Add Captions to YouTube Shorts
YouTube's auto-generated subtitles are a plain text track, not the bold, styled captions viewers expect from Shorts. CapGen burns real, styled captions directly into your video — free, no watermark.
Real output — “Bold Yellow” style, genuinely rendered by CapGen. Clip: “Tears of Steel” (mango.blender.org), © Blender Foundation, CC BY 3.0. See more styles
Shorts compete in a fast-moving feed
Viewers swipe on if a Short doesn't land instantly. Clear, styled captions keep people watching whether or not the sound is on.
YouTube's subtitles aren't burned-in captions
YouTube's automatic subtitles are a toggleable text track most viewers never turn on. Burned-in captions are visible by default, the way top Shorts actually look.
One consistent look for your channel
Pick a caption style once and reuse it across every Short, so your channel has a recognizable, consistent visual identity.
Why CapGen
Built to be your default, not a gimmick
Word-level timing
Every word has its own timestamp — the active-word karaoke highlight, not just line-level subtitles.
~200 languages
Caption in the original language free; translate to nearly any language when you're ready.
Real browser editor
Fix any word, retime, reposition, or restyle before you export — no desktop software.
No watermark, ever
Free tier or not, nothing gets stamped on your video.
How it works
Caption your YouTube Shorts clip in 3 steps
- 1
Export your Short (or use the raw clip before you upload it to YouTube).
- 2
Upload it to CapGen — accurate, word-level-timed transcription happens automatically.
- 3
Choose a caption style, tweak any word or position in the free editor, download, and upload to YouTube.
Works everywhere
One video, every platform
FAQ
Questions, answered
Does this replace YouTube's own auto-captions?
YouTube's automatic captions are a hidden subtitle track viewers have to turn on. CapGen burns styled, always-visible captions directly into the video — the look most popular Shorts use.
What format do I get back?
A single downloaded video file with captions burned in, at your source's original resolution and frame rate, ready to upload straight to YouTube.
Can I edit captions after they're generated?
Yes — a full browser editor lets you fix any word, retime, reposition, and restyle before you download.
Is it really free?
Yes — automatic captions in the original language are completely free, with no watermark and no signup wall just to try it.
Caption your next video in minutes
Free to start, no watermark, no credit card. See why creators everywhere caption with CapGen.