Last updated: September 26, 2026
How to Add Subtitles to a Video
Adding subtitles to a video is a three-part job: generate the caption text with timestamps, get it into your editor or platform as a subtitle file, and style it to match your content. This guide walks through the whole process, whether you publish on TikTok, YouTube, or a course platform.
Step 1 — Generate the subtitles
The fastest path is AI transcription. Open SubEasy, drop in your video (up to 60 seconds), and let the on-device model produce a timestamped transcript. Review the text once — AI is excellent at speech but can stumble on names, brand terms, and jargon — fix anything it misheard, and download the SRT file. Your footage never leaves your browser during this step.
For videos longer than a minute, work in sections: transcribe the clip in 60-second chunks and merge the SRT files in a text editor (renumber the sequence numbers so they run continuously).
Step 2 — Decide: sidecar file or burned-in captions?
Sidecar subtitles are a separate .srt file shipped alongside the video. Viewers can toggle them on or off, platforms can translate them, and search engines can index them. Use sidecars for YouTube, online courses, and any professional delivery.
Burned-in (open) captions are part of the video image itself — always visible, impossible to turn off. Use them for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts, where most viewers watch muted and auto-play feeds never wait for someone to enable captions. Burned-in captions also let you style every word, which is why the punchy word-by-word style dominates short-form.
Step 3 — Add subtitles by platform
YouTube
Upload your video, open YouTube Studio → Subtitles, and upload the SRT file. YouTube syncs it to the audio automatically and viewers can toggle captions, auto-translate them, and search within them.
TikTok, Reels, and Shorts
These platforms favor burned-in captions. Import your SRT into CapCut (Captions → Import local captions), style the text, and export the video with captions baked in. Alternatively, use each app's auto-caption sticker — but an SRT you reviewed yourself will be more accurate than any platform's first guess.
Premiere Pro
Drag the .srt file into your project bin, then onto the timeline above your video track. Premiere creates a caption track you can restyle in the Essential Graphics panel and export as sidecar or burned-in.
DaVinci Resolve
Right-click the media pool → Import Subtitle, select your SRT, and drop the subtitle clip onto the timeline. Style in the Inspector, then choose sidecar or burn-in at export.
Online courses and HTML5 video
Convert the SRT to VTT (see our converter guide) and attach it with a <track> element. Browsers render it natively and screen readers can access it — a genuine accessibility win.
Step 4 — Style for readability
Good caption styling follows a few rules that never change: keep lines under ~42 characters so eyes don't travel, show one to two lines at a time, use high contrast (white text with a dark outline or background box works on any footage), and give each caption enough screen time — under one second per caption feels frantic, over seven feels stale.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Skipping the review pass. AI transcription is a draft, not a deliverable. One wrong word in a punchline ruins the joke.
- Wall-of-text captions. A single caption holding a whole paragraph is unreadable at video speed. Break lines where a speaker would naturally pause.
- Burning in for YouTube. Burned-in captions can't be translated or turned off — upload the SRT instead and let viewers choose.
- Forgetting a caption-safe area. Platform UI (like buttons, progress bars) covers the bottom edge — keep captions slightly above it.
Ready to start? Generate your subtitles free with SubEasy — no upload, no account, SRT download in seconds.