If you’ve ever had to create video content from home or participate in a virtual meeting, class, or discussion remotely, you’ve probably had problems finding a suitable background that you’re happy showing off.
ChromaCam was designed to solve this annoying problem. It’s a desktop application that allows you to change, blur, customize, or even remove a background image from your videos. ChromaCam is compatible with most video conferencing and broadcasting apps including Zoom, Hangouts, Skype, OBS, XSplit, and standard webcam.
Although ChromaCam is one of the leading video and background editors in the market, it’s not ideal for everyone. You might require a simpler, easy-to-use tool, or a comprehensive app with more features and fewer limitations.
Whatever your reasons, it’s always great to know and explore different options before settling on the one that’s right for you. On that note, we’re going to walk you through the best ChromaCam alternatives you can rely on depending on your budget, technical proficiency, or specific needs.
10 Best ChromaCam Alternatives
1. CamTwist
CamTwist is a remarkably useful ChromaCam alternative that helps users enhance their web videos when chatting virtually or broadcasting life. It offers all the plain features of advanced webcam software and supports many video chatting and live streaming applications and websites.
The app has over 50 video effects that you can use to blur, change, or remove unwanted background distractions and keep the focus where it belongs: on you and the subject at hand.
You can apply these effects one at a time or combine multiple effects to create distinct and striking imagery.
CamTwist serves as a broadcast-quality video switcher, equipping you with the ability to design special scenes or setups on the go for your live streams, video calls, and conferences.
In addition, you can build and save your own backgrounds that suit your purposes rather than using CamTwist’s pre-made effects. But you’ll need to install the free Apple Developer tools and use the Quartz Composer to design your special effects with CamTwist.
That’s not all. You can also make use of the green screen effect to layer videos and images on top of your webcam footage to create a unique, customized setting. CamTwist’s forum is full of helpful guides and tips that can help make the process of creating effects simpler snd easier for you.
If you’re a novice, you might be thrown off by CamTwist’s interface, which looks more like a spreadsheet from decades ago than the interface of a modern-day app. However, if you’re a tech-savvy person, you’ll be able to overcome this hurdle and amp up your video conferencing experience with this tool.
Unlike ChromaCam which offers a limited free plan to users, CamTwist is absolutely free to use and all its features are available to every user without restrictions. However, CamTwist only works on Mac operating systems.
2. ManyCam
With over 100 million users around the world, it’s no stretch of the imagination to say that ManyCam is one of the most popular and best ChromaCam alternatives out there. Like its competitor, ManyCam is designed to enliven the video chatting and content creation experience.
It offers an array of awesome video effects, graphics, and filters that you can use to take your videos from zero to one hundred in a matter of seconds. With the virtual backgrounds, you can be prepared to create content or jump into a meeting wherever you are without worrying about your environment.
This feature gives you the creative control to remove, blur, or change your background without a green screen by using video sources and images. If you already have a green or blue screen, you can leverage ManyCam’s chroma key function and advanced settings to increase the professional quality of your live streams even more.
ManyCam also gives you the option of importing your favorite presets or saving the presets you used for future projects with ease. This way you can increase your productivity and save time while at it.
Another great feature that makes ManyCam stand out is the ability to quickly access the app’s main functions like recording, presets, snapshots, drawing tools, audio management, and live streaming when showcasing slides or sharing your screen.
For those looking to improve their video quality, ManyCam offers 4K video support. There’s also the option of recording your screen or sharing it live for your audience to see. You can choose to capture specific sections, apps, windows, or even your entire screen, to add more value to presentations and online tutorials.
Other incredible functions that ManyCam has to offer include motion detection, YouTube & Facebook integration, whiteboards, multi-channel broadcasting, video playlist, media source switcher, and lower thirds.
ManyCam offers three different plans for individuals ranging from $39/year to $79/year. While this might seem to be on the high side compared to ChromaCam, the avalanche of features on ManyCam makes up for the price difference.
3. SparkoCam
It wouldn’t be right to talk about the best ChromaCam alternatives without mentioning SparkoCam. This all-in-one webcam program enables you to take your broadcasting, streaming, and live chatting to the next level.
The great thing about SparkoCam is that it doesn’t just work with webcams like other regular programs. It also allows you to use DSLR cameras as a live video source, which means your videos will have a far better, professional quality.
SparkoCam provides plenty of graphics, scenes, frames, and video effects that can be applied to your video recordings, live streams, and calls to help you retain privacy or beautify your background during virtual communications.
The software’s green screen option lets you replace your webcam video backgrounds with any custom image or movie of your choice. So you can transform your took into a stunning landscape or take your classroom presentation to beautiful destinations around the world that you can’t physically travel to.
If you want, you can change only a section of your background by adding graphic content to the desired area. All you need to achieve this is a basic green screen that you’ll find in any half-decent photo supply store.
The program makes it possible to split one webcam and use it simultaneously across different video communication and recording platforms such as AOL AIM, Skype, Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, and others.
You can even screencast and display your entire desktop screen or a selected portion of it in video chats, as well as quickly switch from one camera source to another without glitches.
With SparkoCam, you can make your videos more fun by adding visual effects and facial accessories. Additionally, you can use the anaglyph 3D effect to watch other videos with stereoscopic 3D effects. You can also create your own webcam effects by importing animations, gifs, and images into the program.
Lastly, you can record high-quality videos on your webcam or DSLR cameras and stream them in chats or share the clips with friends and colleagues.
SparkoCam is compatible with both Mac and Windows devices. It’s pretty easy to master and has no learning curve so you can launch it and start editing your video backgrounds right away.
4. NVIDIA Broadcast
Transform your video conference calls, live streams, and voice chat with NVIDIA Broadcast. This alternative to ChromaCam uses artificial intelligence to take your voice and video content to the next level.
It allows you to create unique virtual backgrounds in a few clicks without the need for green screens, special cameras, or complicated hardware. NVIDIA Broadcast provides a wide range of green screen effects for you to choose from for work or play.
If you’d rather leave your background unchanged, you can blur out it out to prevent viewers from seeing your actual backdrop or the setting around you.
Another handy feature that the NVIDIA Broadcast app offers is noise removal. With this tool, you can get rid of unnecessary sounds that interfere with your video and steal focus away from the presentation.
This means you no longer have to stress over finding a quiet place to make video calls or create audio and visual content. All it takes is the push of a button to mute or eliminate bothersome noises.
NVIDIA Broadcast also lets you track your movements in real-time using the auto-frame feature. It then zooms and crops the video automatically so that you remain the center of attention while moving around.
The app is compatible with all your beloved video communication platforms including Twitch Studio, Discord, OBS, Slack, Skype, Google Meet, Zoom, Streamlabs, and more. However, it only works on Windows devices, so Mac users will have to try their luck elsewhere.
You don’t need to have any technical expertise or spend weeks playing around with the software to get a hang of how the NVIDIA Broadcast app works. The user interface is intuitive and straightforward so you can begin editing your backgrounds within minutes.
Unlike ChromaCam, NVIDIA Broadcast is completely free to use and doesn’t add watermarks to your videos.
5. AlterCam
Brighten the mood of your online presentations and video chats with AlterCam. It’s a simple and effective software that adds impressive video effects, borders, and overlays to your live streams and video calls.
Whether you want a static landscape or moving scenery, AlterCam has got your back. You can infuse different colors, borders, images, and video files into your background or add various graphic objects to make your video more exciting.
For those times when the lighting is bad, AlterCam offers an array of effects that can give your appearance a facelift. The program also allows you to change your voice and play video files on your webcam.
AlterCam provides a chroma key function that enables you to convert green or blue screen backgrounds into an image of your choosing and create stunning effects.
The only downside to AlterCam is that overlays and scenes have to be resized or dragged manually before they can be changed instead of getting removed with the click of a button.
The program is very easy to install and the slick design makes navigation a quick and simple exercise. You can get lifetime access to the program for just $39.45, which is a less than two-dollar difference compared to the cost of ChromaCam.
At the moment, AlterCam only supports Windows-based notebooks, laptops, and desktop systems. However, the company is working on providing support for Mac devices.
6. Snap Camera
Snap Camera is brought to you from the stables of the popular social media app, Snapchat. It comes with pre-built filters, lenses, and virtual backgrounds that you can use to replace the backgrounds of your webcam videos like you would with ChromaCam.
With Snap Camera, you no longer have to put up with using the same boring background in every video or struggle with finding the right spot for online classes, presentations, and meetings that doesn’t embarrass you or give out more personal information than you’re willing to share.
The app provides thousands of unique virtual backgrounds and lenses that you can use to make your video calls and chats more exciting. Although some of the props are designed by the Snapchat team, many of them are the personal creations of other Snap camera users.
You can create your own designs with the free Lens studio app and apply them as custom backgrounds when using Snap Camera.
Snap Camera works perfectly on both Mac and Windows devices. The interface is fun and straightforward, and the software is free to use. You can be as wild, quirky, and adventurous as you want in your video chats without having to pay a dime. This makes Snap Camera a convenient stand-in for ChromaCam.
7. XSplit VCam
Another powerful ChromaCam alternative that can help you get rid of unwanted backgrounds is XSplit VCam. It works perfectly with any video chat app or live streaming platform.
With XSplit, you don’t need to be a professional video creator with advanced lighting setups, plenty of space, and costly green screens to remove or blur your videos’ backgrounds and create an immersive experience wherever you are.
All you need is to sign up for their free plan or cop a paid subscription to begin enjoying this service. However, backgrounds that are edited on the free plan will contain an XSplit watermark and the videos cannot be used for commercial purposes.
XSplit provides support for different types of files including GIFs, JPGs, PNGs, amongst others. This means that you can upload your own images and use them to personalize your background to your exact liking rather than applying the in-built background effects.
You also have the option of choosing from thousands of free, gorgeous backgrounds to maintain your privacy or give your videos a unique look. With XSplit’s blur slider, you can add a portrait mode or DSLR blur effect to your webcam without comprising the quality of your video.
Whether you’re a content creator or a business looking to elevate the quality of your presentations, virtual interviews, meetings, consultations, tutorials, and other video productions, or you just need a great quality background removal app, you can’t go wrong with XSplit VCam.
The software is relatively easy to use for both novices and experts. In case you run into any problems, XSplit has customer support staff on hand 24/7 that will be happy to help you work out any user experience kinks.
Unlike ChromaCam, which works for both Mac and Windows systems, XSplit is only compatible with Windows. It’s also the pricier option, costing almost twice as much as ChromaCam. The premium monthly plan costs $5.95, the annual plan is priced at $24.95, while lifetime access to the application goes for $49.95.
8. WebcamMax
Looking for a tool like ChromaCam that spices up your video chats and helps you get rid of undesized backgrounds? WebcamMax should definitely be amongst the options you consider.
The program gives you access to thousands of effects you can use when recording videos or participating in online chats via your webcam. WebCamMax allows you to blur your backgrounds to replace them with something else.
There are also tons of frames, images, filters, animations, and transformation effects that you can apply to enhance your virtual surroundings. WebcamMax allows you to create your own custom doodles and effects.
Another wonderful thing about this software is that it gives you the freedom to combine and use multiple effects at once to give your videos a one-of-a-kind style. You can easily select and change your video settings and effects at all times including during a video call.
In addition to background replacements and video effects, WebcamMax allows you to broadcast videos, draw directly on your video stream, record conversations, take screenshots, share video files over social media, and screencast your desktop activity in real-time.
WebcamMax works fine with almost all video call and broadcast programs such as Yahoo Messenger, Skype, Vimeo, Ustream, AIM, YouTube, Camfrog, and many more.
WebcamMax’s interface makes video editing a breeze. Its navigation is intuitive and it doesn’t require any configurations after being installed.
You can take WebcamMax for a spin for 30 days without spending a dime, but you’ll have to pay $29.95 or $49.95 for a one-year or lifetime license if you want to continue using it after the trial period runs out.
Unfortunately for Mac users, WebcamMax only supports Windows systems at the moment.
9. Cyberlink PerfectCam
PerfectCam is a virtual camera plug-in that combines AI-powered facial detection with appearance optimization to create a superb video-conferencing experience for you.
Like ChromaCam, this app enables you to change or blur your video backgrounds so you no longer have to feel wary about shooting content or participating in online meetings and classes from the comfort of your home.
With the background effects, you can keep people from gaining unwanted visual access into the privacy of your settings. PerfectCam also optimizes your footage to ensure that the perfect light conditions and smart image are maintained from the moment you turn on your camera to when it’s turned off.
PerfectCam works with all existing video conferencing apps so you can always put your best foot forward no matter what platform you’re using. Thanks to its AI-driven technology, PerfectCam can differentiate between backgrounds and humans so you can accurately replace the former with a custom image or simply blur the background.
Also, you can adjust the contrast, brightness, and exposure of your screen during or before a video call using the floating IM panel to get the most out of your environment and keep your appearance professional at all times.
You can select from pre-built preset styles to modify your background or visual appearance, or even create and save your own presets. PerfectCam allows you to launch popular video communication apps like Hangouts and Skype from the software’s drop-down menu.
The only downside to this tool is the price tag. To get a year’s access to PerfectCam, you’ll have to cough up ￡44.99, compared to ChromaCam which only costs $24.99.
10. SplitCam
Although this award-winning program is primarily designed to clone a video source and distribute it across multiple platforms without error, it also comes equipped with cool effects that can change your video backgrounds.
Make your video chats more interesting by using visual effects to transform your whole video or selected parts of it. You can change the background and pretend to be in a different place by placing the image of a captivating landscape behind you.
Additionally, you can turn any image you like into your background to suit the occasion. You can also insert animated characters, frames, and graphics to spice up your videos.
Thanks to SplitCam’s powerful broadcast software, you can stream your videos directly on some of the most popular video-sharing platforms such as Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook.
The program supports many video services including Skype, CamZap, AOL AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Camfrog, Ustream, ICQ, Gtalk, Tinychat, and more.
SplitCam can also be used as a security camera to detect motion, record video, or take snapshots at specified intervals. However, this feature is not without problems as it may interfere with your computer’s normal operations and impact your audio playback when initiated.
Other great features that SplitCam users can enjoy include realistic 3D masks, support HD video broadcasts, zoom video function, multiple video stream sources, and the ability to use your IP camera as a video source.
While ChromaCam runs smoothly on both macOS and Windows systems, SplitCam currently supports only Windows.
Conclusion
There you have it! The best ChromaCam alternatives on the market. As you can see, there are many options for you to choose from and each comes with its own pack of features and advantages.
However, we highly recommend ManyCam as the best of the best substitute software for ChromaCam. Feel free to try these suggestions to give your next live video session an added boost of creativity.
