How to add captions to YouTube Shorts
Last updated 2026-10-20
In the YouTube app, tap Captions while editing a Short to start automatic captioning, then correct the words and change the font and color. It works only in some languages and on some devices. For captions you fully control, burn them into the video before you upload. Keep them to two short lines, away from the like button and description.
Captions you can add inside YouTube
YouTube Help describes three routes. They overlap and depend on language and device, so check which one your account shows.
The app's Text tool is separate. Tap Text after recording to place words over the video and change their color, style and alignment. That suits a title or a hook, but typing every line of speech by hand is slow.
YouTube's help page on adding subtitles in Studio does not say whether caption files work for Shorts, so check that Subtitles lists your Short before you plan around uploading a caption file.
| Route | Where | What you can do | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shorts editor | YouTube app, after recording | Tap Captions to start automatic captioning. Change the font and text color, and correct words. | Only certain languages and mobile devices |
| Video clips tool | YouTube Studio, when you make a Short from a long video | Autocaptions are added from the clip's transcript. Use Captions at the bottom left of the preview to change color, font, style and position, or turn them off. | Where available |
| Automatic captions | YouTube Studio, after upload | Open Subtitles, pick the video, and use More next to the subtitles to edit or remove wrong parts. | May not be ready right after upload. Accuracy varies with accents and noise. |
When to burn captions in instead
Captions you add in a video editor are drawn into the picture, so they are open captions. They look the same on every device, and you choose the font, size, color and position. The open vs closed captions guide covers the full trade-off.
The cost is that nobody can switch them off, and nobody can fix a typo after upload. Read every line before you export.
Decision rule: use YouTube's own captions when you want viewers to control them. Burn captions in when the look is part of your style.
Make burned-in captions read on a phone
A Short is watched on a small vertical screen, with YouTube's own buttons and text on top of the picture. Plan for that before you pick a size.
- Two lines at most. Break at phrase boundaries, a few words per line. If the text will not fit at a readable size, split the caption into shorter pieces.
- Size for arm's length. Hold your phone at arm's length. If you squint, make the text bigger.
- Add contrast. White text with a dark outline or a dark box stays readable over bright footage.
- Stay out of the crowded zones. In the Shorts editor, YouTube shows visual guides while you move text. They mark where the like button, comments and description may appear, and white lines flag a non-safe edge. YouTube gives no pixel numbers, so keep captions toward the middle of the frame.
- Check on a real phone. Upload as private and watch the Short on your own phone before you make it public.
If captions are missing
YouTube lists common reasons automatic captions do not appear: processing has not finished, the language is not supported, the video is too long, the sound is poor, there is a long silence at the start, or speakers overlap or mix languages.
Burned-in captions avoid this, because they do not depend on YouTube's speech recognition. They are part of the picture.
Add captions to a Short in Woven
Woven transcribes the speech in your clips and draws the captions into the video, so the exported MP4 carries them. There is no SRT or other caption file to download. Transcription and captions use Woven credits, and audio Woven has already transcribed is free to caption again. See the pricing page for details.
Ask in chat
- Add captions in the Highlight style, two lines at most, in the middle of the frame.
- Raise the captions above YouTube's buttons at the bottom.
- Make the caption text larger and add an outline.
- Fix the spelling of my name in the captions.
Or do it by hand
- 1Set the shape. Open "Format" and choose "Vertical 1080x1920".
- 2Generate. With your clip on the timeline, open "Add" and choose "Generate captions".
- 3Style. In the Style tab for the selected caption, set "Caption style", such as "Word by word" or "Highlight". Under "Effects", add an "Outline" for contrast.
- 4Size and wrap. On the Edit tab, raise "Size", then under "Paragraph" set "Width" to "Fixed" and lower "Fixed width" so lines wrap in two. This matters for every look except "Word by word", which shows one word at a time. Drag the captions up on the canvas. Woven shows no Shorts guides, so judge the position by eye.
- 5Check and export. Press Space to play it. Fix any word by hand or ask in chat, then click "Export" and choose "1080p".
Common questions
In the YouTube app, tap Captions while editing to start automatic captioning, then correct the words. Or burn captions in with an editor before you upload.
Yes, where available. YouTube's help covers automatic captions on long-form videos and Shorts. The app's Captions option works only in certain languages and on certain mobile devices.
Yes. In YouTube Studio, open Subtitles, select the video, click More next to the subtitles and edit or remove wrong parts. In the app, tap Captions and correct the text.
Common causes are unfinished processing, an unsupported language, poor sound, a long silence at the start, or overlapping speakers. Captions may not be ready right after upload.
YouTube's Studio help on subtitle files does not say whether it works for Shorts, so check Subtitles for your Short. Woven does not export SRT. It burns captions into the MP4.
Toward the middle of the frame, away from the edges where the like button, comments and description appear. YouTube's editor shows guides while you move text.
Sources
- YouTube Help: Enhance your Shorts, iPhone and iPad, checked October 19, 2026
- YouTube Help: Video clips and Shorts in YouTube Studio, checked October 19, 2026
- YouTube Help: Use automatic captioning, checked October 19, 2026
- YouTube Help: Add subtitles & captions, checked October 19, 2026
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