Should I burn captions into the video or upload a caption file?

Burned-in captions always show, which suits social feeds. Uploaded caption files can be turned off and are better for YouTube and accessibility.

Are auto-generated captions good enough?

They are a good starting point, but check them. Names, technical terms and accents often come out wrong.

Do captions help with accessibility?

Yes. Captions are essential for deaf and hard of hearing viewers, and help many others, including non-native speakers.

Captions for Talking Videos: Why, When and How to Add Them

Captions help people watching with sound off and make videos more accessible. How to add accurate, readable captions to talking videos on every platform.

A large share of people scroll social feeds with the sound off, at least at first. Without captions, a talking video is a silent face. Captions also make your videos accessible to deaf and hard of hearing viewers, and easier to follow for everyone else.

Two kinds of captions

Open (burned-in) captions are part of the video image. They always show, on every platform. Most short-form creators use these.

Closed captions are a separate file the viewer can turn on or off. YouTube and many players support them, and they are better for accessibility because viewers can adjust them.

For social video, burned-in captions are usually the practical choice. For YouTube, upload a caption file as well.

Start from your script

If you recorded from a script, you already have most of your captions. Use the script as the base and adjust for anything you changed while speaking. That is faster and more accurate than fixing auto-captions from scratch. Cue can export a single script as a plain .txt file, which is easy to paste into a captioning tool.

Check auto-captions

Platform auto-captions have improved a lot, but they still struggle with:

Names and brand names
Technical terms
Accents and fast speech
Numbers and dates

Always read them through before publishing.

Make captions readable

Large, clear font
High contrast, such as white text with a dark outline or background
Two lines at most on screen
Placed away from platform buttons, usually the lower middle
Short chunks that match your speaking rhythm

Keep sentences short

Scripts written with short sentences produce better captions. Long sentences become walls of text. Our guide to writing scripts for the ear helps here too.

Style with care

Highlighting key words can add energy, but heavy animation can make captions harder to read. Accessibility first, style second.

Leave space when framing

When you set up your shot, leave room in the lower part of the frame for captions. See phone video setup for framing tips.

Check them on a phone

Always watch the captioned video on a phone before posting. Captions that look fine on a large monitor can be too small, too long or hidden behind platform buttons on a small screen. One quick check catches most problems.

Captions on calls

Most video call platforms now offer live captions. They are useful for presentations too, especially for international audiences. See teleprompters for video calls.