Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are essential pollutants affecting ambient air quality. In the Pearl River Delta of China, furniture manufacturing contributes significantly to VOCs emissions, mainly from coatings. Therefore, the source substitution of coatings is the most effective way to reduce VOCs emissions. In this study, eight typical furniture enterprises with five different coatings types (traditional solvent coatings (solvent and solvent ultraviolet (UV) coatings) and low VOCs content coatings (waterborne, waterborne UV, and powder coatings)) were selected for field monitoring to reveal differences in VOCs emission characteristics, environmental impacts and health risks between traditional solvent coatings and low-VOCs coatings. The results showed that solvent coating VOCs have the highest concentration (143.32 mg/m3) and are much higher than that of solvent UV coating (45.96 mg/m3) and other coatings (≤11.81 mg/m3). The highest proportion of VOCs of solvent (UV) coating is aromatic hydrocarbons (50.73% (44.05%)). While oxygenated VOCs rank first in low-VOCs coatings (47.81%–59.20%). Compared with other coatings, the solvent coating has the greatest contribution to the formation potential of ozone and secondary organic aerosols. Meanwhile, the solvent coating has the highest carcinogenic risk of ethylbenzene in the spraying workshop (8.53 × 10−6), and only solvent coating in the spraying workshop has the non-carcinogenic risk of xylene (1.07). Finally, through scenario analysis, the environmental benefits of low-VOCs coatings substituting solvent coating were quantified. The study will help accelerate the process of source substitution of coatings and promote cleaner production in the furniture industry. Display omitted •VOCs spectra of five different coating types in furniture industry were obtained.•Solvent coating has a much higher contribution to secondary pollutants than others.•Solvent (ultraviolet) coatings exist a carcinogenic risk of ethylbenzene.•Only solvent coating in spraying workshop has a non-carcinogenic risk of xylene.•The environmental benefits of low-VOCs coatings substitution were quantified.