How to Add an Overlay in CapCut for Mobile, PC and Web

To add an overlay in CapCut Mobile, tap Overlay, choose Add overlay, and select the photo or video. On Desktop, import the second visual and place it on a timeline track above the base clip. On Web, upload the second visual and use Add overlay or place it on a higher layer. Select the new layer before resizing, cropping, positioning or trimming it.

An overlay is a separate visual layer with its own timing. Picture-in-picture is one overlay layout, where a smaller image or video stays visible over the main shot. A background sits lower, behind the subject. A full-frame upper clip can cover the base entirely, while a texture may mix with it through opacity or a blend mode.

These steps follow CapCut's public documentation as it stood on September 16, 2026. Control names and placement can vary by platform, version and region, so if a button sits elsewhere in your build, follow the route your app shows.

Choose the Overlay for the Job

• Picture-in-picture: keep the base visible while a smaller second video or image appears over it.
• Logo or graphic: use a file with real transparency when you need clean edges without a box.
• B-roll: let an upper clip cover the base picture for part of the edit while the intended base audio can continue.
• Texture or light: fill the frame with an upper asset, then use a suitable blend mode or opacity only if the source requires it.
• Green-screen element: place the keyed clip above the replacement background, then remove the selected color.

Pick the target section before you import anything. Park the playhead near the frame where the overlay should start, and note which base clip it needs to cover. If the media lands on the wrong part of the timeline, that's a timing error, not an opacity problem.

How to Add an Overlay in CapCut Mobile

1. Open the intended project and move the playhead near the first frame where the overlay should appear.
2. Tap Overlay in the project toolbar, then choose Add overlay.
3. Select the photo or video in the media picker and add it to the project.
4. Select the new overlay clip. Pinch or drag its canvas handles to resize it, then move it into position.
5. Drag the overlay clip along the timeline to align its start with the target section. Drag either edge to set its duration.
6. If it is a video, decide whether its audio belongs in the mix. Adjust that clip's volume separately from its visual layer.
7. Play the complete overlay interval, including its entrance and exit, before adding masks, keyframes or effects.

CapCut's current overlay guide documents this Mobile route, along with pinch-to-resize and drag-to-position. If Overlay isn't there, tap an empty area to leave a selected base clip's controls, then look at the project toolbar again. Don't assume every phone shows the same toolbar order.

How to Add an Overlay in CapCut Desktop

1. Import the base video and the second photo or video.
2. Put the base on the main timeline track.
3. Drag the second visual to a separate track above the base clip.
4. Select the upper clip and resize or position it in the preview or the available transform controls.
5. Move the clip to the target time and trim its edges to the intended interval.
6. Crop, mask, change opacity or choose a blend mode only when that treatment solves a visible composition problem.

On Desktop, ordinary media overlays come down to track order. CapCut's current multi-platform overlay resource tells you to put the second video or image on an upper track. That's not the same as searching the Effects library for an effect with “overlay” in its name.

How to splice an overlay on CapCut PC

When people say they want to splice an overlay on CapCut PC, they usually mean layering, not cutting. Joining clips end to end happens on the main track. Splicing an overlay means stacking a second clip above the base and blending the two, so a light leak, texture or second shot shows through your footage. The route is the same in CapCut for Mac.

1. Click Media, then Import, and bring in the base clip and the overlay clip.
2. Drag the base to the main track and the overlay to a track above it. No upper track yet? Right-click the timeline and choose Add video track.
3. Select the upper clip, open Basic in the right panel and go to Blend, the same route CapCut's film strip overlay walkthrough uses.
4. Pick a Mode such as Screen, Multiply or Overlay, then lower Opacity in the same section until both shots stay readable.
5. Trim the upper clip to the moment it should appear and play that stretch back before you export.

How to Add an Overlay in CapCut Web

1. Open the intended Web project and upload the base and overlay files.
2. Put the base video on the timeline and wait for required uploads to finish.
3. Use Add overlay above the canvas where it appears, or use the current context-menu/layer route to place the second visual above the base.
4. Select the added visual on the canvas, then resize and position it.
5. Move and trim its timeline clip to match the target section.
6. Confirm the project has saved before refreshing or closing the tab.

CapCut's picture-on-video guide also documents the Web Add overlay route, canvas handles and timeline duration. Web projects rely on uploaded media and your account state, so keep the original files outside CapCut. Read the Web editor guide before you clear browser data or rebuild the project.

Make a Picture-in-Picture Layout

Put the smaller clip above the base, crop away the outer areas you don't need, then scale it. Cropping first keeps the subject bigger inside the inset. Keep the box clear of faces, captions, diagrams and the destination platform's controls. There's no universal best corner.

Picture-in-picture isn't a separate kind of source media. It's an overlay resized so viewers can see both layers. A background sits below the subject. An upper clip that fills the canvas at full opacity turns into a cover or cutaway, even though it's still technically layered above the base.

If the overlay video has sound, select that clip and decide whether to mute it, lower it or mix it with the base audio. Moving a visual off-canvas doesn't mute its audio, so check the final file with sound on.

Add a Logo or Transparent Graphic

Place the image above the base and stretch its timeline edge only across the section that needs it. If an imported logo file shows an unwanted rectangle, a transparent PNG is the safest common fallback. PNG can store an alpha channel. JPEG can't. WebP can store alpha too, but that doesn't guarantee every CapCut build will import every WebP correctly.

If a black or white box remains, check the source asset first. Those pixels may be part of the file itself, not an editor error. I'd look for a properly licensed transparent original before running automatic background removal on fine text or thin marks.

Use Opacity, Blend Modes and Masks

Opacity controls the strength of the whole upper layer. Blend mode changes how its tones mix with the layer below. Mask limits which part of the upper layer stays visible, and Crop removes outer source areas. They're related controls, but they aren't interchangeable.

How to change clip opacity on CapCut PC and Mac

To make a clip see-through in CapCut Desktop, select it on the upper track, open Basic, go to Blend and drag the Opacity slider down. The clip underneath shows through more as the value drops. Over an empty canvas a lowered clip just looks darker, and CapCut's opacity guide lists a missing lower layer as the first thing to check when that happens.

I set the mode first and opacity last. The mode decides which tones mix and opacity only decides how strongly, so tuning opacity first means redoing it after every mode change. A see-through layer in the preview also isn't the same as a video file with a transparent background. That depends on the export format, so check it separately.

For a light effect that comes on a black background, Screen can be a sensible first try. Adobe's description of Screen blending explains the principle: black leaves the underlying color unchanged, while lighter tones brighten it. That's an example, not a rule for every asset. If a mode makes the image confusing, go back to Normal, then compare modes on the shot you're editing and adjust opacity afterward.

Shaped and feathered reveals are covered in the masking tutorial. For green footage, use the current Chroma Key controls and adjust the sampled color and edge settings a little at a time. Don't stack crop, background removal, chroma key and a mask unless each tool has its own job.

Move an Overlay With Keyframes

Select the overlay, put the playhead at the first state, and add a keyframe for a supported property such as position, scale or opacity. Then move the playhead later and change that property to create another state. CapCut fills in the frames between those points.

CapCut's Desktop keyframe help confirms the relevant clip has to be selected, and some template or grouped elements may not show the same controls. The keyframe walkthrough has the full sequence. Play the motion through the whole interval so the overlay doesn't expose a cropped edge or cross a caption.

Check Rights Before Using Overlay Assets

Stick to footage, logos, graphics and texture files you created or have a license to use. Finding an asset inside CapCut isn't a blanket commercial license. Under CapCut's current Materials License Agreement, commercial permission varies by asset, and eligible materials carry a commercial-use mark. If you mix a non-commercial platform material into an export, that agreement restricts the content to personal and non-commercial use.

With outside stock, save the source URL, the license version and your download record. For a client logo, get the approved file instead of copying a low-resolution image off a web page.

Why a CapCut Overlay Is Not Showing

Copy the project before you try anything destructive. Then change one thing at a time, and undo each change that doesn't point to the cause.

1. Timing: put the playhead inside the overlay clip and confirm that the clip overlaps the intended base section.
2. Layer order: on Desktop or Web, confirm that the overlay is on a visible higher layer. On Mobile, select the intended overlay and inspect the available arrangement controls.
3. Visibility and opacity: check the selected clip's visible state and make sure opacity is above zero.
4. Canvas position: inspect scale and position. If you test a reset, record or copy the intended values first.
5. Crop, mask and blend: disable one treatment at a time on the project copy. Do not reset all composition work at once.
6. Media and render: save the project, then re-import only the problem asset or restart the editor before considering broader changes.

CapCut's visibility guidance splits the problem into layer order, playhead timing, visibility, opacity, media compatibility and temporary rendering issues. When the preview and the output don't match, follow CapCut's preview-mismatch guidance and export a short diagnostic section. Don't clear app data, offload, reinstall or rebuild the project until you've verified a copy you can restore.

Check the Export and the Preview

Start by exporting a short section that includes the overlay's entrance, its busiest frame and its exit. That diagnostic export can catch a preview-only problem, but it doesn't prove the rest of the video is clean.

Once the full export finishes, watch and listen to the whole file outside CapCut. Look for one-frame flashes, missing layers, exposed crop edges, overlays that leave the canvas, unreadable picture-in-picture details and upper-clip audio you didn't mean to keep. Hang on to the editable project and source assets, since the flattened file can't bring back masks, timing or keyframes. Our guide to exporting a selected section in CapCut covers the diagnostic range, and the breakdown of CapCut export settings handles the final render.

CapCut Overlay FAQ

How do I add an overlay in CapCut Mobile?

Open the project, tap Overlay, choose Add overlay, select a photo or video and add it. Select the new overlay to resize and position it, then move and trim its timeline clip to match the target section.

How do I add an overlay in CapCut on PC?

Import the second photo or video and drag it to a timeline track above the base clip. Select the upper clip to set its size, position, crop and timing. Use opacity, a mask or a blend mode only when the composition needs it.

How do I add an overlay in CapCut Web?

Upload the base and second visual, put the base on the timeline, then use Add overlay or the current layer route to place the second visual above it. Select the overlay on the canvas and trim its timeline interval.

Is picture-in-picture the same as an overlay?

Picture-in-picture is one overlay layout. The upper video is scaled into a smaller window so the base remains visible. Other overlays can be full-frame B-roll, logos, textures or green-screen elements.

How do I crop an overlay without changing the canvas?

Select the overlay clip and crop that source layer, then resize and position it. Crop changes the visible area of the selected media; the project canvas or aspect ratio remains a separate setting.

How do I mute an overlay video?

Select the overlay video and reduce that clip's volume to zero or use its available mute control. Moving the picture off-canvas or hiding the visual does not reliably remove its audio from the mix.

How do I make an overlay transparent?

Reduce the selected overlay's opacity when the whole layer should become lighter. For a logo with no rectangular background, start with a transparent PNG or another verified alpha-capable file rather than expecting opacity to remove the box.

Why is my CapCut overlay not showing?

On a project copy, check the playhead and overlay duration, layer order, visibility, opacity, scale and position. Then disable crop, mask or blend settings one at a time. Preserve the intended composition values instead of resetting everything together.

Can I use any CapCut overlay asset commercially?

No. Commercial permission depends on the asset and its license. CapCut's Materials License Agreement identifies eligible platform materials with a commercial-use mark. For outside assets, verify and retain the source license.

Once the full exported file passes the visual and audio checks, return to the CapCut Tutorials hub or continue with the masking lesson when the upper layer needs a shaped edge.