Do a quick scroll through your social media feed and play close attention to the videos that appear. How many have subtitles? The most likely answer is “a lot.” Subtitles help creators cater to different learning styles, reach new audiences, and provide a better viewing experience. 

If you want to add subtitles to your own social media videos, an auto subtitle generator will save you time and effort writing out the words manually. Just upload your video to the software and let the speech recognition technology transcribe the video for you, then turn that into on-screen subtitles before sharing it with your audience. 

So, what makes a good auto subtitle generator, and what features should you look for? In this guide, we’ve rounded up the best auto subtitle generators ranked by use case, best features, disadvantages, and pricing, so you can find the right one for your creator business.

Why add subtitles and captions to videos?

Cater to different consumption styles

People best absorb information in a variety of ways. The simple process of adding captions to your videos means you hit two of these ways with one piece of content. That’s especially useful if you’re creating tutorials or training videos.

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Make video content more accessible

People who are deaf or hard of hearing rely on subtitles to understand videos. Because of this, subtitles are more than nice to have—they’re required by law. Every creator needs to make their content accessible to people with a range of disabilities. Adding captions to your videos is the simplest way to do that, and it doesn’t take hours if you’re using an automated subtitle maker. 

Capture silent scrollers

Not everyone who uses video subtitles struggles to hear. Some 75% of internet users watch videos with their device in silent mode. Captions help you engage these viewers and prevent them from scrolling past your video content in their feeds.

Plus, some people just prefer the viewing experience when they have text to read. It gives them another thing to focus on—with some people even saying captions help them “hear better” (thanks to the redundant signals effect).

Translate your videos

One of the key advantages of adding subtitles to online videos is that you can make them more accessible to a wider audience. 

For example, you might be speaking in English, but an auto subtitle generator can translate your words into Spanish. That instantly gives you a huge new audience (almost 600 million Spanish speakers) that you can reach with your videos—without having to learn the language yourself.

Top 9 auto-captioning software options for content creators

1. Descript

‎Descript is an online video editor that includes an automatic subtitle generator as standard. Not only that, but it can automatically translate those subtitles into more than 20 languages in a variety of sleek caption styles. All of these tools appear alongside premium video editing features, making it a great choice for creators who want all of their video editing tools—including automated captions—in one place.

The software is very beginner-friendly with the option to use more advanced features as you get more confident with video editing. You’ll never need to move your video projects into another tool if you need professional grade features.

Pros and best features include:

• Text-to-speech tool has <95% transcription accuracy 
• Translate captions in 20+ different languages
• Filler word removal to remove “ums” and “uhs” from your subtitles
• Customizable subtitle fonts, colors, and positioning 
• Overdub to edit subtitles and the corresponding audio 
• Collaboration tools to edit your videos with a team
• Tons of other gold standard AI video effects included
• Templates to resize your captioned video for different platforms
• Export your subtitled video directly to video hosting sites like YouTube 
• Rated 4.6 out of 5 stars on G2

Cons of Descript’s auto subtitle generator:

• Not available on mobile 
• Videos captioned on the free plan have the Descript watermark

Pricing: Free version includes one transcription hour per month. For more video hours, translation, and to remove the Descript watermark, professional plans start at $12 per month. 

2. CapCut

CapCut is a free mobile video editing app that’s owned by ByteDance, the same company that owns TikTok. It’s a good option to consider if you’re creating vertical short-form videos, such as TikToks or Instagram Reels, from a smartphone. CapCut is available to download from both the Apple App and Google Play stores.

Pros and best features include:

• It’s free to add automatic captions
• Option to create your own subtitle file (SRV) and upload it to your video
• Add animations and custom styling to your subtitles 
• Export your captioned videos directly to TikTok 
• No video watermarks 
• Good for mobile videos—it’s available for Android and iOS

Cons of CapCut’s auto subtitle generator:

• No G2 rating
• Only works in portrait mode 

Pricing: Free.

3. VEED

VEED is a mobile editing app that’s available in both the iOS and Android app stores. It can automatically transcribe your video footage and turn it into subtitles that appear as hard captions over your video. 

Pros and best features include:

• Reportedly has a 98.5% accuracy rate 
• Translate video captions in over 100 languages 
• Option to adjust auto-sync and shift captions a second in front or behind 
• Change the font, color, style, and size of your auto-generated captions
• Available for iOS and Android
• Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars on G2

Cons of VEED’s auto subtitle generator:

• Free plan has very limited video editing capabilities
• Some users report glitches in the mobile app 

Pricing: VEED’s free plan has a 30 minute subtitle limit. To add captions to videos longer than this, you’ll need a paid plan. These start at $18 per month.

4. TikTok 

Ever since TikTok burst onto the social media scene, it’s paved the way for how other social media platforms support video creators. One thing it introduced relatively quickly was its subtitle generator. Anyone uploading TikTok videos to their own profile can add TikTok captions to their content without the need for third-party software.

Pros and best features include:

• Change the font, colors, layout, and timing of your auto-generated subtitles
• The subtitle generator is free and easy use
• Subtitle editor to rewrite your captions if TikTok has made a transcription mistake
• Options to automatically add subtitles or write your own 
• No other apps required if you’re already posting videos on TikTok 

Cons of TikTok’s auto subtitle generator:

• You need a TikTok account to use the auto subtitle generator
• Exported videos will have the TikTok watermark

Pricing: Free.

5. Instagram

Instagram followed in TikTok’s footsteps when it came to short-form video. It now prioritizes video footage in a user’s feed and has launched its own auto subtitle generator, which is available to add captions to Instagram Reels or Stories. It’s designed to make it easier for creators to make their videos more accessible. 

Pros and best features include:

• No need for a separate auto subtitle generator
• Option to edit the captions if Instagram has transcribed them incorrectly 
• Customizable caption background color 
• It’s free and easy to use 
• No watermark if you’re exporting captioned Stories 

Cons of Instagram’s auto subtitle generator:

• You need an Instagram account to use the feature
• Limited caption formats—there are only four subtitle styles to choose from 

Pricing: Free.

6. YouTube

If you want to add captions to your YouTube video after you’ve uploaded it to your channel, you don’t have to remove the video and start the process all over again. 

YouTube has its own automatic captioning feature that you can use to make your videos more accessible. The biggest drawback, however, is that the accuracy isn’t great. You might need to spend a lot of time fixing the auto-generated closed captions to make them accurate and more coherent. 

Alternatively, if you made the video in Descript, you can export a subtitle file (.srt) and upload it directly to YouTube for more accurate closed captions.

Pros and best features include:

• It’s free and quick to use 
• Option to go back and edit your captions multiple times 
• Translate your YouTube video subtitles into other languages
• Available for all YouTube creators

Cons of YouTube’s auto subtitle generator:

• Captions don’t appear by default—only if someone clicks the CC button
• Only available for videos that have already been uploaded to YouTube
• Accuracy can be poor; YouTube even said: “Automatic captions might misrepresent the spoken content due to mispronunciations, accents, dialects, or background noise.”

Pricing: Free.

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7. Kapwing

Kapwing is a video editor with its own auto caption generator. Reportedly 99% accurate and available in over 70 different languages, it’s a good option if you’re looking for an AI-powered subtitling tool to caption your online videos.

Pros and best features include:

• Automatic subtitles available in 70+ languages 
• Export your captions in VTT, TXT, or SRT file formats 
• Customize how your burned-in captions appear
• Rated 4.2 out of 5 stars on G2
• User-friendly interface 

Cons of Kapwing’s auto subtitle generator:

• No mobile app 
• Free plan is limited to 10 minutes
• Videos captioned on the free plan have the Kapwing watermark 

Pricing: Kapwing does offer a free plan. To remove the watermark and caption longer videos, paid plans start at $16 per month. 

8. Adobe Express

Part of the Adobe suite of photo and video editing software, Adobe Express offers free video subtitling features to help creators caption their content. There’s a mobile app available for on-the-go editing and there’s no video length limit, even on the free plan.

Pros and best features include:

• Available on mobile and browser
• Option to edit your auto-generated captions if there’s an error 
• Easy integration with other products in the Adobe Creative Cloud
• Apply animations and special effects to your subtitles
• Free to use with no limit on video length 

Cons of Adobe Express’ auto subtitle generator:

• Adobe apps tend to have a steeper learning curve than other video editing software  
• No credit card required for sign-up

Pricing: Free.

9. Otter

Primarily designed as a way for sales teams to transcribe meetings, Otter allows anyone to upload their video to its browser-based auto subtitle generator. The major disadvantage, however, is that captions aren’t burned-in. You’ll get a subtitle file that you’ll later need to attach to the video (using a tool like Descript) if you want the captions to appear on-screen.

Pros and best features include:

• Available in browser and via mobile app 
• Collaboration tools to manage subtitles within a team
• Rated 4.2 out of 5 stars on G2 
• Lots of great features for sales teams, such as real-time meeting transcriptions and summaries

Cons of Otter’s auto subtitle generator:

• Captions aren’t burned in
• Free plan is very limited 
• PCMag reports that Otter transcriptions have grammatical and punctuation errors 

Pricing: Otter’s free plan offers 300 monthly transcription minutes, but there’s a lifetime limit of three video or audio files. To get more auto-generated captions, paid plans start at just under $10 per month.

Key features of a great auto subtitle generator

Auto-sync

The beauty of an auto subtitle generator is that you don’t have to do the hard work of transcribing speech to text. Just make sure that whichever tool you use, it can not only transcribe audio for you, but also line up your captions with the video. This will make sure the only words that appear on screen are what the speaker is saying.

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Customizable subtitles

Albeit small, video subtitles are an extension of your brand. The ability to customize yours inside an auto subtitle generator means your videos can stand out and you can build brand consistency. This applies to colors, fonts, and even the layout of your video captions. 

Accurate subtitles

Studies have shown that spelling mistakes and grammatical errors impact how people perceive you. This is key when you’re searching for an auto subtitle generator. Your life will be made much easier if you can let the tool accurately transcribe your words into coherent text.

Descript, for example, has a <95% accuracy rate, so you can rest assured that you won’t need to spend hours going back through your captions to fix errors and spelling mistakes. 

Support for other languages

If you want to grow your reach and build a bigger audience, look for a subtitle tool that offers translation services. Descript, for example, can translate your video subtitles in 20+ different languages including English, Spanish, German, Italian, and French. That instantly gives you a whole new group of people to promote your videos to.

How to automatically add subtitles to videos

Descript’s free auto subtitles generator allows anyone to add automatic captions to their video. It’s available for Mac and Windows devices, or you can open the software in your browser. You’ll just need a free account to get started. From there:

Step 1. Upload video footage into Descript. 

Step 2. Use the video editing tools to edit your video. Descript will automatically transcribe your video so you can edit it like a Google Doc. Here’s where you can take advantage of the plethora of artificial intelligence tools Descript has to offer. Add a voiceover, remove filler words, fix unwanted background noise, and rectify audio mistakes with Overdub. 

Step 3. Once you’re happy with your edited video, select the portion of text you want to turn into subtitles.

Step 4. Navigate to the right sidebar and select Captions.

Step 5. Use the customization tools to change the font, size, and placement of your auto subtitles.

Step 6. If you want to translate your subtitles into a different language, click on Underlord in the right sidebar, then under the Repurpose menu click Translate captions. A new window will open where you can make adjustments to the translation and preview your translated captions in the video.

Step 7. Do one final run through of your video to check that the captions placement doesn’t obscure the subject.

Step 8. Share your video either with a shareable link, by downloading it as an MP4 video file, or exporting it directly to a video hosting platform like YouTube.

Best auto subtitle generator FAQs

What is an auto subtitle generator?

An auto subtitle generator is a type of technology that uses AI to transcribe your video and turn audio into text. This text then appears on-screen to let people follow along with your video, which is important for accessibility.

What is the best AI subtitle generator?

1. Descript: best all-in-one AI video editor
2. CapCut: best for subtitles on mobile
3. VEED: best for translating
4. TikTok: best for TikTok subtitles
5. Instagram: best for Reels and Stories
6. YouTube: best for YouTube video captions
7. Kapwing: best for exporting auto-generated subtitles
8. Adobe Express: best for creators with an Adobe subscription
9. Otter: best for sales teams

Is there a free way to auto-generate subtitles?

Create a free Descript plan and import your video footage. From there, you can use the auto subtitle generator to transcribe your audio and add automated subtitles to your video content. On a paid plan, you can also translate your subtitles.