How to Add Subtitles to a YouTube Video

You can add subtitles to a YouTube video in three ways: let YouTube generate automatic captions and correct them, upload your own subtitle file (such as an SRT) in YouTube Studio, or burn captions into the video itself before you upload. For most long-form videos, uploading or correcting a caption track is the best choice; for Shorts and social clips, burned-in captions are standard.

Here's how each method works, when to use it, and how to fix the errors that every caption track has at first.

The three options at a glance

The first two are closed captions: a separate text track viewers can toggle. The third is open captions: text that is part of the picture. Our explainer on open vs closed captions covers the difference in more depth.

Option 1: YouTube automatic captions

For supported languages, YouTube uses speech recognition to create captions after you upload. You don't need to do anything to turn this on, though it can take a while after upload, longer for long videos, and it won't run if the audio is unclear or the language isn't supported.

How to review and fix them

1. Open YouTube Studio and choose Subtitles from the left menu.
2. Click the video. You'll see a language row with automatic captions listed once they're ready.
3. Open the automatic track and choose the option to duplicate and edit it.
4. Read through the text while the video plays, fixing words, names and punctuation. You can adjust timing in the same editor.
5. Publish the edited track. Viewers will then see your corrected version.

Menu labels in Studio change from time to time, but the flow, open Subtitles, pick the video, edit the track, publish, has stayed the same for years.

Use this when you want captions on a long video with minimal effort and you're willing to spend a few minutes correcting them.

Option 2: Upload a subtitle file

If you already have an accurate transcript or caption file, uploading it gives you the most control. YouTube accepts several formats, including SRT and WebVTT. If you've never seen one, what an SRT file is explains the structure in two minutes.

Steps

1. In YouTube Studio, go to Subtitles and select the video.
2. Set the video's language if you haven't already, then click Add next to the language you're adding captions for.
3. Choose Upload file, pick "with timing" if your file has timestamps (an SRT does), and select the file.
4. Preview the result, fix anything that looks off, and publish.

No timestamps? Use auto-sync

If you have a plain-text transcript without timings, for example the script you read from, YouTube can line it up with the audio for you. Choose the auto-sync option and paste or upload the text. This works best when the transcript matches what you actually said; if you ad-libbed a lot, fix the text first.

Where to get a subtitle file

• Export one from your video editor; many editors can generate captions and export them as SRT.
• Use a transcription tool, then review the output.
• Download YouTube's own automatic captions after editing them, then reuse the file elsewhere.

Use this when accuracy matters, you have a script or transcript already, or you plan to add translations.

Option 3: Burned-in captions

Burned-in captions are added in your editor and exported as part of the video. They always show, on every device, in exactly the style you designed. That's why almost every Short, Reel and TikTok uses them: many viewers scroll with sound off, and styled captions carry the message.

How to do it well:

• Keep lines short, roughly two to five words at a time for vertical video, one or two lines for horizontal.
• Place them where the platform interface won't cover them. On vertical video, that means above the bottom area where titles and buttons sit.
• Use high contrast: white text with a dark outline or shadow, or dark text on a solid box.
• Proofread every caption before export. You can't fix burned-in text after upload without re-uploading the video.

Our guide to adding captions automatically compares tools, and caption styles that keep viewers covers readability. If you work with short talking-head clips, ShotFlick's Auto Caption adds burned-in captions as part of the edit, in vertical or horizontal format.

Use this when you're making Shorts or social clips, or when the caption style is part of your video's look.

Adding translations

Subtitles in other languages can help a video reach viewers who don't speak the original language. You have a few routes:

• Viewer-side auto-translate. When a video has captions, viewers can often choose an automatic translation in the player. You don't control the quality.
• Add a translated track. In the Subtitles section, add a new language and upload a translated SRT, or use the auto-translate option and then edit it.
• Translate titles and descriptions too. Studio lets you add translated titles and descriptions, which matters for discovery in other languages.

Start from an accurate original track. Translation multiplies errors: a wrong word in English becomes a wrong word in every other language.

Fixing common caption errors

Every caption track needs a review pass. Focus on these, in order:

1. Names and brands. Your name, guests' names, product names. Automatic transcription gets these wrong more than anything else.
2. Numbers. "Fifteen" vs "fifty" changes the meaning of a tip completely.
3. Jargon. Industry terms often become similar-sounding common words.
4. Timing drift. If captions appear early or late, re-sync the file or use auto-sync again.
5. Line length. Very long lines are hard to read. Split them so each caption stays on screen long enough to read comfortably.
6. Swear words and mishearings. Speech recognition can mishear innocent words as something embarrassing. One quick read catches them.

A quick way to review: play the video at 1.5x speed with captions on and your eyes on the text. Pause and fix anything that jars. A 10-minute video usually takes 10 to 15 minutes to clean up.