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Placed for the Shorts player

How to add captions to YouTube Shorts

Drop in your Short and Just Captions transcribes it and lays down clean, readable subtitles — on your iPhone, in about a minute. Free, private, and kept clear of the Shorts title and action buttons.

Add captions free Try it in your browser
Processed on device Captions in ~1 minute No card to start

The short version: open Just Captions, drop in your clip, and it transcribes the speech and times subtitles to every word automatically. Pick one of 15 caption styles, then export an MP4 with the captions burned in and upload it as a Short. No timeline, no manual typing, on-device transcription available. Most clips are done in about a minute.

Step by step

Caption a Short in four taps

  1. Add your clipOpen Just Captions and drop in the Short, or pick up to 20 clips from your camera roll. Vertical 9:16 is handled natively.
  2. Let it captionThe app listens, transcribes the speech on your device, and times clean subtitles to every word. It understands 50+ languages and captions in whatever is spoken.
  3. Pick a styleChoose from 15 caption styles — White box, Yellow box, Gray box or Yellow outline — placed clear of the Shorts title row and action buttons.
  4. Export & uploadTap any line to fix a name or term, then export a burned-in MP4 and upload it to YouTube.
Reaching a global audience? Use AI Auto Translate to turn finished captions into another language with the same timing, then upload a localised Short per market.
Shorts caption specs

Where captions should sit on Shorts

The Shorts player stacks the title, channel row and action buttons over the bottom and right of the frame. Keep text in the upper-to-middle band so nothing gets covered.

What to setRecommended for Shorts
Aspect ratio9:16 vertical (1080 × 1920)
Safe zone — bottomKeep text above the bottom ~15% (title, channel, description)
Safe zone — rightStay clear of the right column (like, dislike, comment, share, remix)
Caption positionCentred, in the upper-to-middle band of the frame
Burned in vs CCBurn captions in so they show on mute — CC is toggled off by many viewers
StyleHigh-contrast fill or outline so text reads over any footage

Just Captions places presets inside this safe area and sizes them for one-glance reading, so the Shorts UI never covers your words.

Burned-in captions

  • Always visible — including on mute autoplay
  • Your style and placement, consistent every Short
  • Cross-post the same file to Reels or TikTok
  • Fix a misheard term once, fixed everywhere

YouTube's auto CC

  • Toggled off by many viewers, so often unseen
  • Unstyled — plain system subtitles
  • Tied to the upload, doesn't travel with the file
  • Corrections happen in YouTube Studio, not in-flow
FAQ

Shorts captions, answered

Does YouTube caption Shorts automatically?
YouTube can auto-generate CC subtitles that viewers toggle on or off, but they aren't styled or burned in. Adding captions with Just Captions gives you readable subtitles that are always visible — including the moment a Short autoplays on mute.
Where should captions go on a YouTube Short?
Keep them in the upper-to-middle band, clear of the bottom ~15% (title, channel and description) and the right column (like, dislike, comment, share). Just Captions places its presets inside that safe area by default.
Is it free to caption a YouTube Short?
Yes. You can caption up to three videos a day free, with a watermark and no account, and on-device recognition keeps processing local; cloud features are optional.
Can I caption several Shorts at once?
Yes — queue up to 20 clips, pick a style once, and Batch Mode works through the whole set in the background, then you can fine-tune any one before exporting.
Keep going

Captions for every feed

Captions for TikTokSafe zones and styling tuned for TikTok.Read →
Captions for Instagram ReelsSafe zones and styling tuned for Reels.Read →
Free online subtitle toolCaption a clip in your browser, no install.Try it →

Caption your next Short. That's it.

Three videos a day free, no card, on-device transcription available. Drop in a clip and watch the captions write themselves.

Download on theApp Store

Just Captions 2.6: three videos a day free, with a watermark. Choose from 15 styles: seven static styles are free; animated styles require Pro, with one free single-video Emoji export. Pro removes the watermark. On-device transcription is available after the model download. Optional cloud recognition sends audio for processing; AI editing and translation send caption text. These online features need a connection.

Compare options for your workflow: Captions app alternative, Submagic alternative, or CapCut alternative for captions.