Free tool
Add subtitles to TikTok videos
TikTok has no option for a subtitle file, so there are two ways to add subtitles to TikTok: its own auto captions, which you can correct after posting, or subtitles you make with the free generator below and build into the video before you upload it.
- Free
- Short lines for vertical video
- Nothing is stored
Drop your video or audio file here, or Choose your video or audio file
MP4, MOV, MKV or WebM video, or MP3, M4A or WAV audio. Up to 30 minutes of each file, 3 free files a day. The language is detected automatically.
Cutting TikToks out of podcasts or long interviews? NoteOwl transcribes the full recording on your Mac, unlimited, and saves SRT subtitles that name each speaker.
How it works
How do you make subtitles for a TikTok before posting it?
Drop the finished clip on the generator before it goes to TikTok. The speech is written out as subtitles in short lines, sized for a phone screen, each with its own start and end. Read them in the preview, then download the SRT for your video editor.
- 1
Export the clip
Save the edit as a video, or use the raw clip if you post it uncut. MP4, MOV and WebM all work.
- 2
Check each subtitle
Short lines for a vertical video is already ticked. Up to 30 minutes of each file gets subtitles.
- 3
Download the SRT
It’s named after your video. Import it into CapCut on the web or desktop, or another editor, to put the words on screen.
Can TikTok use an SRT file?
No. TikTok’s help documents no way to upload a subtitle file, in the app or in TikTok Studio on the web, and describes only captions TikTok makes from the speech. To add subtitles to TikTok in your own words, put them into the picture before you upload.
Auto captions
Generated by TikTok for the videos you upload. You can correct them after posting, and viewers can switch them off.
Captions from the side panel
Made while you edit: TikTok transcribes the speech, you check each line, change the font style or colour, then save.
Your subtitles in the picture
Made here, then drawn into the clip by a video editor. TikTok receives ordinary video, so your wording reaches every viewer.
How do you turn on auto captions in TikTok?
TikTok’s help says captions are made automatically for videos you upload. Before posting, tap More options, then Select video language, so the right language is transcribed. Once the video is up, tap the caption on it and choose Edit captions to fix a word.
Prefer to check every line before anyone sees it? While editing, tap the Captions button on the side panel. TikTok transcribes the speech, lets you preview and change each line, and lets you pick a font style and colour before you tap Save.
- 1
Set the language
On the post screen, tap More options, then Select video language, and pick the language spoken in the clip.
- 2
Post the video
TikTok generates the captions from the speech of the uploaded video.
- 3
Correct a word
Tap the caption on your video, tap Edit captions, change the text, then tap Save at the top.
How do you put your own subtitles on a TikTok video?
Make them here, then let a video editor draw them into the frame. CapCut imports an SRT on the web, from the captions tab, and on desktop, under Captions > Add Captions. Style them in the right-side panel, export the video and post that file to TikTok.
CapCut’s help says its phone app can’t import SRT or TXT subtitle files. The workaround it gives: import the SRT in CapCut on the web or desktop, then open the same project on your phone through Cloud Sync and finish there. Imported lines arrive as separate text clips on the timeline; style one, then use Apply to all captions.
Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro read SRT files as well. Or burn them into the video straight from the SRT and post that. Either way, this page only makes the subtitle file; the words reach the picture in the next step.
Why do TikTok subtitles need short lines?
A vertical frame is narrow, so long lines would have to shrink to fit across it. Short lines for a vertical video, ticked by default on this page, keeps each line to 26 characters at most, so the words stay big enough to read on a phone.
Posting a landscape clip? Untick the box before downloading and lines go back to the usual 42 characters. Either way a subtitle never runs past 2 lines or splits a word.
The subtitles come out in the language spoken in the clip. For a second language, run the SRT through the subtitle translator afterwards.
Can viewers turn your TikTok subtitles off?
Only TikTok’s own captions. A viewer switches those with Share, then Captions, then the Show captions toggle. Burned-in subtitles are part of the video itself, so everyone sees them, with captions switched on or off, in the font and place you chose.
Can you subtitle a whole podcast or interview before cutting it into clips?
Yes, with NoteOwl on your Mac. It transcribes recordings you import using on-device AI models, unlimited, tells the speakers apart and saves an SRT that starts each line with the speaker’s name. It also records meetings on your Mac with no bot joining.
FAQ
TikTok subtitles and captions: common questions
Can I upload an SRT file to TikTok from a computer?
No. TikTok Studio on the web takes MP4 or WebM video, and its help mentions no subtitle files. Put the subtitles into the picture in an editor first, then upload the exported video in TikTok Studio or the app.
How do I edit TikTok captions after posting?
Open the video, tap the caption, then tap Edit captions. Change the words you need and tap Save at the top. This changes TikTok’s captions only, not text that is part of the picture.
Can I import an SRT into CapCut on my phone?
Not according to CapCut’s help, which says the mobile app can’t import SRT or TXT files. Import the SRT in CapCut on the web or desktop, then open the project on your phone through Cloud Sync.
How long a video can I subtitle?
Up to 30 minutes of each file, and 3 files a day, free and without an account. A longer file gets subtitles up to that point.
Will the subtitles show who is talking?
No. The generator writes only the words spoken. If two people talk in your clip, add their names by hand in your editor, or use NoteOwl on a Mac, which saves SRT files with each speaker’s name.
Does my video get uploaded to make the subtitles?
No. The video stays on your phone or computer. Only its sound is sent, in short pieces, to a cloud AI transcription service that transcribes each piece and then discards it. The subtitles are put together in the page, and nothing is kept.
Keep exploring
More subtitle generator tools
- Subtitle generatorA free AI subtitle generator: drop in a video or recording and download SRT or VTT subtitles timed to the speech, two short lines per cue; only the sound is sent, nothing is stored
- Subtitles for Instagram ReelsInstagram takes no subtitle files: make short-line subtitles here and put them in the Reel before you post, or use Instagram’s captions
- Subtitles for VimeoMake a WebVTT or SRT file and upload it to a Vimeo video under Languages
- Subtitles for LinkedInMake an SRT and attach it as the caption file when you post a video on LinkedIn from a computer
- Subtitles for FacebookMake an SRT already named the way Facebook requires (video.en_US.srt) and upload it to a video or Reel
Subtitles for every long recording, made on your Mac
Free to download. Runs entirely on your Mac.
macOS 26 or later · Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) · 16 GB memory minimum, 24 GB recommended
About NoteOwl
NoteOwl is private AI meeting notes and memory for the Mac. It captures meetings without a bot joining the call, labels every speaker, writes summaries and action items, and builds a memory of every conversation that you can chat with — fully offline, because the speech recognition and the AI run on the Mac itself. Dictation into any app is free; Pro is a one-time purchase.
NoteOwl pricing: what’s free and what Pro adds
Last updated