Caption generator
TikTok Caption Generator
A TikTok is watched on a phone, often with the sound off, with TikTok's own interface laid over the right edge and the bottom of the frame. This TikTok caption generator captions the speech in your clip, sizes the text for a 9:16 phone screen and puts it in the middle band, where the like, comment, share and profile buttons on the right rail and the username, description and sound strip at the bottom cannot cover it. Upload an MP4 or MOV of up to 10 minutes, which covers every TikTok length, choose the spoken language, fix any word in the browser editor, pick a word-by-word or karaoke style and export an MP4 with the captions burned in. Burned-in captions are part of the video, so they show in your style on TikTok and again when you post the same file to Reels and Shorts. Start with 3 free minutes; packs are from $4 (₹49 in India, €4 in the euro area), paid once.
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
Hook
Nobody tells you this about renting in Dubai.
The first caption is on screen for the first second of the scroll. Keep it under eight words and let it fill the middle band at a large size.
List
Three apps. One week. Zero spend.
Short fragments suit word-by-word timing: each word pops as it is said, and the full line is still readable as a unit.
Punchline
...and that is the last time I trust a two-star review.
Hold the last caption until the audio ends so the loop does not cut it off. A karaoke highlight carries the viewer to the final word.
Hinglish line
Bro, yeh trend toh ekdum next level hai.
Choose Hinglish as the spoken language and the caption comes out in Roman script with the English words kept as said.
What you get
- Caption size and placement meant for a 9:16 phone screen under the TikTok overlay
- Word-by-word and karaoke styles among 35 presets, with AI emoji sync on Creator and Pro
- Captions you corrected, in your style, that stay on for sound-off viewers
- One captioned MP4 you can post unchanged to TikTok, Reels and Shorts
- English, Hinglish, Hindi and eight more spoken languages on packs paid once, from $4 (₹49 in India, €4 in the euro area)
Where it helps
- Talking-head TikToks where the hook has to read before the viewer swipes
- Storytime and rant clips of several minutes that TikTok's 10-minute uploads allow
- Product and tutorial clips with step-by-step speech
- Hinglish and Hindi TikToks posted from outside India to a diaspora audience
How it works
How it works
Step 1
Export the vertical cut
TikTok is 9:16. Export the final cut from your editor as an MP4 or MOV, up to 10 minutes long and 500 MB on a free account or 10 GB on a pack. There is no link import, so download your own TikTok first if that is the only copy.
Step 2
Upload and choose the spoken language
English, Hinglish, Hindi or one of eight other Indian languages. Captions are written in the language spoken; there is no translation.
Step 3
Fix the hook and the punchline first
Those two captions do the most work on TikTok. Read them against the audio, correct any name or slang, and split a long line into two short captions.
Step 4
Place the text in the middle band
Keep captions away from the right rail of buttons and the username, description and sound strip at the bottom. The middle third of a 9:16 frame is the safe area in practice; check the preview before you export.
Step 5
Pick a TikTok-style preset and export
Word-by-word for fast talk, karaoke for a line that builds, a bold outlined font for text over bright footage. Export the MP4 and upload it to TikTok as you would any video.
Choose your spoken language
What to do next
Related tools
Questions
Does TikTok add captions itself?
TikTok has its own captions feature inside the app, described in its Help Center. We could not load those Help pages on 18 October 2026, so we do not quote them here; check the app and the Help Center for how it works today. Burned-in captions differ in one respect that does not change: they are part of the video, in your style and with your corrections, and they travel with the file to any other platform.
What size should TikTok captions be and where should they sit?
Large enough to read on a six-inch screen held at arm's length, which is bigger than a laptop preview suggests. Place them in the middle band of the 9:16 frame: the right rail holds the profile, like, comment, share and bookmark buttons, and the bottom holds the username, description and sound strip. Use the preview in the editor and move the captions until nothing overlaps.
Can I use the same captioned video on Reels and Shorts?
Yes. The captions are burned into the MP4, so the file plays the same on TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. The overlays differ slightly between apps, which is why the middle band is the safest position for a file you intend to post everywhere. The Reels and Shorts pages on this site show each overlay.
Can I download an SRT file for TikTok?
No. CapsAI exports an MP4 with the captions burned in and does not produce SRT, VTT or TXT. If you have a subtitle file from elsewhere, the TXT to SRT generator and the SRT to VTT converter on this site handle the conversion in the browser.
Is the TikTok caption generator free?
A new account gets 3 free minutes of captioning, enough for several TikToks under a minute each. After that, packs are paid once: Starter 20 minutes from $4 (₹49 in India, €4 in the euro area), Creator 60 minutes from $9, Pro 180 minutes from $19. Nothing renews.
Is there a watermark?
Watermark-free export comes with every paid pack. Starter, the smallest pack, is 20 minutes from $4 (₹49 in India, €4 in the euro area), paid once.
Which caption style works best on TikTok?
Word-by-word for a fast single speaker, karaoke highlight for a sentence that builds to a point, and a bold font with an outline or box for text over bright or busy footage. Kapwing names its templates tiktok, MrBeast, Hormozi and karaoke (read 18 October 2026); on CapsAI the equivalents are among the 35 styles and you can preview each on your own clip before exporting.
How long a TikTok can I caption?
Up to 10 minutes per upload, which covers TikTok's current upload lengths. For a longer recording, caption it in parts. Files can be up to 500 MB on a free account and 10 GB on a pack.
Does it work with TikTok slang and Hinglish?
The draft writes what it hears, so slang comes out as a best guess that you confirm or fix in the editor. Hinglish is a spoken-language option of its own, writing mixed Hindi-English speech in Roman script with the English words kept. Hindi and eight other Indian languages are also available.
How long does it take?
A few minutes for a TikTok under a minute: upload time depends on your connection, captioning runs after that, and the export renders the captions into the video. Reading the draft usually takes longer than the machine steps.
Framing for 9:16 and the TikTok overlay
TikTok draws its interface over the video, not beside it. Down the right edge sit the profile picture and the like, comment, bookmark and share buttons; across the bottom run the username, the description and the scrolling sound strip. A caption placed low in the frame, where most editors put subtitles by default, lands under the description. A caption placed too far right is hidden behind the buttons.
The answer is the middle band. Caption lines of three to six words, set large and centered in the middle third of the frame, stay visible on every phone size. The editor preview shows the caption on your own footage; move it until nothing in the bottom quarter or the right rail touches it.
TikTok's own captions versus burned-in captions
TikTok has a captions feature inside the app; its Help Center describes it, and we could not load those pages on 18 October 2026, so we leave the specifics to TikTok. The general difference holds regardless. In-app captions belong to the platform: their style is the platform's, and they stay on TikTok. Burned-in captions belong to the video: you corrected the words, you chose the font and the timing, and the same file carries them to Reels, Shorts or a client's website.
Word-by-word and karaoke styles are where burned-in captions earn their place. One word popping in on each beat, or a highlight sweeping across a line, holds a viewer who would have swiped past a static block of text. Google Trends for the US shows "tiktok caption font" rising about 400% over the 12 months to 18 October 2026; the font is doing work on TikTok, and it is work the platform's captions cannot do.
Sound-off viewing
A large share of short-form video is watched muted, in a queue, on a train, in a waiting room. A TikTok with no captions is a silent clip of someone talking. A TikTok with captions still makes its point. Burned-in text also survives the moments the viewer scrubs, pauses or screenshots. The 10-minute upload limit covers every TikTok length, so one upload captions the whole clip.
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