Captions for the feed
Animated, styled captions rendered into the video, visible whether or not a viewer has captions switched on.
YouTube Shorts subtitles
YouTube Shorts subtitles in the picture and in YouTube Studio.
Burn captions into the Short so they show in the feed, then upload the matching SRT in YouTube Studio so the words also exist as a caption track.
No credit card · 2 free minutes every month · MP4, SRT and VTT export
Why it matters
Shorts sits in an unusual spot. It plays like a vertical social feed, where styled captions in the picture are the norm, but it lives inside YouTube, where subtitle files have a proper home in YouTube Studio.
That makes Shorts a natural place to do both. Burned-in captions make the Short readable the moment it starts, and an uploaded SRT gives YouTube a caption track built from your corrected words rather than an automatic transcript.
AutoCap produces both from one transcript: an MP4 with the captions rendered in, and an SRT file on paid plans.
What you get
One transcript, two kinds of subtitles.
A caption track for YouTube
Download an SRT from the same project on a paid plan and add it to the Short in YouTube Studio.
Vertical output
Choose 9:16 and the export is cropped to match, ready to upload as a Short.
Timing that agrees
The rendered captions and the SRT cues are built from the same word timings, so the two stay in step.
Enough length for any Short
A paid plan accepts clips of up to five minutes, more than the three-minute ceiling YouTube sets for a Short.
How it works
Subtitle a YouTube Short in four steps.
- 01
Upload the Short
Add the vertical MP4 or MOV; its audio is transcribed with a start and end time for every word.
- 02
Correct once
Fix every misheard word in the editor, since both the captions and the SRT are built from this transcript.
- 03
Export both
Render the captioned 9:16 MP4, then download the SRT from the same project on a paid plan.
- 04
Publish and add the file
Upload the MP4 as a Short, then add the SRT under Subtitles in YouTube Studio, choosing the option with timing.
How long can a Short be?
According to YouTube's help center, videos uploaded on or after October 15, 2024 with a square or vertical aspect ratio and a length of up to three minutes are categorized as Shorts. Earlier uploads kept their long-form classification.
AutoCap's own limits sit alongside that. The free plan captions clips of up to 60 seconds, so a Short longer than a minute needs a paid plan, which takes clips of up to 5 minutes.
YouTube also says a Short over one minute with an active copyright claim is blocked globally, and that most songs can only be used for up to 90 seconds of a three-minute Short. Check any music before counting on the extra length.
Why a Short benefits from both kinds of subtitles
Burned-in captions are what make a Short readable in the feed. They're part of the picture, so they appear in your chosen style from the first frame, and they come with the file if you post the same clip to Reels or TikTok.
An uploaded SRT does a different job. It means the text YouTube holds for the video is your corrected transcript rather than an automatic one.
Expect one side effect: a viewer who has captions switched on will see the words twice, once in your style and once in YouTube's. Keeping the burned-in captions in the middle of the frame makes the overlap easier to read around.
Adding the SRT in YouTube Studio
YouTube Studio handles subtitle files from its Subtitles page. Select the video, add a language, choose to add subtitles, then pick Upload file and With timing before selecting the SRT.
SRT is one of the basic formats YouTube lists, and its help pages suggest it for anyone new to caption files. Upload the SRT exported from the same cut you published, because a file made from an earlier edit will drift out of sync.
- In YouTube Studio, open Subtitles from the left menu
- Select the Short and click Add language
- Under Subtitles, click Add, then choose Upload file
- Pick With timing, select the SRT, and save
Questions
Good to know.
What's the maximum length of a YouTube Short?
Three minutes, for square or vertical videos uploaded on or after October 15, 2024, according to YouTube's help center.
Does YouTube caption Shorts automatically?
YouTube's help center covers automatic captions on long-form videos and Shorts alike. Uploading your own SRT gives the Short a caption track from a transcript you've checked.
Should the captions in the video match the SRT?
Yes, and they will if both come from the same project. Correct the transcript first, then export the MP4 and the SRT without editing in between.
Where should burned-in captions sit on a Short?
Clear of the channel details and title along the bottom and the buttons down the right side. Around the center of the frame is the safest area.
How much does it cost to subtitle a Short?
Captioned MP4s are free for clips up to 60 seconds, with a watermark and 2 minutes of transcription a month. SRT downloads and clips up to 5 minutes need a paid plan, from $9 / €9 a month.
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.