Free VHS Overlays and Retro Tape Effects
The VHS look is built from a handful of ingredients: scan lines, tracking noise, a wobbly picture, a blinking REC indicator and a timestamp. Layering them as a transparent overlay is faster than building the look from scratch.
Use VHS overlays for throwback edits, horror and found-footage styles, music videos and retro gaming content. Pair with a colour grade and slightly softened footage for the full effect.
Retro and glitch overlays
Retro and glitch overlays
Cell-Shaded Industrial Stream Overlay
151
Sci-Fi Tactical Webcam Overlay
104
Dynamic Anime Speed Lines Overlay
72
Animated Search Bar with Interactive Dropdown
67
Cyberpunk HUD Camera Overlay
41
Animated Glowing Live Indicator Badge
39
Tactical Cyberpunk Cam Frame Overlay
39
Cinematic Star Rating with Golden Glow
36Elements of a VHS look
- Scan lines and tape noise
- Tracking glitches that roll across the frame
- Camcorder HUD with REC dot and timecode
- Soft bloom and colour bleed
Selling the effect
Lower the sharpness and saturation of your footage, then add the overlay at around 60 to 80 percent opacity so it feels part of the image rather than a sticker.
Export ProRes 4444 for Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro, and WebM with alpha for OBS and the web. Transparent WebM can show glow or shadow artifacts in CapCut, so preview it there first.
Browse every category
- Free Subscribe Button Animations
- Free Like Button Animations
- Free Social Media Video Overlays
- Free Video Transitions
- Free Lower Third Animations
- Free Video Overlays
- Free Animated Video Backgrounds
- Free Text Animations
- Free Countdown Timer Animations
- Free Progress Bar Animations
- Free Notification Animations
- Free Logo Intro Animations
- Free Particle & VFX Animations
- Free Animated Frames & Borders
- Free Call-to-Action Animations
- Free Miscellaneous Video Assets
Explore more overlays and effects
- Video Overlays
- Video Effects
- WebM
- ProRes 4444
- AI Video Effects Generator
- AI Video Overlay Generator
- Overlays
- Subscribe Button Animations
- Motion Backgrounds
- Outro Animations
- Chromatic Aberration
- Timer Overlay
- Logo Animation
- AI Animation Generator
- Intro Maker
- Stream Alerts
- Kinetic Typography
- Loading Animations
- AI Video Generator
- Particle Overlays
- Glitch Effect
- Motion Graphics
- After Effects Template Alternative
- CapCut Effects
- TikTok Overlays
- Green Screen Effects
- Transparent Video
- Arrows and Callouts
- Magic & Sparkle Effects
- Light Leaks & Film Overlays
- Glitch Text Generator
- OBS Overlays
- Stream Overlays
- Starting Soon Screens
- Webcam Overlays
Frequently asked questions
Are the VHS overlays free?
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A free account can download one Community asset per day with a watermark.
Can I add my own timestamp text?
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Editable overlays let you change their text in the browser before export.
Do they have a transparent background?
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Yes, in WebM with alpha and ProRes 4444.
Can I generate a custom retro overlay?
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Yes. Describe the era and details, such as 1990s camcorder HUD with blinking REC, and generate it with tokens.
Get a free retro overlay
Download one Community asset per day for free with a watermark, or use a paid token pack for downloads without watermarks and AI generation.
1 free Community asset download per day with a watermark, no tokens needed. No credit card required.
Related pages
Glitch effect
Digital glitch overlays.
Read moreLight leaks and film overlays
Filmic looks.
Read moreChromatic aberration
RGB-split looks.
Read moreOverlays
Every overlay type.
Read moreFor music artists
Visual effects for music videos.
Read moreTransparent overlays guide
Add a transparent overlay step by step.
Read moreGlitch text generator
Glitch titles for video.
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