How To Add Captions and Subtitles to YouTube Videos

If you want to improve your YouTube videos’ reach and engagement, a simple tip is to include captions in your posts.

Captions improve accessibility for hearing-impaired viewers and language learners. Plus, folks in public or noisy environments may want to watch videos without sound.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to add captions to YouTube videos using a few simple methods.

Captions or Subtitles: What Should You Use?

Many creators are unsure whether to use captions or subtitles for their content. People often use the two words interchangeably, but they’re not exactly the same.

Captions target those who can’t hear the audio. Besides transcribing what people say, captions also include descriptions of sounds or music for hard-of-hearing people. This allows viewers to get the full context of your video.

There are two types of captions: open and closed. Open captions appear on the screen permanently, and viewers can’t turn them off. On the other hand, viewers can turn YouTube closed captioning on and off because these captions aren’t embedded in the video.

On the other hand, subtitles translate just the dialogue into another language, making your content accessible to international audiences.

If your goal is accessibility for all viewers, including those needing more context, captions are generally the better choice. But subtitles would be appropriate if your focus is on reaching global audiences.

3 Reasons To Add Captions to Your YouTube Videos

Here are the main reasons to add captions and subtitles to your YouTube content.

1. Improved Accessibility

Captions make your videos accessible to a wider audience, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Around 15% of adults report experiencing some form of hearing loss, so captions help a significant portion of viewers. 

2. Enhanced User Experience

Captions don’t just help people with hearing loss — they also make it easier to watch videos anywhere. People tend to shy away from watching videos with sound in public because they’re either being considerate to others or in noisy environments. So, using captions allows folks to enjoy your content even without audio.

Language learners can also use captions and subtitles to better understand new vocabulary, regional accents, and fast speech.

3. Better Video Reach 

When you use closed captions, search engines can read the text to better understand your content. Using that information, algorithms suggest your posts to viewers who are more likely to enjoy them. 

Note: Search engines can’t read open captions, since this information is embedded directly into the video. So, these won’t have an effect on your post’s visibility.

Can YouTube Add Subtitles and Captions Automatically?

YouTube’s automatic captions and subtitles use speech recognition technology to create transcripts of your videos. 

But this method has the following downsides:

• Accuracy issues — YouTube’s automatic captions can be flawed if the video contains background noise, regional dialects, and fast-paced speech.
• Language limitations — The platform doesn’t have automatic captions for all languages, so the feature works best for widely spoken dialects.

To get the best results, learn how to put captions on a video using multiple methods in case one doesn’t work out.

How To Add On-Screen Text With Captions

Whether you want to add subtitles and captions to short or long-form videos, the most convenient way is to use Captions. Below are two simple methods.

Add Automatic Captions With AI

1. Import your video into Captions or record a new one in the app.
2. Select the language being spoken in the video.
3. If you want to keep the post in that language, select “No Translation.”
4. To create subtitles, choose which language you want to translate into.
5. Review and edit the text.
6. Choose the text’s font, style, and color. 
7. Save and download your video.

Add Captions Manually

1. Upload or record your video in Captions.
2. Scroll to the start of the video’s dialogue.
3. Tap “Add.”
4. Type your captions and hit “Apply.”
5. Select the text’s font, style, and color.
6. Download your post.

How To Add Captions and Subtitles on YouTube Studio

Here’s how to turn on captions and subtitles using YouTube Studio.

1. Sign into YouTube Studio.
2. Open the menu on the left and click “Subtitles.” 
3. Tap “Add Language” and select your language.
4. Go back to “Subtitles” and click “Add.”

5. Choose whether you’d like to upload a file, auto-sync, type manually, or auto-translate. We’ll explain each of these below.

Upload a File

This transcript file contains the video’s dialogue as well as timestamps telling YouTube when to display each line of text. To add a file: 

1. Tap “Upload file.” 
2. Select between “With timing” or “Without timing,” then hit “Continue.”
3. Pick which file to upload.
4. Click “Save.”

Auto-Sync

This feature automatically syncs subtitles and captions with your post’s audio. Here’s how: 

1. Tap “Auto-sync.”
2. Type the dialogue or upload a transcript file.
3. Click “Edit,” then “Save and close.”

Type Manually

If you’d rather type the transcript as you watch your post, follow these steps: 

1. Tap “Type manually.”
2. Click play on the video and enter your captions or subtitles. If you’re writing captions, remember to include other noises like [applause] or [thunder].
3. Pause while typing if needed.
4. Once you’re finished, click “Publish.”

Auto-Translate

This method uses speech recognition technology to generate captions for your posts. If this text is available, YouTube will automatically include it in each video. You can edit this if you’d like by following these instructions: 

1. Choose “Subtitles” from the left-hand menu.
2. Pick the video you’d like to edit.
3. Under “Subtitles,” tap “More” next to the text you want to change.
4. Make adjustments as needed.

Save Time With Captions

Adding captions and subtitles to your YouTube videos can help hearing-impaired audiences and those who want to watch your videos in another language. Tools like Captions can make the process easier and ensure your text is accurate.

Our platform has all the tools you need to tell your story on YouTube. From automatic captioning to premade text templates, Captions makes editing easy and lets you regularly post high-quality videos.

Improve your channel’s accessibility with Captions.