Caption any video, free forever
CaptionFree is a free online auto captions generator that transcribes your video’s speech and burns in TikTok-style captions, or exports SRT and VTT subtitle files. Unlimited videos and caption minutes, no signup, no watermark, all in your browser.
Upload a video, auto-transcribe its speech, fix the timing, then export an .srt file or burn styled captions into the video TikTok/Reels style. Kapwing and VEED watermark free exports and cap your minutes - here everything is unlimited and your video never uploads anywhere.
Key takeaways
- Auto-transcribes video speech using your browser’s built-in speech recognition.
- Export SRT or VTT sidecar files, or burn styled captions directly into the video.
- Unlimited videos and caption minutes; competitors cap minutes or watermark exports.
- Your video never leaves your device; best accuracy in Chrome and Edge.
1. Upload your video
2. Transcribe
How auto-captions work: your browser's speech recognition listens through your microphone while the video plays - so play the video aloud (speakers on) in a quiet room. Best in Chrome or Edge. It's not perfect: accents, music and overlapping speech reduce accuracy, which is why every caption is editable below.
Interim transcription appears here while listening…
3. Add / edit captions
4. Export
Burn captions into video
First burn downloads a ~24MB video engine + font (cached afterwards). Encoding runs on your device - long videos take a few minutes. Output is MP4 with your original audio untouched.
How does automatic captioning work here?
Upload a video and the tool listens through your microphone using your browser’s built-in speech recognition, turning speech into timed caption lines. You can edit the text and fix the timing, then export an SRT or VTT file, or burn TikTok-style captions permanently into the video.
Accuracy is good for clear speech in a quiet room and weaker with accents, background music or overlapping voices, so a quick proofread pass is worth it. Chrome and Edge have the best speech-recognition support.
Should I export SRT or burn captions into the video?
Export an SRT or VTT file when your player or platform supports toggleable subtitles, since viewers can switch them on or off. Burn captions directly into the video when they must always be visible, for example TikTok or Reels uploads, where sidecar subtitle files are ignored.
An SRT or VTT file is a separate sidecar file that players can toggle. Burn-in permanently draws the styled text onto the video frames, so it shows everywhere the video plays.
How do I add captions to a video?
- Upload your video into the tool.
- Run auto-transcription to generate timed caption lines.
- Edit the text and adjust the timing where needed.
- Export an SRT or VTT file, or burn the styled captions into the video.
Frequently asked questions
Is it really free and unlimited?
Yes - unlimited videos, unlimited caption minutes, no account, no watermark. Competitors like Kapwing (10 min/month) and VEED (~30 min/month) cap free auto-subtitling and watermark exports. Everything here runs in your browser.
How does auto-transcription work, exactly?
It uses your browser's built-in speech recognition, which listens through your microphone. Play the video aloud (speakers on) in a quiet room while it listens. This is a browser limitation - web pages can't read a video file's audio track directly for speech recognition.
Which browsers support auto-captions?
Chrome and Edge have the best support. Firefox and Safari have limited or no speech-recognition support - if auto-captions don't start, use the manual "add caption" form instead; it's always available.
How accurate is the transcription?
Good for clear speech in a quiet room; worse with accents, background music, or overlapping voices. Treat it as a fast first draft - every caption's text and timing is editable before you export or burn.
What's the difference between SRT export and burn-in?
An SRT/VTT file is a separate sidecar file players can toggle on/off. Burn-in permanently draws the styled captions onto the video frames - best for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts where you want captions always visible.
Do you upload or store my video?
No. Your video never leaves your device - transcription, editing, and burning all happen locally in your browser.