4 Best Free Video Overlay Apps in 2024 [iPhone & Android]

Sometimes video footage doesn’t turn out exactly as we’d hoped.

The beautiful colors in the sunset shot don’t show up on camera. The snow in the blizzard footage isn’t visible. The bustling street scene looks deserted. All of these shots can be saved by using video overlay effects.

Overlay effects seem like something only a VFX Supervisor on a big-budget film would be able to do. But thanks to video editing apps like PowerDirector, anyone can add stunning overlays to videos for free using only a smartphone. We will show you the best video overlay apps and how to add an overlay to videos in seconds.

• Top 3 Free Video Overlay Apps Snapshot
• What is a Video Overlay?
• 5 Best Free Video Overlay Apps
1. PowerDirector - Best Overall
2. KineMaster - Best for Design Elements
3. Videorama - Best for VFX
4. VidLab - Best for Text
• Best Video Overlay Apps Comparison Chart
• How to Overlay Videos
• Best Video Overlay App for Free
• Video Overlays FAQ

Top 3 Free Video Overlay Apps Snapshot

1. PowerDirector - Best Overall

PowerDirector’s overlay tools range from video stickers to weather elements and animated decor. In addition, it has traditional compositing tools like chroma key, masking, and blending modes. Plus, the app comes with millions of royalty-free stock videos and images perfect for creating your own overlays. More Info >

2. KineMaster - Best for Design Elements

Kinemaster is a professional editor. It has more than 2500 downloadable transitions, effects, videos, images, stickers, fonts, and animations to make your videos sparkle. The app offers precision edits over multiple timelines. Kinemaster has lots of powerful editing tools but a learning curve for new editors. More Info >

3. Videorama - Best for VFX

Make fun movies out of your videos and photos with Videorama. Videorama has 50 fonts and animated text layers for your social media videos. It has many stock videos and photos, sound effects, and music. Videorama has stunning visual effects and overlays like weather effects, explosions, blood splatter, fire, and more. More Info >

What is a Video Overlay?

An overlay is anything that involves layering a video or photo onto another clip, photo, or design element.

A video overlay is simply a piece of footage you lay on top of another piece of footage. For example, placing a small video box in the corner of a larger video is called Picture in Picture (PiP) and is one example of video overlay.

Another type of overlay is where you lay a video entirely on top of another and blend them together. These video overlays are used to add drama and enhance a video clip. For instance, if you have a video of someone standing in the rain but it isn’t showing up on camera, you can add an overlay of rain to make it seen.

Similarly, if you have someone walking through an old house and want to emphasize its abandonment, you could add dust elements.

Video overlay can also refer to using compositing tools to remove objects or people from a video, then placing them in another clip. Or replacing the sky or other section of the video with something else.

5 Best Free Video Overlay Apps

1. PowerDirector - Best Overall

Compatibility: iOS, Android

Overall Rating: 5/5

Video Overlay Tools: 5/5

Key Features:

• Packed with advanced editing tools
• Easy to use
• Vast selection overlay options

Easily add overlays to your videos with PowerDirector’s intuitive, beginner-friendly interface. It has many video overlay tools and adds to its selection monthly.

PowerDirector’s multitrack timeline lets you layer to add decor, effects, stickers, photos, video, and text. Use blending modes to create beautiful double exposure effects or the green screen editor to remove backgrounds and objects. PowerDirector also includes PiP overlays and an extensive stock video library.

PowerDirector is so much more than a video overlay app. It is a one-stop shop for all of your video editing needs with a giant selection of powerful editing tools updated constantly.

Create fast-forward and slow-motion videos with speed adjustment and use the video stabilizer to fix shaky footage. Add professional intros and outros with animated titles and jaw-dropping effects with easy drag-and-drop functionality.

Control brightness and saturation with precision and trim, splice, and rotate videos with ease. PowerDirector comes with hundreds of free templates, filters, background music, and sound effects to help you make truly unique videos.

Download PowerDirector today and start making cinematic masterpieces in minutes.

2. KineMaster - Best for Design Elements

Compatibility: iOS, Android

Overall Rating: 4/5

Video Overlay Tools: 5/5

Key Features:

• Lots of professional editing tools
• Precision controls
• Audio tools

Kinemaster is a professional editing app. Cut, splice, and crop videos or reverse, speed up and slow down. Kinemaster has audio tools like voice changer, music, sound effects, and color tools like filters and adjustments. In addition, it has more than 2500 downloadable transitions, effects, videos, images, stickers, fonts, and animations to make your videos sparkle.

Kinemaster offers up to 9 layers and 8 different blending modes so you can add overlays to your videos, like text, stickers, videos, and effects. Keyframe animation is also available to add motion to layers.

It has all the tools you need to add overlays to your videos. They offer a wide selection of overlay tools and support multiple layers. However, this app is known to run slow, especially if saving a video with lots of edits. So the more layers you use, the slower the app will run and the longer it will take to save your video.

3. Videorama - Best for FX

Compatibility: iOS

Overall Rating: 3/5

Video Overlay Tools: 5/5

Key Features:

• Great text effects
• Good selection of VFX and SFX
• Intuitive and sleek interface

Make fun movies out of your videos and photos with Videorama. Trim, cut, split, reverse, flip, slow down and rescale photos and videos and combine them together.

Apply professional fonts and overlays and adjust brightness, contrast, exposure, and more. Videorama has 50 fonts and animated text layers for your social media videos. It also comes with audio tools like sound effects, music, and voice-over.

With Videorama, you can overlay any image over video from your photo library or free stock library. Videorama has many free stock images and videos to blend with your home movies. It also offers an extensive range of computer-generated overlays like weather effects, blood splatter, explosions, confetti hearts, fire, and more.

Videorama is the perfect app for making social media videos and homemade action movies. The VFX overlays are diverse and fun but not always realistic. The app also lacks some basic editing features and is not for serious video editors.

4. VidLab - Best for Text

Compatibility: iOS

Overall Rating: 3/5

Video Overlay Tools: 3/5

Key Features:

• Good selection of design elements
• Collage and slideshow templates
• Animated text and artwork

VidLab is a multi-track, multi-clip video editor. Add and animate artwork created by world-class designers, then reposition, size, and adjust the opacity to create overlays. The app includes video effects and premade overlays like light leaks, vintage and projection effects, snow and rain simulation, and more. Use fun shape and masking tools to add dimension to your projects.

VidLab also has video and photo collage and slideshow templates to transform old photos and videos into something truly special.

VidLab has some really great overlay and text options, but almost all require a paid subscription. In addition, the free choices are extremely limited to one or two items per category. And blending tools seem nonexistent.

Best Video Overlay Apps Comparison Chart

Software	PowerDirector	KineMaster	Videorama	VidLab
	OS
OS	iOS, Android	iOS, Android	iOS	iOS
	Easy to Learn
Easy to Learn	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
	Compositing Tools
Compositing Tools	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Blending Modes
Blending Modes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
	Other Key Features
Other Key Features	Audio tools, color tools, video stabilizer, titles, special effects, slow-mo, transitions	Slow-mo, crop, splice, rotate, transitions, stickers, filters	Fonts, sound effects, trim, cut, split, reverse, slow-mo	Text, design elements, collage and slideshow templates
	Free Download
Free Download	Free Download Secure Download	Download	Download	Download

How to Overlay Videos

To overlay video, download the PowerDirector app and follow along with these simple steps:

1. Tap on the video you want to overlay, then hit the + to add it to your Editing Timeline.
2. Tap on the Timeline to bring up the Editing Menu on the left.

3. Tap on the Layers Icon (looks like 2 squares on top of each other).

4. Choose which kind of overlay you want to use for your video.

For this video, we wanted to add falling snow to a snow scene, so we clicked on Decor.


5. Tap on the overlay you want to use, then tap the + to download it and add it to the second layer of your timeline.

If you would like to learn more about video overlays, go to Green Screen Editing: A Step-by-Step Guide

Best Video Overlay App for Free

If you need an app to add unique overlays to your videos look no further than PowerDirector. You won’t have to pay a premium price or spend hours learning how to use it.

PowerDirector comes loaded with overlay options and multiple layers. It also has an extensive stock library of videos, images, stickers, and fonts to blend with your videos.

With PowerDirector, you get more than a video overlay app. PowerDirector is a one-stop shop for all your editing needs. It is packed with advanced editing features but is surprisingly easy to use.

PowerDirector is a great choice for beginners, hobbyists, Vloggers, and professional editors with an intuitive interface, easy drag-and-drop timeline, and loads of tutorials and templates.

Download PowerDirector and get access to a massive selection of free editing features.