Vertical from the start
Set the frame to 9:16 and the export is cropped to match, so the MP4 you download is already the shape of a reel.
Instagram Reels captions
Reels captions that look like your brand in every post.
Style captions once, keep them out from under Instagram's buttons and text, and export a vertical MP4 that's ready to share as a reel.
No credit card · 2 free minutes every month · MP4, SRT and VTT export
Why it matters
A reel has to make sense to someone whose phone is on silent. If the words are on screen, the point still lands; if they aren't, the viewer sees someone talking and keeps scrolling.
Instagram can generate captions for a reel automatically, and that helps. But those captions appear in Instagram's own style along the bottom of the video, in the same stretch of screen as the account name and post caption, and they look the same on your reels as on anyone else's.
Burning styled captions into the video puts both things back in your hands: where the words sit, and what they look like.
What you get
Captions that fit the frame and the feed.
Placed above the overlay
Move the caption block up, away from the bottom of the frame where Instagram lays its own text and buttons over the video.
One look across your posts
Use the same style, font and colors on every reel so your videos read as a set rather than a string of experiments.
Your own typeface
On a paid plan, upload the font your brand already uses and set the captions in it.
Highlights in time with the voice
Animated styles follow each word's own timing, so emphasis stays in step with the speaker even through quick cuts.
How it works
Add captions to a reel in four steps.
- 01
Upload the edited reel
Start from the finished MP4 or MOV, before adding any text or stickers inside Instagram.
- 02
Check the transcript
Correct handles, product names and anything else the transcription misheard.
- 03
Frame it for Reels
Choose 9:16, pick a caption style, and lift the captions clear of the lower part of the screen.
- 04
Export and share
Download the MP4, move it to the device you post from, and share it as a reel.
Keeping captions clear of the Reels overlay
Instagram draws its own layer over every reel: the account name and post caption along the bottom, and the like, comment and share buttons down the right-hand side. Captions set in the traditional subtitle spot, just above the bottom edge, end up underneath it.
Meta's guidance for Reels ads is to keep roughly the bottom 35% of the frame free of text, logos and other key elements, with smaller margins at the top and sides. Ordinary reels carry a similar overlay, which makes that a sensible margin for captions too.
In practice, that puts captions around the middle of the lower half rather than hugging the bottom edge, and away from the right side where the buttons stack.
Styled captions or Instagram's automatic ones?
Instagram's automatic captions are a reasonable fallback, but the typeface, color and placement are Instagram's to decide, not yours. For an account that cares how its posts look, that's the part that matters.
Burned-in captions are part of the video file. They look exactly as you designed them, they're on screen from the first frame on every phone, and they travel with the clip if you post it somewhere else.
If you burn captions in, check whether Instagram's automatic captions are also switched on for that reel, so nobody sees the same words twice.
One caption style across every post
People meet an account's reels one after another, in the feed and on the profile. Captions that change font and color from post to post make an account look improvised; a single style makes it look deliberate.
Decide the style once, including the font, text color, highlight color and how high the captions sit, and apply the same choices to each new reel.
- One font for captions, used on every reel
- A text color plus a single highlight color
- The same height in the frame from post to post
- Emphasis saved for the words that carry the point
Questions
Good to know.
What aspect ratio should a captioned reel be?
Vertical 9:16. Choose that aspect in the editor and the export is cropped to it, so the captions you place are exactly where they'll appear in the reel.
Will Instagram's buttons cover my captions?
They can if the captions sit at the very bottom or against the right edge. Keeping them higher in the frame, away from the account name, post caption and buttons, avoids it.
Can I use my brand's font for Reels captions?
Yes. Paid plans let you upload a custom font file and use it for your captions.
How long can a reel be for captioning?
Clips can run up to 60 seconds on the free plan, which includes 2 minutes of transcription a month and a watermark on exports. Paid plans from $9 / €9 a month take clips up to 5 minutes.
Can I post the same captioned video to TikTok or YouTube Shorts?
Yes. The captions are rendered into the MP4, so the file posts the same way anywhere; each app arranges its buttons a little differently, so leave a margin that suits all of them.
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.