Trails , the best Scribe alternative

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A modern alternative built for video-first documentation

Hey, I’m Ryo, cofounder of Trails. Since I wrote this page, of course I want you to pick us. But I also want to give you an honest, useful breakdown. Here’s our take on what Trails does uniquely well, and where Scribe deserves credit too.

Hope it’s helpful as you compare your options.

Ryo Chiba
Cofounder, Trails

How is Trails different from Scribe?

1. Trails makes guides more engaging with AI videos

Most tools, including Scribe, stop at screenshots and text instructions. That can be helpful, but it often falls short when you're trying to make training content that makes an impact.

Different people learn in different ways. Some like to skim text and find what they need quickly. Others prefer to watch and listen. With Trails, you don’t have to pick one or the other.

Every guide you create automatically comes with a polished, AI-narrated video that’s ready to share.

The best part is that your videos stay in sync with your content. If you change a line of text or swap out a screenshot, the video narration and visuals update automatically. No editing tools or re-recording required.

Take a look at guides created by our platform and theirs side-by-side. Notice a difference?

only comes with text and screenshots
generates both video and guide

2. Trails lets you create guides from videos

Many teams are already used to creating short videos for documentation. With Scribe, you have to start from scratch to turn each video into a guide manually. Trails takes a different approach.

Upload any existing video, and Trails automatically turns it into a structured, step-by-step guide. It breaks down key actions, adds screenshots, and generates clear descriptions for each step. You end up with both a polished video and a written guide with no extra editing required.

This feature is especially useful for teams who are used to creating ad-hoc Loom videos or Zoom recordings.

Instead of letting that content collect dust (because who is really watching those 20+ minute recordings?), you can repurpose it into something searchable, easy to skim, and reusable.

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Unlimited guides for free

Expensive plans getting in the way? Not anymore. Trail’s free plan gives you unlimited public guides so that your entire team can create, edit and share process documentation

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3. Trails makes it easier to hide private information

When you’re creating training content, sensitive info almost always sneaks in: emails, names, or customer data you don’t want shared. Blurring that out is essential.

Most tools, including Scribe, let you blur after capture, but only once your screenshots have been uploaded to their servers. That’s not ideal if you’re documenting internal systems or private data.

Trails handles blurring differently. Redacting data happens securely on your device before anything is uploaded. You can quickly hide sensitive details as you capture, keeping private information private.

Our smart blur can even detect and automatically hide things like emails, numbers, and names — all locally, without sending a single pixel to the cloud.


4. Trails costs less as you scale

Most documentation tools get more expensive the more people you share them with.

With Scribe, you pay for every user, even if they’re just reading. That makes broad internal or customer-facing documentation costly fast.

Trails charges less for viewers, so you’re not paying creator prices for readers. As your audience grows, costs stay predictable.

You also don’t have to jump to an enterprise plan to unlock core features. With Scribe, things like user management and language translation are gated behind plans starting around $1,000 per month. Trails includes these features in all standard paid plans.

And if you’re not ready to pay yet, Trails offers a free plan with unlimited public guides.

Drag the slider below to take a look at the difference in monthly cost:

Number of users: 30

Here's what our customers have to say

I like your user interface more than Scribe’s. It feels less cluttered and I can easily find everything. Overall, the quality of life using Trails has been better, and aside from a couple of small issues, it’s been a real improvement for me.

Andy Ju
Head of Product, ClassRanked

Because the team already knew tools like Scribe, it was easy to explain Trails. But the added capabilities made it much more compelling. It just gives us more ways to create and manage documentation.

Fatima Jaferi
Sr Customer Success Enablement Manager, Canary Technologies

So, which one should you choose?

Both are great products, but the answer depends on what you value.

Trails Scribe
Who is it for? Teams that want an easy-to use tool to help them create engaging, branded training videos and guides. Large enterprises that need a comprehensive workflow capture solution with all of the bells and whistles.
Pricing $15/mo per editor
$5/mo per private viewer
$29/mo per user or $15/mo per user for 5+ seats
Can it create videos? checkmark Every guide automatically includes a branded, AI-narrated video that stays in sync with your content X
Can it import videos? checkmark Upload existing videos (meeting recordings, ad-hoc training) and Trails automatically converts them into step-by-step guides. X
Privacy Redaction and blurring happen locally before upload; sensitive info never leaves your device. Blurring happens after upload to their servers, which may include sensitive data.
Collaboration & Sharing checkmark Easy link sharing, embeds, and team libraries for guides and videos. Updates instantly across shared links. checkmark Same!
Desktop recording Currently available through video import feature. Native app desktop capture coming soon. checkmark Native Mac and PC apps enable desktop capture.
Version history, Analytics X – We currently don’t have these more advanced features, but they are on our roadmap. checkmark

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