Video captions often go unnoticed until the moment they’re needed. Whether for accessibility, context, search optimization, or the ease of watching a video on mute – captions are a powerful way to add value to your video.
Whatever the case may be, adding captions or automated closed captions is an easy way to drive more engagement with your video. And while it may seem difficult or time consuming to add them on the surface, it’s surprisingly easy.
In this article, we’ll run through how to add captions to videos on various platforms like Vimeo, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook and share a couple of tools you can use to add captions and edit transcripts easily based on your video needs.
Not only do closed captions make it possible for people to watch videos with their sound off, but captions also improve accessibility, too. We’ll start this post with details on why captioning videos is important.
After that, we’ll run through how to add captions to video on various platforms.
In this article:
Why closed captions are important
Closed video captions are important for two main reasons:
Improved accessibility
1 in 8 people in the US alone have hearing loss in both ears. Therefore, adding video captions makes it easy for people like them to enjoy your content.To add, subtitling videos also makes videos accessible to differently abled people such as those with autism and ADHD. In fact, captions are proven to improve focus and information retention among folks with ADHD and autism.
Better reach and video completion rate
83% of people watch videos with the sound off – same as 92% of mobile viewers who watch videos on mute. What’s more, 80% of these folks are much more likely to finish watching the complete video when captions are available.
Meaning: if you want more people to watch your videos, make sure you add closed captions to them. This way, viewers wouldn’t need to scroll past your content simply because they’re in a public or quiet space.
Finally, captioning can also help you reach people who don’t understand your language but want to watch your content regardless.
Let’s take a look at how to add closed captioning to a video across different video hosting platforms.
How to add captions to video content on Vimeo
Captioning your videos on Vimeo is an easy way to increase discoverability and accessibility for all your video content.
With auto closed captions and transcription tools, paid users can enable automated captions, edit transcripts, and adjust the look and feel of their video captions. For users not on paid plans, Vimeo offers the ability to upload transcripts and add captions manually.
To manually add captions to Vimeo, follow these steps:
1. Head to the video manager and open the video you want to caption.
2. Choose Advanced on the right side to get to additional video settings.
3. Select Distribution followed by Subtitles.
4. Hit the + button, specify your captions’ language and file type.
5. Now click Choose File and upload the caption file. Toggle it on to activate video captions once the file finishes uploading.
Paid users can edit their transcripts in-app with the transcript editing tool while all other users can download, edit, and reupload their transcript files. For more information, check out the Vimeo help center.
One last thing: you aren’t limited to adding only SRT files for captioning videos on Vimeo. The platform accepts other files too that include SAMI, SCC, DFXP/TTML, and WebVTT. Of these, WebVTT is the most recommended one.
How to add captions to video content on TikTok
Looking to add captions to your videos on TikTok? Good news! You have two ways to caption video content:
Auto-generated video captions on TikTok
Once you publish your content on the bite-sized video platform, you need to:
1. Click on Captions on the right side of your screen.
2. Let it process and you’re done.
This is a great option for someone looking to quickly add captions without too much customizations.
Manually add video captions on TikTok
Manually adding captions allows you to either create captions from scratch or edit the auto-generated captions. Simply follow these steps after you’ve shot your video:
1. Tap on Captions – same as above – and give processing time.
2. Click on the pencil icon in the corner now.
3. Edit the auto-generated captions or add new ones.
How to add caption on TikTok after posting
There’s no way to add captions to your TikTok video after having posted it. Quickly deleting the content and reposting with captions added can help though. Horrified you’ll lose all the music, effects, and edits? Save the video before deleting to reduce work. Follow these steps to save your TikTok video before deleting:
1. Tap the Me icon on the lower right side of your screen.
2. Select the video and click open the horizontal dots on the right.
3. Hit Save Video.
4. Repost the saved video with captions added.
Bonus: Adding video captions with the text tool
This option is perfect for captioning short videos. After you’ve recorded or uploaded your video, follow these steps:
1. Select the Text button from your screen’s bottom and add your caption.
2. Drag the text box to position it on the screen – wherever you want though the top is the best to prevent the captions from blending with the video description text.
3. Select the text box and hit the clock icon to determine timestamps for the text or when it’ll appear in the video.
4. Preview by playing the video. Finally, click Done from the upper right corner.
How to add captions to video content on YouTube
There are a handful of options for captioning YouTueb videos: auto-generated captions, manually adding captions, uploading a caption file, and using auto-translate.
Let’s explore each option one by one:
Auto-generate video captions for your YouTube video
As of this writing, YouTube only auto-writes captions for some videos and shorts and the feature is available for 13 languages.
To auto-generate video captions in the available 13 language, follow these steps:
1. Head to YouTube Studio.
2. Choose Subtitles from the left and select your video.
3. Click the three dots under Subtitles.
4. Review or Edit the auto-generated captions as needed.
Add YouTube captions manually
To add captions on the spot, follow these seven steps:
1. Go to your YouTube Studio account.
2. Choose Subtitles from the left side of the screen and select your video.
3. Tap Add under Subtitles (like above).
4. Pick Type manually from the four options that you see.
5. Type in captions by playing the video – adjusting timestamps as needed.
6. Hit Publish.
Add captions to YouTube videos by adding caption file
To upload captions to YouTube, you’ll need a caption file. As with Vimeo, you aren’t limited to SRT files. YouTube also accepts SubViewer and LRC file types in addition to SubRip.
Here’s how this works:
1. Head to YouTube Studio.
2. Choose Subtitles from the left side of the dashboard and pick the video you want to caption.
3. Hit Add Language now and choose your preferred language.
4. Tap Add from the Subtitles section from the main screen.
5. Pick Upload file from the options that show up now.
6. Choose from whether you want to add captions With timing or Without timing and press Continue.
7. Now choose the file to upload and either Save Draft or Publish.
Caption YouTube videos using auto-sync option
The auto-sync captioning feature gives you the best of both the options above. That is, you can add captions manually but YouTube adjusts timestamps automatically.
Here’s how (the first three steps are the same as above):
1. Log in to your YouTube Studio account.
2. Pick Subtitles from the left sidebar and choose your video
3. Tap Add under Subtitles.
4. Pick Auto-sync in the menu.
5. Type in your video’s transcript in the text box. Or, choose Edit Timings on the top right and select Upload file (instead of manually typing in everything – just make sure the file is in a language supported by YouTube).
6. Select Edit Timings. Then, Save and Close.
How to add captions to video content on Facebook
Facebook offers users a manual and automated option for captioning videos. Let’s walk you the process:
Auto-generate captions for your Facebook videos
Before you can add captions, upload and save your video as a draft on your Facebook page.
To this end, tap on the Share a photo or video icon on the page and add your video. Once uploaded, hit Save Draft in the drop down menu next to the Publish button.
Next, take the following steps:
1. Open the saved video from Drafts found under Posts in Publishing Tools.
2. Tap on Edit Video from the Video options on the right side.
3. Select Captions from the variety of options you see now and click Generate.
That’s all. It’s best to review the auto-generated captions though. So play the video to see what captions show up. For editing any, make the changes from the right side of the window. Scroll down to the exact caption and click on the text you want to modify.
Add manual captions using .SRT files
This is a useful option for adding captions to videos on your personal Facebook profile or to videos in Groups.
Make sure you’ve a SubRip Subtitle File (SRT) ready beforehand – save it as plaintext .srt file. Here’s more on formatting and naming your SRT file the right way to minimize odds of error.
The rest of the steps are pretty similar to the ones above:
1. Upload and save your video then click Edit Video.
2. Pick the Captions from available options.
3. Select Upload SRT File instead of Generate.
4. Select the language to match with the SRT file’s language and press Save.
Can you add captions to a Facebook video after posting?
Add captions to existing or published Facebook videos by picking the post from your Page. Next, click the three vertical ellipsis (…) on the top right and tap on Edit Post. Choose Captions from here and either auto-generate them or add an .srt file.
Tools for adding video captions
If you’re looking for third part tools to help add closed captions to videos, check out our list of providers:
1.Vimeo
Vimeo’s auto closed caption and transcription tools allows users to automatically add captions, upload and edit transcripts, fine-tune the caption styles to match the video content, and search key moments within the transcript of a video.
2. Kapwing
Kapwing, an online video editor for captioning videos, comes with both a free and paid version. The freemium editor allows users to caption videos no longer than four minutes. The freemium editor also saves edited content for up to two days and allows users to publish three hours of video content each month.
However, if you’re looking to caption a lot of videos, the pro version with 2 GB file upload limit and many more features, may be worth a try.
3. VEED.io
Like Kapwing, VEED.io is a free online video editor that lets users auto-generate subtitles, add them manually, or upload caption files to add subtitles to your video.
It also gives you the liberty to edit the subtitle text (useful when text it’s auto-generated and you spot errors), and change its color, font, size, and timing, too.
4. Rev
Rev is a speech-to-text platform that allows users to transcribe or caption audio and/or video as accurately as possible. The platform includes a variety of resources like human transcription, AI transcription, on-screen captions for videos in English, and more.
Pricing is based on transcriptions, captions, or subtitles per minute.
5. Zubtitle
Zubtitle is another web app for captioning videos. Once you upload your video to Zubtitle, it auto-generates subtitle text, which you can then edit for correction and for changing its style.
Keep in mind the free version only allows you to add subtitles to one video. For more video captioning options, check out a paid plan.
6. Subly
Subly is another easy to use web app. It comes with a convenient 7-day free trial. Subly allows users to auto-generate subtitle text for about 67 languages, generate and style captions, and convert audio files to video.
Once you have uploaded a video, your captions will generate and, you can edit their position, color, font, and size. Plus, you can download the transcribed file in three different file types.
7. Amara
Amara lets you add captions to your videos with their free online editor and also offers video subtitling and text translation service for 50+ languages.
The platform also easily integrates with video hosting platforms such as Vimeo. This makes exporting and importing subtitles all the more easier.
8. MixCaptions
This one’s an Android and iOS app for video subtitling. It can automatically add captions in 23 languages. Once captioned, you can edit the subtitle text as well as change its position.
That said, the free version is mostly for social media videos, which is why it can only auto-generate subtitles for 10-min long videos.
Enjoy more reach with video captions
With this step by step guide on how to add captions to video, we’re confident you’re ready to add subtitles to your video content. Just remember that it’s important to include closed captions as they improve video accessibility and reach.
So what are you waiting for? Start captioning videos today.
Caption your next video on Vimeo
