Caption generator
Add Captions to Instagram Stories
Yes, you can add captions to an Instagram Story. As of 19 October 2026, Instagram's Help Center lists a Captions sticker for Stories that "automatically transcribes your video's audio"; you add it from the sticker tray, then change the color, the font or a wrong word. It works one Story at a time, in Instagram's fonts, and Instagram notes that not every sticker is available to everyone. The other route is to burn the captions into the video before you post. Upload the 9:16 clip as an MP4 or MOV, choose the language spoken, correct the draft in the browser and export an MP4 with the captions inside the picture. That file carries the same captions to your Story, your Reels, an ad or TikTok. 3 free minutes to start; packs are paid once, from $4 (₹49 in India, €4 in the euro area).
Start with 3 free minutes. Watermark-free export comes with every paid pack.
Upload Video
For best results, upload a video with clear speech. You can review and edit the captions after generation.
Drag and drop video or
MP4 or MOV, any aspect ratio.
English subtitle example: This is a preview of the subtitle design Please transcribe to get your video
What the captions look like
Behind-the-scenes Story
Packing the last 40 orders before the post office closes.
A cluttered desk behind the speaker. A boxed style such as Newsroom, white caps on black boxes, stays readable over it.
Event reminder
Doors open at 7. Bring your ticket on your phone.
Times, dates and prices are the words an automatic draft slips on. Check each one against the audio before you export.
Story longer than 60 seconds
...and that is why we moved the launch to Friday.
Instagram shows up to 60 seconds as one clip and breaks a longer video into several. To choose the breaks yourself, cut the Story into parts of 60 seconds or less first.
Story that also runs as an ad
Three sizes, one zip, no tangles.
Meta asks advertisers to keep the bottom 35% of a Stories ad clear. Set the caption position to about 50 to 60% so the call-to-action does not cover it.
What you get
- Captions corrected in full before anyone sees the Story
- One captioned file for your Story, your Reels, a Stories ad and TikTok
- Placement you set once with a slider, clear of the reply bar and an ad's call-to-action
- Boxed and outlined styles among the 8 free ones, for Stories filmed against busy backgrounds
- Captions that stay in the video when a Story is split into clips or saved to a Highlight
Where it helps
- Small shops posting behind-the-scenes and restock Stories every day
- Coaches and creators whose talking Stories are also cut into Reels
- Brands that run the same vertical clip organically and as a Stories ad
- Event and community pages sharing reminders that viewers watch on mute
How it works
How it works
Step 1
Finish the Story in 9:16 first
Edit the clip vertically first. CapsAI burns captions in at the shape you upload; it does not crop a landscape clip into a Story.
Step 2
Upload the clip and pick the spoken language
Add the MP4 or MOV from your gallery or desktop, up to 10 minutes long.
Step 3
Correct the draft and plan for 60-second clips
Retype names, prices and slang. For a Story longer than a minute, caption it as parts of 60 seconds or less, each starting on a new sentence, so Instagram does not pick the breaks.
Step 4
Set the position for a Story
The Vertical position slider runs from 50% (the middle of the frame) to 90% (near the bottom). Keep captions above the reply bar, and nearer 50% if the video will also run as an ad.
Step 5
Pick a style, export and post
Choose a boxed or outlined style for busy footage, export the MP4 and add it to your Story from the camera roll.
Choose your spoken language
What to do next
Related tools
Questions
Can you add captions to an Instagram Story?
Yes. Instagram's Help Center (read 19 October 2026) lists a Captions sticker that transcribes a Story video's audio, with color, font and word edits. It adds that not all stickers are available to everyone, and the page carries a note that the feature may be unavailable in Japan and in Europe. If you do not see the sticker, caption the video before posting.
How are burned-in captions different from the Captions sticker?
The sticker is added inside Instagram, to one Story, in Instagram's fonts. Burned-in captions are part of the video file: you choose from 37 styles, and the same captions appear wherever you post it.
How long can a Story video be?
Instagram's Help Center says a video up to 60 seconds appears as one clip, and longer videos are broken into multiple clips (read 19 October 2026). CapsAI captions videos up to 10 minutes, and the captions stay in each clip after the split.
Where should captions sit on a Story?
In the middle-to-lower part of the frame, above the Send Message reply field at the bottom. CapsAI places captions between 50% and 90% of the frame height; for a Story that also runs as an ad, stay near 50 to 60%.
Can I add captions to a Story after posting it?
Caption the original video and share it again as a new Story. Our post on adding captions after posting covers what Reels, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook allow once a video is live.
Do the captions stay in Highlights and Close Friends Stories?
Yes. Instagram removes Stories after 24 hours unless you add them to a Highlight, and a Highlight keeps the same video, captions included. Close Friends Stories use the same video too; the audience changes, the captions do not.
Is it free, and is there a watermark?
A new account gets 3 free minutes of captioning, enough to try it on a few Stories. Watermark-free export comes with every paid pack; packs are paid once, from $4 (₹49 in India, €4 in the euro area) for 20 minutes.
What files can I upload, and can I get an SRT?
3 free minutes to start. Files up to 500 MB, or 10 GB with a pack. Videos up to 10 minutes each. MP4 or MOV in, one MP4 with burned-in captions out; there is no SRT or VTT download.
Which languages are supported, and does it translate?
Captions come out in the language spoken: English, Hinglish, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada or Punjabi. There is no translation. CapsAI's English has been used most on Indian English; for other accents, run a Story through the 3 free minutes and read the draft.
How long does it take?
A few minutes for a Story-length clip: upload, draft, then the export. Reading the draft takes longer than the machine steps.
What Instagram offers for Stories today
As of 19 October 2026, Instagram's Help Center describes a Captions sticker among the Story stickers. It "automatically transcribes your video's audio"; you tap the transcript to change its color or font, and tap twice and then a word to correct it. Instagram's separate Edits app can also generate captions for spoken audio before you post, with a choice of spoken language and style. For a quick personal Story, that is often enough.
Where it falls short is reuse and control. The sticker belongs to one Story in one app, so a clip that also goes to Reels, a Stories ad or TikTok has to be captioned again in each place. Corrections happen word by word on a phone keyboard, in Instagram's fonts. Burned-in captions are fixed in the video, so every copy shows the same corrected words.
Story length, clips and the 9:16 frame
Instagram shows a video of up to 60 seconds as one Story clip and breaks a longer one into several clips. Burned-in captions survive the split because they are part of the picture, but a sentence can end up divided between two clips. To choose the breaks yourself, cut the Story into parts of 60 seconds or less before captioning. Stories ads differ: Meta's ad guide says video ads of 16 seconds or longer may be split into separate Stories cards.
A Story fills a 9:16 phone screen, and CapsAI exports at the shape you upload. Film vertically, or crop to 9:16 in your editor before captioning; the caption editor does not crop or reframe. For a long landscape recording, Smart-Clips can cut it into vertical 9:16 clips first.
Placement above the reply bar, and Stories ads
Viewers reply to a Story by tapping Send Message at the bottom of the screen, so that strip is shared with the reply field. CapsAI places captions between the middle of the frame and near the bottom: keep the slider above the reply field and check the preview. For Stories ads, Meta's ad guide (read 19 October 2026) lists video captions as "optional, but recommended" and asks advertisers to keep roughly 14% of the top, 35% of the bottom and 6% of each side free of text and logos. Set the caption position near 50 to 60% for any Story that might become an ad.