VFX Suite Review and verdict 2026

Red Giant's compositing, keying and VFX effects suite for After Effects.

From 50€/mo.

Our take

Understanding VFX Suite.

VFX Suite is Red Giant's set of compositing and visual effects tools, designed to do VFX right inside After Effects without going through a dedicated compositing app. It includes quality green-screen keying, Supercomp (a layer-based light compositing environment), King Pin Tracker (tracking and corner pin), Optical Glow, Chromatic Displacement and the famous Knoll Light Factory lens flares.

Like all of Red Giant, VFX Suite now comes via the Red Giant Complete subscription (~$50/month) or Maxon One, with no more standalone sales. It's a real comfort for anyone doing light to medium compositing in After Effects. For heavy, pro compositing, however, a dedicated tool like Nuke remains the reference. VFX Suite mostly makes sense if After Effects is your central tool and you want to keep your VFX there.

Practical uses

Key a green screen in After Effects
Composite multiple sourcesSupercomp
Track and pin an elementKing Pin Tracker
Add lens flares and optical glows

Pros and cons

What VFX Suite does especially well — and the limits to anticipate.

Pros

Compositing and VFX without leaving After Effects
Quality green-screen keying and Supercomp
Tracking (King Pin) and lens flares (Knoll Light Factory)
Included in Red Giant Complete and Maxon One

Cons

No longer sold alone: you need all of Red Giant Complete (~$50/month)
Less powerful than Nuke for heavy compositing
Subscription only, no perpetual license
Overkill without a regular VFX need

VFX Suite: when it makes sense.

Worth it for light to medium VFX in After Effects. For heavy compositing, Nuke stays the reference.

Keep if

You do compositing and VFX directly in After Effects. You also use other Red Giant suites (the bundle becomes worth it)

VFX Suite becomes worthwhile when

You use it at least once a week
The monthly cost (€50) is small next to the time it saves you

Challenge if

You do heavy, pro compositing: Nuke fits better. You have no recurring VFX need in After Effects

VFX Suite becomes too expensive when

You use it less than once a month
A simple free version or a tool already in your stack would do

Our verdict on VFX Suite.

Why this verdict

Very good

VFX Suite is hard to replace short-term, no free tier to test before paying, clearly documented use cases.