Auto Captions for TikTok, YouTube & Instagram — Free, No Watermark

Why Every Social Video Needs Captions

85% of social media videos are watched without sound. If your video has no captions, most viewers scroll past without engaging. The platforms know this:

Platform	Default Sound	Auto Caption Support	Best Approach
TikTok	Sound on (but 40% still watch muted)	Built-in but basic	Burn in your own — better styling, accuracy
Instagram Reels	Muted in feed	Auto-captions available but often wrong	Burn in — feed browsing is silent
Instagram Stories	Sound on if unmuted	Caption sticker	Use built-in sticker OR burn in
YouTube	Sound on	Full auto-caption system	Upload SRT for accuracy, or let YT auto-generate
YouTube Shorts	Sound on	Auto-captions less reliable on Shorts	Burn in — Shorts audience expects captions
LinkedIn	Muted in feed	No auto-captions	Always burn in — LinkedIn has zero caption support
Twitter/X	Muted in feed	No auto-captions	Always burn in
Facebook	Muted in feed	Auto-captions available	Burn in for reliability — FB captions break often

The Universal Workflow — Works on Every Platform

1. Open the Add Subtitles tool
2. Drop your video
3. Auto-generate captions or upload an SRT file
4. Review and correct any errors — AI gets names, jargon, and numbers wrong
5. Style the captions (large text for mobile, dark background for readability)
6. Download with subtitles burned in
7. Crop to 9:16 for TikTok/Reels, resize to 1080×1920

Important: Add subtitles BEFORE cropping to vertical. The text positioning needs to account for the final frame dimensions. If you crop first, captions may overlap with platform UI.

Platform-Specific Tips

TikTok: TikTok has built-in auto-captions, but you cannot customize font, size, or position much. Burning in your own gives you control over styling and ensures accuracy. Position captions in the center-third of the frame — TikTok overlays username and buttons on the bottom 20%.

YouTube: For standard YouTube videos, upload an SRT file separately — YouTube's caption system supports multiple languages, search indexing, and accessibility. For YouTube Shorts, burn captions in because the Shorts player's caption toggle is easy to miss.

Instagram: Instagram Reels auto-generate captions but they are often inaccurate, especially with music or background noise. Burning in your own is more reliable. For Stories, use Instagram's caption sticker — it matches the Stories aesthetic and viewers expect it there.

LinkedIn: Zero native caption support. If your video has no burned-in captions, LinkedIn viewers see silent video with no text. Always burn in.

Why Burned-In Beats Platform Auto-Captions

• Accuracy — platform auto-captions average 80-90% accuracy. Names, brand terms, technical jargon, and numbers are frequently wrong. Pre-made captions let you proofread and correct before publishing.
• Consistency — the same video uploaded to 5 platforms has identical captions. No variations in timing, accuracy, or styling between platforms.
• Styling — platform auto-captions use default fonts and sizes you cannot customize. Burned-in captions match your brand colors, font size, and positioning.
• Reliability — platform captions sometimes fail silently (Facebook is notorious for this). Burned-in text is part of the video — it cannot fail.

Post-Caption Workflow

After adding captions, prepare the video for upload:

Platform	Next Steps After Captioning
TikTok	Crop 9:16 → Resize 1080×1920 → upload
Instagram Reels	Crop 9:16 → Resize 1080×1920 → Trim under 90 sec
YouTube Shorts	Crop 9:16 → Resize 1080×1920 → Trim under 60 sec
LinkedIn	Keep 16:9 or crop 1:1 → Compress under 5GB
Twitter/X	Keep 16:9 or 1:1 → Trim under 2:20