FREE Top 10 Green Screen Software

Nowadays, various professional video editing tools which provide amazing effects and abilities like green screen are available on the market.

But these video editing software can be too expensive and not very user-friendly and have a steep learning curve. For example, Adobe Premiere has the Chroma keying feature, but you have to pay $19.99/month if you billed annually and take some time to figure out how to use a green screen overlay video.

If you just want to edit some home movies, those programs will not be beneficial for you.

In this case, we have picked up some free and simple green screen video editing software with advanced editing features, including chroma keying or green screen. In the end, we will also have a bonus video about how to make a green screen video.

Recommended Green Screen Video Editor - Wondershare Filmora

If you are looking for a more powerful green screen video editor, we recommend trying Wondershare Filmora. As one of the best video editors with Chroma key features for beginners, you are making a video with a green screen is easy. You can also combine a green screen with free video effects to make your video more impressive.

You can download Filmora green screen video editing software on Windows and Mac computers. Besides, you can continue to edit the archived project on either Windows or Mac PC since Filmora is cross-compatible now.

How to composite green screen video in Filmora video editor

1. Import clips: You must import the green screen background video or image and your main videos. Then place the videos on the video timeline and green screen video/image on the other timeline. Highlight the green screen clip, and then double-click on the green screen clip in the timeline. Then video editing panel will appear at the top.

2. Apply the green screen effect: Click the Chroma Key tab. Use the eyedropper tool to pick up your background color. Then you'll get what you want. You can also adjust offset, tolerance, and edge feather to make it better.

It is easy to make a green screen video with the steps above. You can also read our guide about

How to make and use a Green Screen to learn more details. If you're looking for some Green Screen Background Resources, you can visit the Filmora Effects Store Filmstock and get free green background footage. Now download this software and try to make your green screen video now! To learn more, please visit Wondershare Video Community.

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Top Free Green Screen Video Editing Software [Windows/Mac/Linux]

As we said, the Filmora video editor is a good choice for green screen video compositing. But if you don't want to cost any money and are looking for some free but not powerful enough video editors to composite green screen footage, we've researched and picked some free green screen software for windows and mac briefly.

1. VSDC Free Video Editor

VSDC Free Video Editor is a capable green screen software with plenty of functionality like drawing and selection tools, color and lighting corrections, filters, transitions, audio effects, and more. It's also one of the few freeware video editor programs with green screen editing capability. Also, you can only use it on a Windows computer to composite a green screen video.

Features:

• It is a professional green screen editor
• You will have a steep learning curve
• This program is small

Pros:

• You can make a green screen video by importing material
• Create shaped masks to make a PIP video

Cons:

• Advanced functions may let users feel confused

Support: Windows

2. iMovie

iMovie comes with every new Mac, which helps bring your moving images into one professional-looking production. Besides the essential video editing functions like crop, rotate, trim, split, etc., it also provides a simplistic timeline, built-in sound and animations, and various easy-to-use effects, including the green screen effect. Here is a detailed guide on how to apply the green screen effect.

Features:

• It is a popular green screen editor on Mac
• You can use it on an iPhone, which means your work is cross-platform

Pros:

• It is easy to use as a green screen software
• Make animated titles and credits from iMovie

Cons:

• It demands a high version of OS

Support: Mac/iOS

3. VirtualDub

VirtualDub is a free, open-source green screen editing software for fast processing and versatility. It’s not as powerful as professional video editing programs but helps you with basic video editing like swapping audio tracks, adding filters, trimming clips, and adjusting audio. It also includes a basic green screen option, although it is not as powerful as many other software titles.

Features:

• You can add a plug plugin to make a green screen video
• It is stable to use

Pros:

• Its compatibility is excellent for users
• Support various formats to make green screen video

Cons:

• This green screen editor is too simple for pros

Support: Windows

4. Wax

DebugMode Wax is a simple video editor for both commercial and personal use. It provides special effects that enable users to produce dynamic pie video pieceshese effects, including chroma key composting and 3d effects. Another great feature is that Wax can either be used as a standalone green screen software or as a plugin to assist your leading video editor software in applying effects.

Note: Wax can only work on Windows operating system (Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista).

Features:

• 2D and 3D Plugins to create green-screen effects
• Supports popular video formats.
• Graphics acceleration is powerful

Pros:

• You can draw shapes and masks using keyframing
• Enables you to import 3d models
• Support 3D text to highlight your video

Cons:

• Its interface is outdated

Support: Windows

5. ZS4 Video Editor

ZS4 Video Editor is the new incarnation of Zwei-Stein's green screen editor. It’s an advanced video editing and compositing tool with over 150 built-in video effects, including excellent color and chroma key. You can also customize the width and height of the output video, add unlimited tracks and sub-composites, slave effects, compose controls to audio waveforms, and more.

Features:

• It is an advanced video editing software
• Its interface is friendly to use

Pros:

• It has more than 150 video effects
• Powerful effects and compositing controls

Cons:

• It doesn't support Quicktime formats

Support: Mac/Windows

6. Lightworks

Lightworks is a free green screen editor. It has been a renowned editor for 25 years. This chroma key software will let you create a green screen video with advanced features. If you have some experience in video editing, then Lightworks is not the wrong choice. You can use audio & video FX to make your green screen video more attractive. More than a green screen, you can use proxy workflows for 4K.

Features:

• It is a professional and powerful green screen editor
• It is an awarded editor
• It is designed for filmmakers

Pros:

• Directly upload the video to YouTube, even 4K video
• Easy to use timeline editing

Cons:

• It is not friendly for beginners

Support: Mac/Windows/Linux

7. OpenShot

OpenShot is a free and open-source chroma key/green screen software. It supports FreeBSD, Linux, Mac, and Windows and is cross-platform. You can quickly and easily make a green screen video with it. You can combine 3D animation with chroma critical effects, which makes your video more stunning. As for the interface, you don't need to worry as its interface is intuitive. 

It is a great free green screen editor for us to have a try.

Features:

• It is cross-platform to use
• Video effects are rich

Pros:

• It is simple and powerful to use
• It supports slow motion and time effects

Cons:

• It is not friendly for beginners

Support: It will sometimes crash while editing

8. OBS Studio

OBS Studio is a free green screen editor. It supports Linux, Mac, and Windows systems and is an open-source video recorder. Many people think it is just a video recorder, but you can use it to do many things, like making a green screen video. After recording or directly importing video to it, start doing chroma critical effects. 

Its UI allows you to customize the interface, which is very handy!

Features:

• It is free to use on all platforms
• You also can use it to record screen

Pros:

• You can make multiple scenes
• Various configuration options to use

Cons:

• It is most powerful to record video

Support: Mac/Windows/Linux

9. HitFilm Express

HitFilm is a free green screen editor. You can easily use a green screen feature to make many creative videos in HitFilm. If you are a beginner and want to learn how to make a green screen video, Hitfilm will also provide an online course for you. You can make chroma key videos with millions of users worldwide. If you want to use a preset, it has more than 140 effects.

Features:

• 2D and 3D compositing for you to easily make green screen video
• Unlimited tracks and transitions to make your video more attractive as you will have more control over your video

Pros:

• You can make various green screen video
• As a green video software, HitFilm has an international filmmaking community

Cons:

• It needs some time to learn

Support: Mac/Windows

10. Blender

Blender is a free and open-source 3D creation suite. However, being free doesn’t mean a lack of quality or functionality. It is capable of taking on even the most expensive editors. In addition to its 3D pipeline, it includes a capable compositing package. The modern node-based compositor is similar to that of Nuke. All of this means that you can satisfy all of your post-production needs without leaving Blender. The multithreaded compositor has an impressive library of nodes for creating camera FX, color grading, vignettes, and much more. It provides render-layer support and the ability to render to multiLayer OpenEXR files.

Working on a green screen in Blender is fairly easy if you know what you’re doing. There are multiple keying nodes with different levels of functionality and features. This enables you to approach a green screen that best suits your project. Moreover, because Blender is a node-based compositor, the process is like playing with LEGO blocks which you place on the screen and link with little strings that form your signal path. The Keying node in Blender is the most popular for “green screen” / “blue screen” removal. It performs both chroma keying to eliminate the backdrop. Additionally, you can do traditional operations used to tweak the resulting matte.

Pros:

• Versatile
• Powerful compositor
• Advanced features

Cons:

• Learning curve involved
• Too complex for beginners

Platform: Mac, Windows & Linux.

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A roundup of the Best Green Screen Video Editing Software

Below is a comparison table about the ten best green screen software.

	Price	Supported system	Features	Pros
Filmora	Freemium	Windows & Mac	Compositing Opacity, Tolerance, Thickness adjustment, Alpha Channel	Various video formats supported; Easy to use to make green screen video
Wax	Free	Windows	Can add a plug-in for pros	Various video formats supported; Enable graphics acceleration
VSDC Free Video Editor	Free	Windows	A small program is easy to install	Drawing and selection tools are available; Easily to make green screen video
VirtualDub	Free	Windows	It is suitable for beginners	Stable to use; Easy to learn
iMovie	Free	Mac	It is popular on Mac	You also can use it on the iPhone to make green screen video
ZS4 Video Editor	Free	Mac/Windows	User friendly	An advanced video editing software; Unlimited tracks; Custom speed
Lightworks	Free	Mac/Windows/Linux	An awarded editor	Proxy workflows for 4K; Powerful green screen editor
OpenShot	Free	Mac/Windows/Linux	Open source chroma key software	Support 3D animation; Various video effects
OBS Studio	Free	Mac/Windows/Linux	It is more than a recorder	customized UI interface
HitFilm Express	Free	Mac/Windows	Rich learning courses online	Unlimited tracks and transitions to make green screen video
Blender	Free	Mac/Windows/Linux	Powerful compositor with advanced features	multithreaded compositor comes with an impressive library of nodes

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FAQs About Green Screen Video Editing

1. How Does Green Screen Software Work?

A green screen is done using a process called Chroma key. The process isolates and removes a single color in a narrowly defined region of the spectrum from videos. The bright green or blue color is typically used because they differ significantly from human skin tones and aren't usually found in clothing. The process requires green areas to be evenly lit with no visible shadows. Once green screens are identified and digitally removed, anything can be added back into the green parts. 

2. What Is Green Screen on Tiktok?

The green screen effect on TikTok allows users to replace the background of their video with pictures. To utilize this effect, you don’t necessarily need a physical green screen. Simply tap on “+” to create a video, then select “Effects,” and under the “Trending” section, look for the #greenscreen icon. Next, choose any photo from your phone library to use as background and hit record. There is also a new effect called Green Screen Video from TikTok. This effect allows users to shoot over videos playing in the background. You can also use some video editing apps for TikTok for compositing a green screen video. 

Conclusion

Above are some of the best free green screen software you can use on the market, and you can see most of them have a limited video editing feature, and the interface is not so intuitive and modern.

As you may have heard, free is always the most expensive.

These Free chroma keying software may satisfy your basic video editing needs, but if you need more advanced features, it's best to turn to professional green screen software. We have composed another article based on that view about the best green screen video editors in case you are looking for one.

For those who are looking for a powerful enough but do not want to cost a fortune, we recommend you to try Wondershare Filmora (Latest Filmora version 11). Filmora is available on Windows and Mac platforms.