How to add subtitles to a video: five ways, and which suits you
Pick by where the video will be watched. On YouTube, upload a subtitle file or use YouTube’s automatic captions in YouTube Studio. Anywhere else, or to draw the words into the picture, burn them in with a phone app, a computer editor or an online generator such as Burncaps. If you already have an SRT file, YouTube, Vimeo and LinkedIn take it. The free route in Burncaps is below, step by step, and the video is never uploaded to us.
The video never leaves your browser. On a computer, the sound is heard on your own device unless you choose our speech service; on a phone, it goes to our speech service unless you keep it on the phone. The service gets short pieces of sound, never the picture.
- Free, no sign-up
- No watermark
- Video never uploaded
- Burned in, SRT or VTT
Live preview, rendered on this page by the same engine that adds the subtitles to your video.
The five ways, and who each suits
Every place a video is watched takes subtitles in one of two forms: a file the viewer switches on, or words drawn into the picture. The ways below differ in who they suit and what you get back. Everything about another maker’s tool was read on its own help pages on 3 November 2026.
| The way | It suits you when | What you get | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. YouTube Studio | The video is on your own YouTube channel | Subtitles viewers switch on: from a file you upload, lines you type, or YouTube’s automatic captions | YouTube’s help says automatic captions can misrepresent speech, with accents or background noise, and should always be reviewed. Its SRT file must be plain UTF-8 with no styling. Add subtitles, automatic captions, file types |
| 2. A phone app | You filmed on your phone and want captions drawn in before you post | Captions burned into the video, in the app | YouTube Create, YouTube’s editing app, makes captions with a tap on Android and iPhone, but not for clips longer than 60 seconds. TikTok and Instagram have their own caption tools: TikTok, Instagram Reels. YouTube Create |
| 3. A computer editor | You edit on a computer and want control over every cut | An exported video with the captions in it, and in some editors a subtitle file | Editors differ on automatic captions. Microsoft’s Clipchamp has them; Apple’s iMovie guides cover titles you type; DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro have their own steps. iMovie, DaVinci Resolve, Clipchamp |
| 4. An online generator | You want captions with nothing to install, on any computer or phone | A captioned video, a subtitle file, or both | Tools differ on limits, watermarks and where your video goes. Burncaps does it in your browser, and the video is never uploaded. Sixteen tools compared, the free subtitle generator |
| 5. A subtitle file you already have | Someone sent you an SRT or VTT, or you made one | The same file, added to the video or fixed first | YouTube, Vimeo and LinkedIn take SRT. Fix timing or convert it first. Which file each place takes, converter, editor |
Burned in, or a file the viewer switches on?
Burned-in, or open, captions are part of the picture: every viewer sees them on every platform and none can turn them off. A subtitle file, or closed captions, travels beside the video and the viewer switches it on. Closed captions vs subtitles explains the words, and hardcode subtitles explains burning them in.
The free route in Burncaps, step by step
This is way 4 above, in your browser. Burncaps listens to the video, writes every word as a script, and burns animated word-by-word captions into it. It works the same on a computer and a phone.
- Drop your video on the box at the top of this page, or tap it to choose a file on a phone. An MP4 or MOV works. Captions burned into the whole video are for up to ten minutes; a longer recording opens for its clips, script and subtitle files.
- Wait while it listens. Every word appears as a script under the video, and the language it heard is named above the script, with a one-click change if it guessed wrong.
- Correct any word. Click it and type. One click fixes the word everywhere it was heard, and names this browser remembers.
- Pick a caption style, one of 60, and where the captions sit on the picture.
- Press Export the captioned video. You get a new MP4 with the captions burned in. Or press SRT, VTT or ASS for a subtitle file.
Free: 2 videos every 30 days, each with captions and up to 3 clips, no watermark, no sign-up. Then try Captions + Clips free for 7 days, no card. Captions + Clips is $29 a month for unlimited clips and captions; Captions is $9.98 a month or $49 once. SRT, VTT, ASS and text files are free without limit for recordings up to ten minutes, with no sign-up.
On an iPhone, an Android phone, Windows or a Mac
What each device does itself, and what Burncaps does in its browser. The phone and the computer give the same result: a video with the captions in it.
iPhone
What the iPhone does itself: Apple’s Live Captions, in Settings, Accessibility, gives a real-time transcription of spoken audio in any app, on iPhone 11 or later and not in all languages or regions. Apple’s page says you can copy the text or take a screenshot of it; it describes no way to put the captions into a video file. Apple’s iMovie guide for iPhone has a page on titles but none on automatic captions or on importing a subtitle file (iMovie subtitles). YouTube Create works on iPhone XR and newer with iOS 17, but cannot generate captions for clips longer than 60 seconds. Apple: Live Captions on iPhone, read 3 November 2026.
With Burncaps: open this page in your iPhone’s browser, tap the box that says Tap to choose your video, and choose the video. The sound goes to our speech service unless you keep it on the phone. The finished MP4 is in your downloads; the Files app shows it in Downloads.
Android phone
What Android does itself: Live Caption captions speech in media and calls as it plays: press a volume button, tap More, then Live Caption. Google’s help says all captions are processed on the device and never stored, so nothing is saved into the video. It works on Pixel phones and selected Android phones, in the languages the page lists. YouTube Create is on Android phones with at least 4 GB of RAM and cannot generate captions for clips longer than 60 seconds. Google: Live Caption, YouTube Create captions, read 3 November 2026.
With Burncaps: open this page in your phone’s browser, tap the box and choose the video. The finished MP4 downloads, and your gallery shows it in the Download album.
Windows
What Windows does itself: live captions in Windows 11, version 22H2 or later, turn on with the Windows key, Ctrl and L. They caption the audio playing on your PC, and Microsoft’s page says the generated captions are not stored anywhere. To get captions into a file, Microsoft’s Clipchamp editor has autocaptions: add the video to the timeline, turn on captions, choose the language and select Transcribe media. You can then edit the transcript, download an .SRT file and export the video. Microsoft’s page says Clipchamp uses Azure Cognitive Services to process the audio. Microsoft: live captions, Clipchamp autocaptions, read 3 November 2026.
With Burncaps: drop the video on the box at the top of this page, in any browser. Nothing is installed, and the video stays on the PC.
Mac
What a Mac does itself: Live Captions, in System Settings, Accessibility, gives a real-time transcription of audio in a window, on Macs with Apple silicon; Apple says the audio is processed on the device. It is for following audio, and Apple’s page describes no way to put the captions into a video file. iMovie’s guide covers titles you type, not automatic captions (iMovie subtitles). Final Cut Pro can create captions automatically from English speech on a Mac with Apple silicon, or from a caption file you import. Apple: Live Captions on Mac, Final Cut Pro: create captions, read 3 November 2026.
With Burncaps: drop the video on the box at the top of this page. The captions are burned into a new MP4 on your Mac, and the video is never uploaded to us.
Why one video can need more than one way
A long video for YouTube
Make the subtitle file with Burncaps and upload it in YouTube Studio, so viewers can switch it on. YouTube subtitle generator has the steps.
Short clips for TikTok and Reels
Burn the captions into each clip, so they show on mute. Burncaps finds the clips in a long recording. Long video to Shorts shows how.
A video in another language
Under Captions in, choose English or another of the 59 languages, and every line is translated. Translate a video to English has the details.
What it costs
Free: 2 videos every 30 days, each with captions and up to 3 clips, no watermark, no sign-up. Then try Captions + Clips free for 7 days, no card. Captions + Clips is $29 a month for unlimited clips and captions; Captions is $9.98 a month or $49 once.
Questions, answered plainly
How do I add subtitles to a video for free?
Drop the video in Burncaps. It listens and writes every word as a script, you correct any word with a click, pick a caption style and export an MP4 with the captions burned in, or save an SRT, VTT or ASS subtitle file. It is free for 2 videos every 30 days, each with captions and up to 3 clips, no watermark and no sign-up, and subtitle files are free without limit for videos up to ten minutes.
What is the difference between burned-in captions and a subtitle file?
Burned-in (open) captions are drawn into the picture, so every viewer sees them and none can switch them off. A subtitle file, such as SRT or VTT, goes beside the video and the player shows the words when the viewer turns them on. YouTube, Vimeo and LinkedIn take a file. Burned-in captions show on every platform, including those that take no file.
How do I add subtitles to a YouTube video?
For a video on your own channel, sign in to YouTube Studio, choose Subtitles in the left menu, pick the video, click Add language, then under Subtitles click Add. You can upload a file, type the lines or let the words be timed to a transcript, and YouTube can also make automatic captions, which its help says you should always review. These are YouTube’s own steps, read on YouTube Help on 3 November 2026.
How do I add subtitles to a video on an iPhone or an Android phone?
A phone’s Live Captions, on iPhone 11 or later and on Pixel and selected Android phones, shows captions on the screen while audio plays; the Apple and Google help pages describe no way to put them into a video file. Two ways that do: YouTube’s editing app, YouTube Create, which makes captions with a tap but not for clips longer than 60 seconds, or a browser tool such as Burncaps, where you open the page on the phone, choose the video and export it with the captions burned in.
How do I add subtitles to a video on Windows or a Mac?
On Windows, Microsoft’s Clipchamp editor has autocaptions that make an editable transcript, a downloadable SRT file and an exported video. On a Mac, Apple’s iMovie guide covers titles you type but not automatic captions, and Final Cut Pro can generate captions from English speech on a Mac with Apple silicon. In any browser, on either, Burncaps does the same job without an install. All read on 3 November 2026.
How long does it take to add subtitles to a video?
It depends on the computer and the length. On a 2020 MacBook with 8 GB of memory, 90 minutes of English were heard on the device in 8.8 minutes with WebGPU (5 October 2026); slower machines take longer. Our speech service is much quicker, and a phone uses it by default.
Can I fix a word the AI got wrong?
Yes. Every word of the script is click-to-edit before you export, and one click changes it everywhere it was heard. Names, brands and jargon are the usual misses, and you can type names for Burncaps to spell right.
Which languages can it add subtitles in?
It writes 59 spoken languages, the list in Listening settings. It listens first and names the language it hears above your script, with a one-click change. Under Captions in it can also translate every line into another language from that list, which is free.
Is my video uploaded?
The video never leaves your browser. On a computer, the sound is heard on your own device unless you choose our speech service; on a phone, it goes to our speech service unless you keep it on the phone. The service gets short pieces of sound, never the picture. Because the video never reaches us, we cannot keep it or train AI on it.
Keep reading
Free subtitle generator · Free SRT generator · Auto caption generator · YouTube subtitle generator · How to add captions on TikTok · Instagram Reels captions · Facebook video captions · Captions on a Chromebook · iMovie subtitles · DaVinci Resolve subtitles · Subtitle converter · SRT editor · Closed captions for videos · Closed captions vs subtitles
Burncaps facts, checked 3 November 2026
What it is: a browser tool that burns animated word-by-word captions into a talking video, or finds the best moments of a talk, podcast or interview and gives them back as ranked, captioned 9:16 clips.
Price: free for 2 videos every 30 days, each one recording with its captioned video and up to 3 clips, no mark and no sign-up; then the free 7-day Captions + Clips trial, no card (your email only); then Captions + Clips, $29 a month, gives unlimited clips and captioned videos, or Captions, $9.98 a month or $49 once, gives unlimited captioned videos. Captions paid once is not a subscription.
Privacy: the video never leaves your browser. The sound goes only to our speech service, on a phone unless you switch it off, on a computer only if you choose it. Because the video never reaches us, we cannot keep it or train AI on it, and we train no AI on anything you make.
Files: MP4 or MOV in, MP4 out. Captions on the whole video: up to ten minutes. Clips: up to three hours, on a phone or a computer. SRT, VTT, ASS and text files are free without limit for recordings up to ten minutes; a longer recording, up to three hours, gives its script and those files (the first ten minutes free, all of it as one of your free videos, in the trial or with Captions + Clips or Captions) and its clips (every one found and shown before you sign up; up to 3 from each free video exported free, every one in the trial or with Captions + Clips).
Clips: about one clip for every two minutes of talk, up to 30, ranked, the ones we would post first circled, each showing the words it opens and ends on and the reason it was chosen; each cut to 9:16 with ums and dead air removed, an opening card and captions, framed on whoever is talking. Every clip of the whole recording is found and shown, free and with no sign-up; each free video exports up to 3 of them, and the 7-day trial and Captions + Clips export every clip, unlimited.
Languages and styles: captions in the language spoken, twelve Indian languages heard on your device, translation into 59 languages, 60 caption styles.
After it listens: correct any word (one click changes it everywhere), add or cut words, one to six words at a time, position, size, text and highlight colours, and names this browser remembers, all free and without listening again.
Made by: Jordan Labs Ltd, UK company no. 17358646.
Against other tools: sixteen caption tools compared, from the vendors' own pages.