You’ve been so invested in writing your video script and setting up your equipment. All of a sudden, panic strikes. The viewfinder shows a sea of clutter in your backdrop that’s bound to distract viewers. 

Instead of delaying your filming schedule to clean up the background, green screen apps can do it for you in the last stage of video production. And the good news is: they’re no longer reserved for Hollywood productions. 

This guide shows how you can find the right one for your creator business, plus nine of the best green screen software tools ranked by their reviews, pros, cons, functionality, and pricing plans.

What is a green screen software tool?

Green screen software is any type of tool that can remove a video’s background. Most often, this is done through “chroma keying.” You’ll put a green or blue background behind you, then tell the software you want to exclude that color so you can replace it with a graphic or video of your choice.

Some green screen software uses artificial intelligence (AI) to separate the subject of a video from the background without chroma keying it. Instead of buying a dedicated green screen or studio backdrop, this filmmaking technique uses AI to identify the background layer and remove it from the scene. You can then replace the video background with another still image or moving video. 

How to choose the right green screen editor

AI-powered background removal

Unless you own a green screen—in which case, chroma key software may be just fine for you—the ability to remove your background without extra equipment is extremely helpful. The best background removal software uses AI to detect and remove the background for you, ticking one more task off your green screen video editing to-do list.

Royalty-free stock media

If you’ve removed your video’s background, you’ll likely want to replace it with something else. Check that your green screen video editor has a built-in library of stock media. This will save you from opening multiple tabs to find a copyright-free video or image that you can replace your video clips’ background with.

Compatibility

Before you set your heart on what you’ve read as the best green screen software, check it’s compatible with the technology you’re using. This includes the file format of your video, plus the device and operating system you’re using to edit it. Descript’s video editing software, for example, supports MP4, MPEG, and MOV formats and is available for Mac and Windows computers. You can also open the software in your browser.

9 best green screen software for creators

1. Descript

‎ Descript is an AI video editing software that allows you to remove your video background in a single click. The feature uses AI to detect your background and separate it from the subject in your footage, and there’s a huge library of stock media to choose from if you want to replace the background with a new image or video.

What’s great about Descript’s free green screen software is that it comes as part of the video editing package. Alongside chroma key features, you can remove unwanted background noise, generate a video transcript, and banish filler words—all within a single video editing dashboard.

Pros and best features include:

• No need to buy a physical green screen
• Record your webcam or screen directly in the video editor
• Huge library of royalty free stock media to replace your background 
• Special effects to overlay filters, stickers, and transitions
• Multitrack editing for creative compositing
• Available for Mac, Windows, and in your browser 
• Rated 4.6 out of 5 stars on G2
• Very user-friendly and great for beginners with lots of tutorials and help guides 

Cons of Descript’s green screen software:

• Not available on mobile 
• Free videos have a watermark

Pricing: Free plan available. To export videos without a watermark, paid plans start at $12 per month. 

2. Adobe Creative Cloud 

The Adobe Creative Cloud is home to a number of different apps. Its signature offering for video creators, Adobe Premiere Pro, has chroma key features to help you remove the background of a video. The same feature is also available in Adobe After Effects, but you’ll need to record your footage against a green screen background if you’re using this software. 

Pros and best features include:

• Color correction and suppression features
• Works with green or blue screens
• Included in any Adobe Creative Cloud subscription
• Discounted plans for students, teachers, and schools 
• G2 rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars

Cons of Premiere Pro’s green screen software:

• Adobe products tend to have a steep learning curve
• More expensive than other green screen software tools 
• No automated background detection within After Effects—you’ll need to record with a physical backdrop  

Pricing: Access to just Adobe Premiere Pro costs $22.99 per month. Alternatively, you can get all 50 apps in the Creative Cloud (including Photoshop and Illustrator) for $59.99 per month.

3. Kapwing 

Kapwing is a browser-based video editor that’s best known for helping creators produce viral memes. It already offered a chroma key tool for use with a green backdrop, but Kapwing recently added an automatic green screen—something the brand coined its “most requested feature.” Bear in mind that this automatic background removal feature is only available on a paid plan.

Pros and best features include:

• Key out multiple colors (not just a green or blue background)
• Adjust the saturation, hue, and brightness of the subject once the background is removed
• Captioning features to add subtitles to your video 
• Browser based for easy editing
• Very beginner-friendly 
• G2 rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars 

Cons of Kapwing’s green screen software:

• No mobile app 
• Use of its AI features is limited, even on paid plans

Pricing: Free version available. For videos up to 120 minutes long, 300 translation hours, and 50 uses of its AI features, paid subscriptions start at $16 per month. 

4. Filmora

Wondershare Filmora, also known as FilmoraGo, is a drag-and-drop video editor that’s best suited to beginner editors. Promising no hidden menus and features that are easy to locate, it’s a good choice for new creators who haven’t yet built their confidence to apply a green screen in an advanced video editing platform.

Pros and best features include:

• Color matching features 
• Affordable pricing plans 
• Integrations with stock media sites like Unsplash and Pexels 
• Intuitive interface that’s easy to learn
• Compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android 
• G2 rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars 

Cons of Filmora’s green screen software:

• No free version 
• The video background removal tool isn’t automated
• Not the best choice for creators who need extra video editing features
• The ability to apply green screens to videos on multiple devices comes at an extra cost

Pricing: Paid plans start at $49.99 per year. 

5. iMovie

If you’re a Mac, iPhone, or iPad user who’s looking for a green screen editor, you likely already have one installed on your device. iMovie is Apple’s free video editing software that’s automatically installed onto every iOS device. Consider this option if you don’t want to shop around for extra software and you don’t mind recording green screen footage against a blue or green backdrop.

Pros and best features include:

• It’s free
• Already installed on Mac and iOS devices 
• Lots of great templates to use when editing videos 
• Ability to support videos in 4K quality
• Interface is very simple and easy to learn 
• G2 rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars 

Cons of iMovie’s green screen software:

• You need to shoot your footage in front of a green or blue screen
• Only available on Mac and iOS 
• Advanced features are limited

Pricing: Free.

6. Movavi Video Editor

Movavi’s popular video editing software doesn’t offer automatic background removal. Instead it uses chroma key, which allows you to choose the background color and have the software remove it from your footage. It’s available for Mac and Windows devices.

Pros and best features include:

• Professional green screen software is easy to use
• Remove any solid color background (not just green or blue)
• Free trial available
• G2 rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars
• Available for Windows and Mac 

Cons of Movavi’s green screen software:

• Paid plans only
• No browser or mobile version
• No automatic background removal 

Pricing: Paid subscriptions start at $19.95 per month.

7. Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro is similar to iMovie in the fact that it’s created by Apple and only available for iOS. That said, this green screen software is considered a step above iMovie. It’s a more professional video editor that comes at an extra cost, but it’s packed with extra features that warrant the cost—including the Green Screen Keyer effect. 

Pros and best features include:

• Get more control over what is and isn’t picked up in your green screen
• Designed for experienced video editors
• Fast video processing and rendering 
• Advanced color grading and correction 
• 360 video editing tools
• Lots of training and tutorials 
• Compatible with Mac and iPad

Cons of FinalCut Pro’s green screen software:

• No G2 rating available
• Steep learning curve
• Only available on iOS
• No automated green screen detector 
• Very expensive compared to other green screen tools 

Pricing: A one-person license for Final Cut Pro costs $299.99. There is a 90-day free trial available.

8. OBS Studio 

OBS Studio is best known for its open source livestreaming software. It allows creators to go live on streaming sites like Twitch and YouTube, and connect with their audiences in real-time. OBS Studio records this stream to share after the event. This is when you can use its automatic background removal plugin to replace the background of your live video. 

Pros and best features include:

• Great for removing video backgrounds from a recorded Twitch or YouTube livestream
• Automated background detection and removal
• Lots of advanced video editing features
• No watermarks on video exports
• Compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux

Cons of OBS Studio’s green screen software:

• The background removal tool is an extra plugin
• No G2 rating available
• Interface can be confusing for new creators

Pricing: Free.

9. CapCut

Owned by the same parent company that runs TikTok, CapCut is a popular choice for TikTok creators who want to add a green screen effect to their social media videos. It doesn’t use chroma keying; instead it offers one-click background removal so you can edit videos at speed.

Pros and best features include:

• One-click background removal
• Export videos without a watermark 
• Mobile app is compatible with iOS and Android
• Export green screen videos directly to TikTok
• Affordable pricing plans 

Cons of CapCut’s green screen software:

• No G2 rating available
• Videos are limited to 15 minutes 
• Videos on the free plan have the CapCut watermark
• No support for multitrack video editing 

Pricing: Free plan available. Paid subscriptions, which include extra cloud storage and remove the watermark, start at just under $8 per month. 

How to use a green screen for your videos

If you’ve decided on a tool but are still unsure on how to use a green screen in post-production, here’s a step-by-step tutorial on doing with Descript.

Step 1. Import your video into Descript

Descript’s green screen editor is free to use. Just create your account and download the software for your Mac or Windows device. Alternatively, load Descript in your browser and create a new video project. Here’s where you’ll import the video you want to remove the background from.

Step 2. Apply the green screen effect

Once your video is in Descript, go to Effects in the right-hand menu. You’ll see options for:

• Chroma Key effect, if you recorded your video against a green backdrop
• Green screen, if you didn’t use a backdrop and want to use AI to remove your video background

Step 3. Edit your video

Descript will automatically transcribe your video so you can edit it like you’d edit a Google Doc. From here, take advantage of the professional AI editing features that the green screen software has to offer. You can polish your video and make it more engaging to watch with tools like:

• Filler Word Removal to remove “ums” and “uhs”
• Eye Contact to adjust your gaze if you’re reading from a video script or teleprompter
• Studio Sound to remove unwanted background noise
• Overdub to correct audio errors without re-recording 
• Edit for Clarity to speed up the editing workflow 

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Step 4. Review and publish

Do one final runthrough of your video and check you’re happy with it—including the graphic or video you’ve replaced the original background with. If you’re happy, press Publish, which will let you:

• Get a shareable link 
• Download your video in MP4 file format
• Export your content directly to video hosting sites like YouTube or Wistia

Green screen software FAQs

What program is the best to apply green screen effects?

1. Descript: Best for creators
2. Adobe Creative Cloud: Included in Adobe subscriptions
3. Kapwing: Very beginner-friendly
4. Filmora: Available for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android
5. iMovie: Free for Apple users
6. Movavi: Chroma key features in browser
7. Final Cut Pro: Advanced editor for Mac
8. OBS Studio: Best for livestreamed videos
9. CapCut: Best for TikTok videos

How to get a green screen for free?

Descript’s free video editor includes automatic background removal. You don’t have to record your video against a green backdrop. The software uses AI to detect your video’s background and replace it with stock media. 

What is the best free background remover?

• Descript
• Adobe Premiere Pro
• Kapwing
• Wondershare Filmora
• iMovie
• Final Cut Pro
• Movavi
• CapCut