Riverside adds captions inside its editor, on every plan, according to its help article on adding captions. They are generated from the recording's transcript, you style them in the editor, and they are rendered into the video when you export, so they show on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube without any setting on the viewer's side. Magic Clips, Riverside's automatic short clips, come with animated captions already on. All of this is from Riverside's help center as read on 21 October 2026.
Most "Riverside captions not working" problems come back to the transcript: the wrong transcription language, or a transcript that needs regenerating. The fixes are below, followed by how to export a captioned clip for Instagram, and when a separate caption tool makes more sense.
Riverside used to live at riverside.fm. That address now redirects to riverside.com, and its help center has moved to support.riverside.com.
Riverside captions at a glance
| Question | What Riverside's help center says | Article updated |
|---|---|---|
| Which plans have captions? | All plans, on computer, mobile and the Mac app | 15 Oct 2026 |
| Where do captions come from? | The recording's transcript, in the studio's language | 15 Oct 2026 |
| Can I style them? | Typeface, size, animation, two colors, case, line length, alignment | 15 Oct 2026 |
| Can I save a style? | Yes, as a preset, on Pro, Grow, Webinar and Business | 21 Oct 2026 |
| Do Magic Clips have captions? | Yes, animated captions are added automatically | 15 Oct 2026 |
| Is there a subtitle file? | SRT and TXT downloads; the SRT has none of your styling | 27 Aug 2026 |
How to add captions in the Riverside editor
On a computer:
- Open a recording in the editor, or upload a file to edit.
- Click Captions in the editor toolbar.
- Pick one of the style presets in the Captions panel.
- Click the caption text on the video to change the typeface, text size, animation style, main and highlight colors, capitalization, line control, characters per line and alignment. A Hex code works for custom colors.
- Choose whether the style applies to this scene, similar scenes or all scenes.
- Drag the captions to where you want them.
On Android you tap the Captions icon and choose a preset, with the same kinds of controls. On iPhone, Riverside's help says you add and adjust captions by asking Co-Creator, its AI assistant, in the text field at the bottom of the screen. One catch from the help center: the mobile app can start new edits but cannot change edits that are in progress on a computer.
Save a caption preset
Once a style looks right, open the three-dot menu next to the caption controls and click Add to my brand. The preset then appears in the Captions panel for that studio, and you can make it the default for Magic Clips. Riverside lists presets on the Pro, Grow, Webinar and Business plans, with no limit on how many you keep.
Magic Clips and their captions
Magic Clips are short highlights Riverside picks from a recording or an uploaded file. Riverside says it sets the pace and adds animated captions, which you can then change in the editor like any other edit.
From the help center:
- Magic Clips are made automatically for content longer than 3 minutes that has a transcript.
- Riverside typically finds 2 clips for every 5 minutes of conversation, each 30 to 90 seconds long.
- Every recording gets one set. Pro, Grow and Webinar can make 2 more sets; Business can make 4 more.
If every clip should share one look, save a preset and set it as the Magic Clips default, so you are not restyling clip by clip.
Fixing words, hiding words, removing captions
Because captions are built from the transcript, you correct them in the transcript:
- Correct a word: select it in the transcript, click Correct, type the fix and save. Correct all replaces every instance. The captions, and the downloadable subtitle file, use the corrected text.
- Hide a word from the captions only: select it and click Hide from captions. It stays in the transcript and can be shown again.
- Remove all captions: in the Captions panel, click Remove Captions at the bottom. This removes them from the whole video.
- Hide captions in one scene: click the caption, open the three-dot menu and choose Hide in this scene.
- Blank out one line: Riverside's tip is to change that caption's text to spaces.
Caption languages
Riverside's language list runs to around a hundred languages, including English, Spanish, French, Arabic, German, Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Its captions page says "more than 100 languages".
Three details are worth knowing before you record:
- One language per studio. Captions use the transcription language set in the studio's settings.
- Mixed-language talk. If speakers switch languages, Riverside says words in the other language "may be translated into the studio's default language" in the transcript. Hinglish, which mixes Hindi and English in Roman script, is not listed as its own option.
- Timing. The help center says on-screen word timing is most accurate for English.
Riverside captions not working: what to check
Riverside's own troubleshooting article explains that captions are rendered from the transcript, so it starts there.
- Check the studio's transcript language. If it does not match what was spoken, the transcript, and so the captions, go wrong.
- Regenerate the transcript. Click Regenerate Transcript in the dashboard and wait 5 to 10 minutes. Recordings restored from an archive need a few extra minutes first.
- Export again. An export made before the fix will not have the captions.
- On iPhone, if captions vanish after you tap Done, reopen the clip and apply the caption style again.
Then rule out the settings that hide captions on purpose: a scene where captions were hidden, words hidden from captions, or captions removed from the edit. If you uploaded the SRT somewhere and the styling is missing, that is expected: the SRT holds only text and timings.
Exporting a captioned clip for Instagram
- Make it vertical. Click the aspect ratio at the top of the editor and choose 9:16 Vertical. 1:1 Square is also offered.
- Check the caption position after the change. The Instagram Reels safe zone preview shows where Instagram's buttons and text sit over a 9:16 frame.
- Export. Riverside exports MP4 at 720p, 1080p or 4K, at 24 FPS by default. Video exports carry a small "Created with Riverside" watermark at the top unless you switch on Remove watermark, which is on the Pro, Grow, Webinar and Business plans.
- Publish or download. Riverside can publish straight to Instagram from a computer on Pro and above, for Instagram Business or Creator accounts only. Its Instagram requirements page lists 3 seconds to 15 minutes, up to 300 MB, an aspect ratio of exactly 4:5, 9:16 or 1:1, at most 1,920 pixels wide, MP4 or MOV.
Whichever way it reaches Instagram, switch off Instagram's own closed captions for that reel (Edit, then the closed captions toggle). RNID's guide warns that Instagram's automatic captions "will overlap" captions that are already in the video. The Instagram Reels caption generator page explains the difference between the two.
What Riverside costs
Riverside is a subscription with a 14-day free trial on any plan, and its help center says the trial needs a credit card. Prices depend on where you view the pricing page. Read from India on 21 October 2026, it showed Pro at $14 a month ($12 billed yearly), while the same page's FAQ quotes Pro at $29 a month, or $24 billed yearly. Check the page from your own country before you decide.
When to caption a Riverside clip somewhere else
Riverside is a recording studio and editor, and captions are one part of it. If you already record and edit there, its captions are the natural choice. A separate caption tool makes sense in a few cases:
- You already have the finished clip, exported from Riverside or anywhere else, and only need styled captions burned in.
- You speak Hinglish, or Punjabi. CapsAI has Hinglish as its own language, written in Roman script, and covers English plus Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada and Punjabi.
- You post now and then and would rather pay once than keep a subscription.
CapsAI takes an MP4 or MOV up to 10 minutes. You pick the language, edit every word and the start and end times, choose from 37 styles, and export an MP4 with the captions burned in. It does not record, cut or resize video, accept audio-only files, or export SRT files. You get 3 free minutes to start, then packs of 20, 60 or 180 minutes for $4, $9 or $19 (₹49, ₹99 or ₹299 in India; €4, €9 or €19 in the euro area), paid once. Watermark-free export comes with every paid pack.
If you caption the clip outside Riverside, remove Riverside's captions before you export, or you will get two sets on screen.
What to do next
For podcast clips specifically, the podcast clip caption generator shows the upload-and-style route, and podcast clip captions covers speakers, filler words and line length. If captions vanish once the clip is on Instagram, see why captions stop working on TikTok, Instagram or Facebook.
