To add captions to a screen recording, turn your narration into timed text, proofread it, then either burn it into the video or attach it as a caption file. On a Mac, Final Cut Pro can generate captions automatically, iMovie lets you type them in as titles for free, and web tools such as YouTube and Clipchamp make automatic captions after you upload. Recorders with built-in captions, such as Smooth Recorder, do it on your Mac in one click.
First, one decision shapes every other step: whether your captions are open or closed.
Open vs closed captions
| Open captions (burned in) | Closed captions (caption file) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Text drawn into the video picture | A separate track or file, such as SRT, VTT or iTT |
| Viewer can turn it off | No | Yes |
| Styling | Any font, color and position you like | Mostly set by the player |
| Works when a site ignores caption files | Yes | No |
| Multiple languages | One per video file | One file per language |
| Best for | LinkedIn, X, Slack, short clips, GIF-like loops | YouTube, course platforms, company video players |
Subtitles and captions are often used as the same thing. Strictly, subtitles translate or transcribe the dialogue, while captions can also describe sounds, such as [music] or [keyboard clicking]. For a narrated screen recording, the difference is small.
Why caption a screen recording at all
- Accessibility. Captions make your video usable for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The W3C's WCAG 2.2 includes captions for prerecorded video at its most basic level, A, so many organizations require them for training and public videos.
- Muted autoplay. Many feeds start videos without sound. Captions keep your point across.
- Second-language viewers and noisy rooms. Reading along helps when the accent, the jargon or the environment makes listening hard.
- Search and skimming. A transcript makes the video findable and lets viewers scan for the part they need.
Your options at a glance
| Tool | Auto captions | Open (burned in) | Closed (file) | Where it runs | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iMovie | No, typed as titles | Yes | No | Mac | Free |
| Final Cut Pro | Yes, U.S. English, Apple silicon | Yes | Yes (iTT, SRT, CEA-608) | Mac | $299.99 once, or in Apple Creator Studio |
| YouTube | Yes, many languages | No | Yes | Upload to YouTube | Free |
| Clipchamp | Yes | Yes | SRT download | Browser | Autocaptions free |
| Descript, CapCut | Yes | Yes | Varies by app | Desktop and web | Free tiers and paid plans |
| Smooth Recorder | Yes, made on your Mac | Yes | No | Mac | $19 once in early access |
Prices as of September 2026. Web tools change their free-tier limits often, so check them before you commit.
How to add text and captions in iMovie (free, manual)
iMovie is free from Apple, and it's the simplest way to add a few lines of text to a screen recording on Mac. It doesn't transcribe speech or import subtitle files: Apple's iMovie guide covers titles you type in by hand.
- Create a new movie and drag your recording into the timeline.
- Move the playhead to where the first line should appear.
- Click Titles above the browser. Pick a plain style, such as one that sits at the bottom of the frame.
- Double-click the title to add it, or drag it above the clip in the timeline.
- Double-click the placeholder text in the viewer and type your line. Use the font controls above the viewer for size and color, then click Apply.
- Drag the ends of the title in the timeline so it matches when the words are spoken.
- Repeat for every line, then choose File > Share > File to export.
The result is burned in. This works for labels like "Step 2: Connect your account" or a handful of key lines. For a five-minute narrated tutorial it's slow, because every caption is its own title clip.
How to auto-caption in Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro generates captions from speech, on Macs with Apple silicon and in U.S. English only, per Apple's Final Cut Pro guide. The first time, it downloads a language model, which needs an internet connection once. It costs $299.99 on the Mac App Store and is also part of Apple's Creator Studio subscription.
It offers two kinds of automatic text:
Closed captions (for a caption file):
- Select the clips with speech in the timeline.
- Choose Edit > Generate Captions > Closed Captions (⇧⌘C).
- Captions appear in a captions lane at the top of the timeline. Click a caption to correct its text.
- Choose File > Export Closed Captions to save a caption file. Apple suggests turning off Include Formatting for SRT, because many players ignore SRT styling.
Subtitles (styled titles you burn in):
- Select the clips with speech.
- Choose Edit > Generate Captions > Subtitles (⇧⌘S).
- Final Cut Pro adds title clips, timed to the speech, built from its Subtitle title, which you can restyle. Press ⌘A to select them all and change their look at once.
- Export as usual. Because they're titles, they're part of the picture.
You can also burn closed captions into the video when you share, using the captions options in the Share window. Only one language can be burned in per file.
Web options: YouTube, Clipchamp, Descript and CapCut
These all need you to upload the recording or work in their app. That's fine for public videos, less so for internal demos with customer data on screen.
YouTube generates automatic captions with speech recognition after you upload, in many languages. Google says to always review them, because accents, background noise and mispronunciations cause mistakes. To fix them, open YouTube Studio, choose Subtitles, pick the video and edit the track. They stay closed captions on YouTube, so viewers can turn them off. YouTube may not create them for very long videos, poor sound or a long silent opening. Upload as Unlisted if you only want the caption file.
Clipchamp, Microsoft's browser-based editor, has autocaptions that Clipchamp says are free for all users. Add the recording to the timeline, open the captions tab, choose the language, and the captions are made for you. You can download them as an SRT file from the same tab.
Descript builds captions from an editable transcript, and you can export burned-in captions or SRT and VTT files. It's subscription-based beyond its free tier; check its pricing page for current limits.
CapCut has Auto Captions in its desktop and web editors. Its help pages recommend Chrome or Edge for the web version and note that noise, accents and fast speech can cause errors.
How to add captions in Smooth Recorder
Smooth Recorder makes captions from your narration on your Mac. Nothing is uploaded.
- Press ⌥1, select an area, a window or the screen, and pick your mic on the Microphone chip in the bar under it; its level meter moves when it hears you. Captions come from your voice, so the recording needs a microphone.
- Press R to record, and stop from the pill in the notch.
- In Studio, open Captions and click Make Captions. Transcription runs on your Mac, in your Mac's language where macOS supports it.
- Choose a look: Glass, Bold, Minimal, Cinema, Classic, Outline, Highlight or Light. Then pick a font, a text color, the place (top, middle or bottom) and the size. Light up each word highlights words as they're spoken.
- Fix any mistakes line by line.
- Switch to Cut by Text to edit the video through its transcript: delete words and the video cuts there. Filler words like "um" and "uh" go in one click.
- Export an MP4 or MOV, reframed for 16:9, 9:16, 1:1 or 4:5 if you need a vertical or square version.
Captions are burned into the exported video, which is what most social feeds and chat apps need. Smooth Recorder doesn't export a separate SRT file today, so if you need closed captions for YouTube, let YouTube or Final Cut Pro make the caption file.
The same Studio adds automatic zooms on your clicks, a smooth cursor and a background. It's a native app for macOS 15 and later, $19 once during early access (pricing). For how it compares with apps that caption in the cloud, see Loom, Tella and Screen Studio.
Tips for captions people can actually read
- Proofread names and jargon. Automatic captions often mangle product names, code and acronyms. Search the transcript for your product name first.
- Keep lines short. One or two short lines on screen at a time. Long blocks cover the UI you're demonstrating.
- Mind the placement. Bottom center is standard, but move captions to the top if your UI's important controls live at the bottom. On TikTok, Reels and Shorts, keep them clear of the bottom and right edges, where the app's own buttons sit.
- Use contrast. White text on a dark box, or dark text on a light one, reads on any screen content.
- Record clean audio. Better sound means better transcription. A USB mic or your Mac's built-in mic beats Bluetooth headphones in headset mode; see how to screen record on Mac with audio.
- Burn in for social, use files for platforms. Feeds and chat apps need open captions. YouTube and course platforms work best with closed captions.
Troubleshooting
No captions were generated. Check that the recording has your voice on it. If you only recorded the Mac's sound, there's no narration to transcribe. In YouTube, give processing time, and check the video's language is set correctly.
Final Cut Pro has no Generate Captions option. It needs an Apple silicon Mac and a recent version. Choose Final Cut Pro > About Final Cut Pro to check, and update from the App Store.
Captions are out of sync. In Final Cut Pro or iMovie, drag the caption's edges in the timeline. If you cut the video after adding manual titles, they stay where they were, so check each one again.
The SRT file shows odd tags or formatting. Re-export with formatting turned off. SRT has no standard for styling.
Captions disappear on one platform. That platform ignored your caption file. Export again with captions burned in.
Captions are one part of a video that holds up on mute. For the rest, see how to make a product demo video and how to zoom in on a screen recording.