Yes, Clipchamp can auto-generate subtitles, and Clipchamp says the feature is free. Clipchamp, the video editor that comes preinstalled on Windows 11, turns the speech in your video into captions: put the video on the timeline, open the Captions tab in the property panel (or click the captions icon on the preview), choose the spoken language and select Transcribe media. The captions appear on the video and as an editable transcript, and you can download them as an SRT file. That's how Microsoft's help page describes it as of 19 October 2026, and Clipchamp's own subtitle generator page says in its FAQ: "The autocaptions feature is free for all Clipchamp users".
What neither Microsoft page mentions is animated captions: no word-by-word styles, no highlighted spoken word. You get solid styling controls (font, color, position, outline, shadow) and an SRT. If you want animated captions or sound effects on a short clip, a dedicated tool can pick up after Clipchamp, covered at the end.
Turn on auto subtitles in Clipchamp
These are the steps for personal accounts, from Microsoft's help page on how to use autocaptions in Clipchamp:
- Open Clipchamp (search for it from the taskbar on Windows 11) and start a video.
- Import a video or audio file with speech from My media, from your device or from OneDrive.
- Drag it onto the timeline.
- Click the captions icon on the video preview, or open the Captions tab in the property panel, to turn on autocaptions.
- In the pop-up, choose the transcription language and, if you want, tick the option to filter offensive language.
- Select Transcribe media.
Captions are generated in one language per video. Microsoft notes that Clipchamp sends the audio to Azure Cognitive Services to make them, so you need to be online, and the wait depends on your connection and the video's length. The work and school version of Clipchamp works the same way but calls the panel the Transcript tab and uses a CC button above the preview.
Get the audio right first
Clipchamp's captions are only as good as the speech they hear. Before you transcribe, lower any background music track well under the voice, and use the audio tools Clipchamp's subtitle page mentions: boosting the volume, removing background noise and cutting unwanted audio. If you plan to trim the video, trim it first, so you only correct captions for footage you keep.
Edit and style the subtitles
The transcript in the Captions tab lists each line with its timestamp. Double-click a word to retype it, or delete it. Go through the whole transcript once against the audio, and fix names, numbers and brand words first, because those are the errors viewers notice.
To change the look, select the captions on the video preview and use the Text tab in the property panel:
- Font: pick one, or upload your own font file.
- Color: Microsoft recommends white for accessibility, against a contrasting background.
- Position: choose a preset position.
- Weight: bold, italic or underline.
- Fine-tuning: line height, letter spacing, outline and shadow.
Clipchamp's subtitle generator page also mentions high-contrast text backgrounds and different colors for different speakers.
In the work and school version, the transcript also edits the video: highlight words in the Transcript tab, right-click and choose Delete, and Clipchamp cuts that stretch out of the clip without leaving a gap on the timeline. Microsoft documents this only for the work version.
To hide the captions from the preview while keeping the transcript, use Hide captions in video. To remove them completely, select Turn off autocaptions in the Captions tab. In the work version it's Turn off auto-generation in the Transcript tab's more options menu, and Microsoft says captions removed that way won't export with the video.
Download the SRT or burn the subtitles in
- SRT file: in the Captions tab, select Download captions. Microsoft says the .SRT file downloads straight to your device, and Clipchamp's FAQ says SRT is the only transcript format on offer. Upload it to YouTube, a course platform or any player that takes subtitle files. Which platforms take which file is in SRT vs VTT vs TXT.
- Burned in: export the video with autocaptions turned on. Microsoft's steps end with "export your video in your preferred video resolution", and turning autocaptions off is how you export without them. Clipchamp's pricing page says free accounts export up to 1080p with no watermark; 4K export comes with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family.
Adding an SRT you already have. Microsoft's help covers downloading an SRT, not importing one, and we found no Microsoft page that documents SRT import into Clipchamp. To put an existing SRT onto a video, burn it in with a free desktop tool; the guide to HandBrake, VLC and FFmpeg has the exact settings.
Limits: styles, languages and checking the text
| Question, checked 19 October 2026 | What Microsoft's pages say | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Is it free? | "free for all Clipchamp users" | Clipchamp subtitle generator FAQ |
| Is there a length limit? | "no limits on generating subtitles for a video" | Same FAQ |
| How many languages? | "over 100" in the page title; one language per video | Same page; Microsoft help |
| Which file can I download? | SRT only | Same FAQ |
| What resolution is the export? | Up to 1080p free; 4K with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family | Clipchamp pricing page |
| Watermark? | None on free exports | Clipchamp pricing page |
| Animated or word-highlight styles? | Not mentioned | Neither page |
Three limits matter in practice:
- One language at a time. Clipchamp's FAQ says its speech recognition "can accurately detect one language at a time". A video that switches between, say, English and Urdu is transcribed as whichever language you pick, so the other language's lines come out wrong and need retyping.
- You still check every line. Clipchamp's page says it works "no matter your dialect or accent"; that's its claim, and Microsoft's own steps include fixing misspelled words. Plan a full read-through.
- When captions fail. Microsoft's troubleshooting list: reload the editor, remove and re-add the clip, export the project to MP4 and re-import it (this helps when the source was WebM), try a different source file, and check that a firewall or browser extension isn't blocking Azure's speech service.
On privacy, Microsoft's FAQ says the speech recognition involves no human review, that caption data is stored with your Clipchamp project where only you can open it, and that if you don't want the audio processed, you simply don't turn captions on. Clipchamp's subtitle page adds that the audio files are not stored.
The same Clipchamp facts sit next to nine other tools in the best AI subtitle generators roundup. If you're deciding between Clipchamp and installed software such as Subtitle Edit or DaVinci Resolve, see desktop subtitle software vs an online generator.
Animated captions after Clipchamp (10-minute videos)
Clipchamp gives you an editable transcript and clean, static captions. If the clip is headed for TikTok, Reels or Shorts and you want captions that move, edit in Clipchamp, export the MP4 with autocaptions turned off, and caption that export in a browser tool.
In CapsAI, that means uploading the MP4 (up to 10 minutes) in Edge or Chrome, choosing the spoken language, fixing any word or timing, and picking one of 37 caption styles, including styles that highlight the spoken word or show one word at a time. AI Sound Effects can then read the caption words and place sounds from a 193-sound library, which you can move, swap or delete; the add sound effects to video page shows how. The export is one MP4 with the captions burned in and the sounds mixed into the audio. There's no SRT export, so if you also need the subtitle file, download it from Clipchamp first.
Its spoken languages are English and 10 Indian languages, Urdu included. CapsAI's English has been used most on Indian English; for other accents, run your own clip through the 3 free minutes and read the draft.
What to do next
For a subtitle file, or plain captions on a longer video, stay in Clipchamp: Clipchamp says its autocaptions are free, and it comes preinstalled on Windows 11. For animated captions on a finished short clip, try the animated caption generator with the 3 free minutes; after that, packs start at $4 (₹49 in India, €4 in the euro area), paid once, and watermark-free export comes with every paid pack.
