Loopnator vs TinyTask: when free is enough.
TinyTask has been the default free recorder on Windows for over a decade, and for some jobs it is genuinely all you need. Here is exactly where the line sits — so you don't pay for what you won't use, and don't fight a tool that can't do what you're asking.
The short version
TinyTask is a ~35 KB freeware recorder: press record, do the thing, press play, set a repeat count. It replays exactly what you did, every time, identically. There is no editing, no reacting to the screen, no scheduling — and that's by design. It's a replay button, and as a replay button it works.
Loopnator starts from the same one-button idea — record once, replay N times — and then answers the questions you hit on day two: "can I fix one wrong click without re-recording everything?", "can it not click the exact same pixel every single loop?", "can it wait until the page has actually loaded?", "can it run at 6 am without me?"
Feature by feature
| TinyTask (free) | Loopnator ($14.99) | Loopnator Pro ($29.99) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Record & replay mouse | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Record & replay keyboard | Yes | — | Yes, with scan codes (works in most games) |
| Loops & speed control | Yes | N or ∞ · 0.5×–4× · pause between loops | Same |
| Failsafe (move mouse → stops) | — | On by default | On by default |
| Edit a recording after capture | — | — | Readable step editor: delete, keep-only, insert waits, smooth, undo |
| Humanized replay (varies per loop) | — | — | Position ±px and timing ±% re-rolled every loop |
| React to the screen | — | — | Wait-for-colour and stop-on-colour pixel triggers |
| Macro library with per-macro hotkeys | One current recording | — | Ctrl+1 fires macro 1 from anywhere |
| Scheduler | — | — | At a set time or every N minutes, with time limit |
| Rebindable global hotkeys | Fixed | One-click rebind | One-click rebind |
| Actively maintained | Rarely updated | Yes, 1.x updates included | Yes |
| Price | Free | $14.99 one-time, 2 PCs | $29.99 one-time, 2 PCs |
Keep TinyTask if…
- Your task is short, fixed and forgiving: the windows are always in the same place, and a misfire costs you nothing.
- You need it once. For a one-afternoon job, free wins. It should.
- You genuinely enjoy that it's 35 KB. That's a real engineering achievement and we tip our hat to it.
One tip that applies to any freeware: download it from its official site, not from download portals — portals love wrapping small tools in installers full of extras.
Move to Loopnator when…
- A wrong click in loop 1 shouldn't mean re-recording. In the Pro editor a recording reads like a script — "Move · 40 points", "Left click", "Type: HIT" — and you delete or fix the one step that's wrong.
- Identical replays are a problem, not a feature. TinyTask clicks the same pixel with the same rhythm forever. Loopnator's Humanize re-rolls positions and timings every loop, so no two passes trace the same line.
- The screen doesn't always cooperate. A colour trigger can hold each loop until a pixel says the page is ready, and stop everything the moment something unexpected appears.
- It should run without you. Schedule a macro for 6:00, or every 15 minutes, with an automatic time limit.
- You're automating at your workplace. The failsafe (move the mouse, it stops), guaranteed key-release at the end of every loop, and a readable log of what will be clicked are the difference between a tool you trust and one you babysit.
Verdict. TinyTask is the right answer to "replay exactly this, for free". Loopnator is the right answer to "automate this job properly": editing, humanized replay, screen triggers, scheduling and a failsafe — for the price of a pizza, once, on 2 PCs, with a 14-day refund. If you buy it and TinyTask turns out to have been enough, the refund is one email away.
ONE-TIME · 2 PCs · 14-DAY REFUND · WINDOWS 10/11