Nothing to install
Open the editor in your browser and upload. There's no desktop app, plugin or codec pack to set up first.
Add subtitles to video
Add subtitles to a video from your browser, start to finish.
Everything happens in a browser tab: the transcript, the corrections, the styling and the final render of your subtitled video.
No credit card · 2 free minutes every month · MP4, SRT and VTT export
Why it matters
Adding subtitles used to mean installing an editor, typing every line and lining each one up against a waveform. Most people looking up how to do it have one video that needs subtitles today, not a new piece of software to learn.
AutoCap runs in a modern web browser. It transcribes the speech, lets you correct the result while the video plays, and renders the finished file on your own device, so there's nothing to download before you begin.
The one real decision is where the subtitles should live: inside the picture, or in a separate file the platform loads. Both are covered below, along with the preparation that saves the most correcting.
What you get
Everything one video needs, and nothing it doesn't.
Your footage stays local
Only the soundtrack is uploaded, for transcription. The subtitled MP4 is rendered in the browser, on your own machine.
Corrections before commitment
Every word stays editable up to the moment you export, so a misheard name costs a click instead of a second render.
Either kind of subtitle
Render subtitles into the picture, or download an SRT or VTT file on a paid plan to upload alongside the video.
Output that matches the source
The finished MP4 keeps your original frame rate and audio, at resolutions up to 1440p.
How it works
How to add subtitles to a video.
- 01
Finish the edit
Subtitle the version you'll publish. Cutting the video afterward leaves a subtitle file out of step with the picture.
- 02
Upload the MP4 or MOV
The audio goes up for transcription and comes back as words, each with its own timing.
- 03
Correct and style
Fix misheard words while the video plays, then pick a style and place the subtitles clear of faces and on-screen text.
- 04
Export and publish
Download the subtitled MP4, or the SRT or VTT file, and upload it wherever the video is headed.
Two things to sort out before you upload
The first is sound. Transcription can only work with what the microphone picked up, so the cleaner the voice track, the less there is to correct afterward.
The second is the cut. Subtitles are timed against the video exactly as uploaded, so trim, reorder and add your intro before subtitling rather than after.
- Export the final cut, then upload that file
- Turn music down under speech in your editor where you can
- Note names and specialist terms to check in the transcript
- Convert formats other than MP4 or MOV before uploading
Burn the subtitles in, or upload a file?
Burned-in subtitles become part of the image. Choose them for short-form social video, where the text should look the same on every phone, and for any app that has nowhere to attach a subtitle file.
A subtitle file keeps the picture clean and puts the viewer in charge of turning the text on or off. YouTube and LinkedIn both accept SRT uploads, and a file can be corrected and uploaded again without rendering the video a second time.
Catching mistakes before you export
Automatic transcripts slip in predictable places: names, brand terms, numbers, and words spoken over laughter or music. Check those first, then read the rest at normal speed.
Click a word to change it. Split a subtitle that runs long, merge two that flash past, or retime a single word that appears a moment early; none of it uses transcription minutes, so checking twice takes nothing from your allowance.
Finally, watch the whole video once with the style applied. A line that reads fine in the transcript can still land on top of a face or on text that's already in the footage.
Questions
Good to know.
Can I add subtitles to a video for free?
Yes. The free plan needs no card and includes 2 minutes of transcription a month for clips up to 60 seconds; exported videos carry a watermark. Paid plans start at $9 / €9 a month.
What if the transcript gets a name wrong?
Click the word and type the correct spelling. Its timing stays attached, so the subtitle still appears at the right moment.
Which video formats can I upload?
MP4 and MOV. If your file is in another format, export or convert it to one of those first.
Can I add subtitles to a video that's already on YouTube?
Yes. Upload the original video file here, create the subtitles and download an SRT on a paid plan, then add that file to the existing video in YouTube Studio without uploading the video again.
Where on screen should subtitles go?
Low and centered is the long-standing convention, but on vertical social video a higher position keeps them clear of the app's own buttons and text. You can place them anywhere in the frame.
Try it on the next video you post.
The free plan needs no card. Upload a clip, check the captions yourself, and only upgrade when you want the watermark gone.