How to add captions in CapCut without CapCut Pro

CapCut's Auto captions ask for Pro on many accounts now. You can still get captions into a CapCut project without paying for Pro, two ways: import an SRT onto a caption track, or open a CapCut project that already has the captions in it. Both start from captions made outside CapCut. Captions makes them from your video's speech, on your computer. The guide to what changed with CapCut Pro has the reported prices.

Speech recognition makes mistakes. Check names and spellings before you post.

The free way: import an SRT

1. Open Captions and drop the video you're editing. Fix names and spellings in the list of captions.
2. Download the SRT. Caption files are free, with no sign-in.
3. In CapCut desktop, open your project and choose Captions > Add captions > Import file, then pick the .srt. CapCut's help page on importing subtitles shows the same steps. The phone app can't import caption files, so use the desktop app or CapCut on the web.
4. The captions land on their own track in CapCut's default style. Select them and pick a style in the Text panel.

If your copy of CapCut asks for Pro at any of these steps, use the project way below. It doesn't go through CapCut's caption tools at all.

The project way: a CapCut project with the captions in it

This one keeps the look you picked, and CapCut has nothing to import.

1. On Captions, drop the video, pick a look and fix the words.
2. Download CapCut. Project files come with a paid video: $5, or one of the videos a Pro or Studio plan includes. You get a project folder with your video inside it.
3. Quit CapCut.
4. Move the project folder into CapCut's projects folder. On a Mac that's ~/Movies/CapCut/User Data/Projects/com.lveditor.draft. On Windows it's %LOCALAPPDATA%\CapCut\User Data\Projects\com.lveditor.draft. The guide to where CapCut saves projects helps if you've moved yours.
5. Open CapCut. The project is on the home screen.

What you'll see in CapCut

Take a 45-second vertical video at 1080×1920, captioned with the Box look at one line a caption:

• The video is on the main track, already linked. It's inside the project folder, so CapCut doesn't open its Link media window.
• Above it is one caption track with about 22 captions, white on a black box, low on the frame, each on the frames where it's spoken.
• They're CapCut captions, with the caption icon on the track, not text layers. Click one to change its words or its style.

What comes across, and what doesn't

• Colour, size, position, outline and box come across, so the captions look like the preview.
• The font doesn't. CapCut shows the captions in its own font, and you can pick another in the Text panel.
• The spoken-word highlight of the Bold and Pop looks is drawn into the burned-in MP4 only. In the project each caption is one caption.
• The project folder is for CapCut desktop on a Mac or a Windows PC.

A captioned video isn't a CapCut project conversion

They're different jobs. A captioned video ($5) is new captions for one video you made, and its CapCut project is a fresh one with the video and the captions in it. A CapCut project conversion ($9) moves an edit you've already built, with all its clips, into or out of CapCut. One doesn't cover the other, so you never pay twice for the same thing.

FAQ

Can I use CapCut auto captions for free? It depends on your account, device and region. Descript's blog says CapCut moved auto captions to Pro, and other guides still describe a limited free allowance. If CapCut asks for Pro when you click Auto captions, import an SRT instead.

How do I import an SRT into CapCut? In CapCut desktop, choose Captions > Add captions > Import file and pick the .srt. The captions land on their own track. The phone app can't import caption files.

Does the CapCut project need Link media? No. The video is inside the project folder, so the project opens with the video in place.

Do the captions keep their style in CapCut? Colour, size, position, outline and box come across, and the captions stay CapCut captions you can edit. CapCut shows them in its own font, and the spoken-word highlight is only in the burned-in MP4.

Why does a captioned video cost less than a CapCut project conversion? They're different jobs. A captioned video ($5) is new captions for one video you made, and its CapCut project is a fresh one with the video and the captions in it. A CapCut project conversion ($9) moves an edit you've already built, with all its clips, into or out of CapCut. One doesn't cover the other, so you never pay twice for the same thing.

How much does it cost? Free: the captioned MP4 up to 3 minutes with a small cutconvert.com mark in the corner, plus the SRT and VTT. One captioned video costs $5: any length, no mark, and the captions as editable text in CapCut, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro. Pro includes 10 captioned videos a month and Studio 40.