Best Captioning Apps for Reels & TikToks

We all know that inclusivity and accessibility are important online. Adding captions to your Reels and TikToks is a great way to join in the movement towards making social media a place where everyone is welcome. Here are five programs that will automatically transcribe your videos and add captions to them.

This article has been updated and republished as of April 2025 to reflect new tools, updated features, and the latest best practices for creators.

1. Submagic

Submagic is a favorite among short-form creators. Upload your video, and Submagic adds animated captions in the exact style that’s popping off on TikTok and Reels — think bold words, emoji highlights, and color pop transitions. It's 100% designed for speed and virality, with AI that even suggests hashtags and headlines based on your audio.

2. CapCut

CapCut (yes, the one by TikTok’s parent company) has evolved into a full creative suite. Their auto-captions tool is built directly into the mobile app, letting you style subtitles with trending fonts and kinetic text effects. Bonus: tons of TikTok templates already incorporate caption layers, making it ridiculously easy to post high-quality right from your phone.

2. Kapwing

Kapwing is a powerhouse for creators who need more than just captions. Its smart AI can transcribe your videos instantly, allowing you to style, edit, and brand your subtitles with custom fonts and colors. Bonus: it's fully online, so teams can collaborate on projects without the endless download-and-upload cycle. Need to repurpose a YouTube clip into a TikTok? Kapwing can do that too — captions included.

4. Edits

Edits is Instagram’s brand-new standalone video editor — and it’s making a play for creators who would usually turn to apps like CapCut. One standout feature? Automatic captioning. When you record or upload inside Edits, the app detects spoken audio and generates stylish captions you can tweak. It’s fast, seamless, and perfectly tuned to Instagram’s visual trends. Plus, you can apply effects, cuts, and music — all without leaving the app.

5. Descript

Descript is basically an AI-driven editing studio in your browser. Upload a video, and Descript turns your audio into editable text — meaning you can cut parts of your video by literally deleting words in a transcript. It auto-generates captions with broadcast-level accuracy and lets you customize everything from font animations to on-screen timing. If you create long-form content and need bite-sized captioned clips, Descript is gold.

If you’re serious about growing on Instagram or TikTok, smart captions aren’t optional anymore — they’re part of your storytelling toolkit. Whether you’re chasing polished edits (Descript, Kapwing), quick templates (CapCut, Edits), or the fastest path to viral, scroll-stopping captions (Submagic), there’s a tool built for your style.