with proven adoption across the Fortune 500
- Supports both web and desktop application documentation
- AI-powered process optimization helps identify efficiency improvements
Cons
- Expensive pricing with minimum seat requirements and seat-based billing model
- Enterprise pricing is quote-only and can scale into six figures annually for larger teams
- Requires a minimum seat purchase for Pro Team, so very small teams end up paying for unused seats
- Limited image editing capabilities compared to dedicated tools
- Can capture unnecessary steps requiring manual cleanup
- Annual billing commitment with a premium over monthly billing
Data Handling
- Compliance
- SOC 2 Type II · HIPAA · CCPA · FERPA · GDPR
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Scribe actually cost?
Scribe's Basic plan is free. Pro Personal is $25 per seat per month billed annually or $35 billed monthly. Pro Team is $13 per seat per month billed annually or $17 billed monthly, with a five-seat minimum that puts the smallest team at $65 to $85 a month. Enterprise is quote-only, with real-world contracts reported between $18,000 and $600,000+ a year depending on seat count and compliance needs.
What do you get on Scribe's free tier?
Scribe's free Basic plan covers up to 25 guides through the browser extension, limited to web-based workflows since there's no desktop capture on this tier. It includes recording clicks, generating screenshots, and producing a shareable step-by-step guide. It does not include PDF/HTML export, AI-assisted editing, or team-sharing, which all require a paid Pro plan.
What are Scribe's closest competitors?
Tango and Guidde are the closest screen-capture documentation tools: Tango focuses on real-time, in-app guidance overlays rather than a searchable guide library, and Guidde adds AI voiceover narration in 25+ languages to turn captures into video tutorials, something Scribe doesn't do natively. On HokAI, Swimm covers the same broad documentation category but for auto-synced codebase docs rather than general SOPs, and Guideflow turns the same kind of screen capture into customer-facing interactive demos instead of internal guides.
What separates Scribe from Tango?
Tango and Scribe both capture clicks and screenshots to build step-by-step guides, but they serve different jobs. Tango's overlay gives real-time, in-app navigation help while a task is happening, while Scribe builds a separate, searchable guide library you refer back to later. Tango tends to be the cheaper per-seat pick for small teams that mainly need in-the-moment guidance, while a centralized SOP and training library points back toward Scribe.
How long does it take to get going with Scribe?
A first guide takes about as long as the task itself to record: sign up for the free Basic plan and install the Chrome or Edge extension (or a desktop app on a paid plan), then click record and walk through the task once as you normally would. Scribe automatically turns each click into an annotated, screenshot-based step, and you can rename steps, redact sensitive fields, and export the result as HTML, PDF, or Markdown, or embed it in Confluence, Zendesk, or Notion-style wikis.
Top Alternatives
- Swimm: Swimm keeps documentation auto-synced directly to a codebase, which is a developer-specific job Scribe doesn't do. Scribe stays app-agnostic instead, capturing screen actions into SOPs and process docs for any tool a team uses.
- Guideflow: Guideflow takes the same screen-capture idea and points it outward, building customer-facing interactive demos with AI voiceover. Scribe points inward, turning the same kind of capture into internal training guides and SOPs.
HokAI guides covering Scribe
- Scribe vs Swimm in 2026: Why These Two Aren't Actually Rivals Anymore: Scribe and Swimm still get compared for team docs, but Swimm rebuilt around legacy-code modernization in 2025. Real 2026 pricing, and who each is for.