YouTube Caption Generator
Free SRT and VTT Export
Captions do two things for YouTube creators: they make your content accessible to viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing, and they give the algorithm more text to index — which means better discoverability in search and suggested feeds. Both reasons matter, and neither requires you to pay a transcription service.
For long-form videos, upload an SRT or VTT file directly into YouTube Studio's caption uploader — no re-encoding needed. For Shorts and repurposed clips, burned-in captions auto-play as the video starts, which dramatically increases retention on muted autoplay. Style the font, color, and position to stay consistent with your brand before you export.
Generate captions →How it works
Upload your video
Drag in an MP4, MOV, or WebM file. Everything is processed locally — your video is never sent to an external server, which matters when you're working with content before it goes live.
Transcribe and style
Whisper AI transcribes the audio track. Once the transcript is ready, review it for accuracy and — if you're making a burned-in version — choose font, color, and position to match your channel's visual style.
Export SRT for YouTube or burned-in MP4
For long-form YouTube videos, export the SRT or VTT file and upload it in YouTube Studio under Subtitles. For Shorts or social clips, export the finished MP4 with captions baked in — ready to upload anywhere.
What's included
SRT and VTT for YouTube uploader
Both formats are accepted by YouTube Studio. SRT is the most universally compatible; VTT supports additional styling metadata if you need it.
Burned-in captions for Shorts
Export a finished MP4 with captions rendered directly into the video — no separate caption file needed. Captions display on every platform regardless of caption support.
Style to match your brand
Control font family, size, color, stroke, and vertical position before burning in. Consistent caption styling across your videos reinforces channel identity.
No video length cap
Full-length YouTube videos — not just short clips — transcribe without hitting a duration limit. The same tool handles a 2-minute Short and a 90-minute documentary.
Short-form workflow: If you're primarily making content for TikTok, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts and want a vertical 9:16 canvas with full caption styling controls, see the CapCut subtitle workflow for a guide tailored to short-form vertical video.
Generate captions for your next video
Free for audio. Video captions on the Starter plan — 14-day trial, no credit card.
Start for free →