Add Text to Video – Free Captions & Titles Online

Add titles, captions and labels to your video that show at exactly the times you choose.

Free
Instant result
Private · on-device
No sign-up

How to use: Choose a video, type each caption with the seconds it should show from and until, pick position, size and colour, then press Add text and download.

Runs on your device. When you press the button, a free open-source video engine (FFmpeg, about 31 MB) downloads once and is then cached. Your video is never uploaded.

Choose a videoMP4, MOV, WebM, MKV · stays on your device

Position

Text size: 7%

Text colour

Dark box behind text (easier to read)

How to use the Add Text to Video

Most people watch short videos with the sound off, so on-screen text is what tells them what is happening. This tool burns text into your video: titles at the start, captions under someone speaking, labels for steps in a tutorial or a call to action at the end.

Choose a video. A first caption is ready for you; type your text and set when it should appear and disappear, in seconds. To add another, play the video to the right moment and tap Add caption at current time. You can add up to 8 captions, and each one wraps onto extra lines if it is long.

Choose where the text sits, its size and its colour. A dark box behind the text keeps it readable on bright scenes; without it the text gets a dark outline. Press Add text to video. The captions are drawn in sharp, clean type and merged into an MP4 that plays the same on every device and app.

Tips for readable captions

Keep each caption short, about 5 to 10 words, and on screen for at least 2 seconds so people have time to read it. White text with a dark box works on almost any video. On vertical Reels and Shorts, the app’s own buttons cover the bottom and right edges, so the Middle position or a slightly larger size can be safer.

If you need a full transcript of what is said in the video, get the words first with Audio to Text, which runs on your device, then paste the lines here. For post captions and hashtags rather than on-video text, the Caption Generator can help.

Burned-in text vs subtitle files

Text added here is part of the picture, so it shows everywhere, including apps that do not support subtitle files. The trade-off is that viewers cannot turn it off. For long videos on YouTube, uploading a separate subtitle file is usually better; for short social clips, burned-in captions are the norm.

VSH take

VSH take: captions are the single easiest way to make a short video easier to follow, and they also help people who are deaf or hard of hearing. This tool gives you clean, timed text free with no watermark. Pair it with Resize Video for Reels to get a post-ready clip. Use these tools only on videos you made or have permission to edit.