Add Captions to TikTok and Instagram Reels Free, Styled

Trim first when the clip comes from a long video

Burning captions re-encodes every frame on your device, so a 45-second clip finishes in a minute or two while a full hour would take far longer and may run out of memory. The Video Trimmer warns before trouble: files around 250 MB are the practical ceiling on phones and about 2 GB on desktops.

• Find the moment: if you have a transcript or .srt, paste it into the AI Clip Finder, which suggests 20 to 45 second moments with a hook line for each. It uses a cloud AI, so only the text is sent, never the video.
• Fast mode copies the original stream without re-encoding: instant and lossless, but the cut snaps to the nearest keyframe, so the start can shift slightly.
• Precise mode re-encodes so the clip starts and ends on the exact frame, which matters when the first word is the hook.
• Leave half a second at each end, and start on the line that creates curiosity rather than on a greeting.

A 90-minute podcast episode often yields five to ten usable clips. Cut them in one sitting, then reload each short file for captions.

Pick one of the four caption styles

The burn panel offers four looks, drawn with bundled bold fonts so the result is the same on every phone. Choose by what sits behind the text.

• Bold Pop: heavy white letters with a black outline, the classic TikTok look and the safest choice for talking heads.
• Yellow Outline: the same weight in bright yellow, readable on white walls and daylight scenes; popular for gaming and commentary.
• Classic Box: white text on a translucent dark band, best over busy footage such as recipes, crowds or detailed screen recordings.
• Big Condensed: tall, narrow letters that fit more words per line, suited to motivational, fitness and quote edits.

Keep one style per series. Regular viewers learn to read your format at a glance, and a consistent look makes your videos recognizable in a busy feed.

Place TikTok and Reels captions clear of the app buttons

Both apps cover the bottom of the screen with your handle, the description and the audio ticker, plus a column of buttons on the right. On vertical footage, the Bottom position lifts the text about a fifth of the way up the frame, which clears that overlay on current layouts.

• Bottom: the default for most clips; faces stay visible and text sits above the description.
• Middle: when the lower half holds a product, whiteboard or gameplay.
• Top: for reactions or demos where the action happens low in the frame.
• Landscape source: the tool keeps the original shape and does not reframe to vertical, so a 16:9 Zoom or OBS clip posts with bars; choose Middle so the text sits on the picture.

Before posting, open the MP4 in the app's draft screen with the interface visible. Thirty seconds of checking beats reposting a clip whose punchline hides behind a heart icon.

Before you place captions, crop the video to 9:16 vertical so the safe areas line up with what viewers actually see.

Words per caption, capitals and a final proofread

The words per caption setting splits each subtitle into chunks of 3, 5 or 8 words, or keeps full lines, and times each chunk in proportion to its share of the original line.

• 3 words: punchy, for hooks, comedy and fast talkers.
• 5 words: the balanced default for explainers, podcasts and storytime clips.
• 8 words or full lines: calm tutorials, webinars and slower speakers, usually with UPPERCASE switched off.
• Size: Medium for most clips, Large for single-word emphasis, Small when the frame is crowded.

UPPERCASE is on by default because capitals in a bold outline stay legible at arm's length. Proofread before burning, since burned text is permanent: check brand names, handles, slang and guest names, and split any block where two people talk. Keep the downloaded .srt so you can restyle the clip later without transcribing again.

Step-by-step

Common mistakes to avoid

Pro tips

Frequently asked questions