30-second answer: In Edits, open your project, add captions from the text or captions tool, generate or type the words, then style them for readability and check that each line appears exactly when it is spoken. Keep captions short, high-contrast, and clear of the edges, then preview the whole video with the sound off before you export.
On this page
- Add captions to a project
- Style captions for readability
- Sync captions to speech
- Fix common caption errors
- Captions for silent viewing
- Export and check captions
- Using this in a desktop workflow
Captions do more than repeat what is said. They let people watch in a noisy room, on a muted feed, or with hearing loss, and they rescue a video when the audio is imperfect. A viewer who can follow the words is far more likely to watch to the end, even if the first seconds are watched silently. That makes captions one of the highest-value edits you can make, and one of the easiest to get wrong when lines are too long, too fast, or hard to read.
Edits is a phone app, so all of the steps below happen on your phone, on the timeline, with your finger. The desktop notes at the end are about reviewing and planning, not about editing in a desktop program — there is no desktop version of Edits to switch to. Work in short passes: add the words first, style them second, sync them third, and check them last. Trying to perfect style before the words are right only means redoing the styling later.
Step 1: Add captions to a project
Open your project in Edits and make sure your main clips are already in rough order on the timeline. Captioning a clip that you later delete or move means re-timing everything, so get the structure right first. Then open the text or captions tool, depending on how your version of Edits labels it, and choose the caption option for the clip or project you want to caption.
If Edits offers automatic captions, generate them and treat the result as a draft, not a finished product. Automatic transcription is fast, but it mishears names, numbers, and uncommon words, and it can miss short phrases entirely. If you are typing captions manually, type what was actually said, in short lines, rather than summarising. Viewers trust captions that match the speech, and a paraphrase that changes meaning can confuse more than it helps.
Step 2: Style captions for readability
Readability beats decoration. Choose a clean, bold typeface, a size large enough to read on a small phone screen, and a colour that contrasts strongly with the footage behind it. White text on a dark, semi-transparent background works in most situations, because footage changes colour constantly and a plain colour alone can disappear against a bright scene. Test your style against both a dark clip and a bright clip before you apply it everywhere.
Keep each caption to one or two short lines, and avoid filling the full width of the screen. Long lines force the eye to travel too far, and they crowd the picture. Place captions in a consistent position, usually near the bottom but clear of platform buttons and overlays, and keep the same style throughout the video. A caption style that changes every few seconds looks accidental, even if each individual style looks good on its own.
Step 3: Sync captions to speech
Syncing is where captions succeed or fail. Play the video and watch the moment each word is spoken, not the moment you expect it. A caption that appears a beat early feels pushy; one that appears a beat late feels like a lagging subtitle. Drag the caption block on the timeline so its start matches the first spoken word, and its end matches the pause after the sentence, not the start of the next sentence.
Split long sentences into shorter caption blocks at natural pauses, such as commas, breaths, or a change of thought. A single block that stays on screen for six seconds while three sentences are spoken is hard to follow, even if the text is accurate. Aim for blocks a viewer can read comfortably in the time they are shown, and leave a tiny gap between blocks so the eye registers the change. Then play the section again at normal speed — slow scrubbing hides timing problems that normal playback reveals.
Step 4: Fix common caption errors
Start with the errors that change meaning: wrong names, wrong numbers, and words that sound similar but mean something different. Read every caption against the audio, not against what you think you said, because you will otherwise read your intention instead of the text. Pay special attention to the first and last words of each block, where automatic transcription most often drops or invents a word.
Next, fix punctuation and capitalisation, because they carry meaning in short text. A missing question mark turns a question into a statement, and a missing comma can join two ideas that should stay separate. Finally, check for duplicated words, missing words, and lines that repeat the previous block. These small errors are easy to miss on a phone screen, which is why the final check in this guide matters so much.
Step 5: Use captions for silent viewing
Assume a large share of viewers will start your video muted. That means the opening captions carry extra weight: the first line should make sense on its own and give a reason to keep watching or turn the sound on. Avoid opening with a caption that only makes sense after hearing music or a sound effect, and avoid a long silent introduction with no text at all.
Captions also help viewers who watch with sound but in a noisy place, or who are skimming quickly. Use them to reinforce key points, not to repeat every filler word. If a speaker says “um” or repeats a word while thinking, you can usually clean that out of the caption without changing the meaning, as long as you do not change the sense of what was said. The goal is a readable transcript of the message, not a forensic record of every hesitation.
Step 6: Export and check captions
Before exporting, watch the full video once from start to finish, with the sound off, and read only the captions. Ask whether the story makes sense from the text alone. Then watch it once with the sound on, and check that no caption lags, overlaps the next speaker, or stays on screen after the speech has moved on. Fix anything you find now, because fixing it after export means exporting again.
Export using the settings in our export settings tutorial, and then check the exported file itself, not just the in-app preview. Play the exported video on your phone, at full size, and confirm the captions are burned in or carried as you expected, and that they are not cut off at the edges. A preview can hide an edge-cropping problem that the final file reveals.
Common caption mistakes to avoid
The most common mistake is captioning too much text at once. A wall of words on screen makes viewers stop reading, which defeats the purpose. The second is styling for a still image rather than for moving video: a fancy font or a thin weight that looks elegant in a screenshot can be unreadable over busy footage. The third is forgetting to check captions after a late edit — if you trim a clip, move a scene, or re-record a line, the captions around that edit need re-checking, even if you did not touch the caption tool.
Another mistake is placing captions where platform overlays will cover them. Keep captions clear of the bottom and side areas where buttons, usernames, and descriptions appear after posting, and test by imagining the posted frame, not just the clean edit frame. Finally, do not rely on captions to rescue inaudible audio. If speech is badly muffled, captions help, but re-recording a clean line — see our voiceover tutorial — is usually the better fix.
Using this in a desktop workflow
Captions are one skill where a desktop setup genuinely helps, even though the editing stays in Edits on your phone. Draft the caption text on your computer first, where a full keyboard makes typing and proofreading faster, then copy the wording into Edits in short blocks. After exporting, review the video on a larger screen: caption errors, timing slips, and edge-cropping are all easier to spot at desktop size than on a phone.
Keep a simple caption checklist on your computer for repeat projects: style, position, first-line hook, name and number check, silent playback check, and exported-file check. Reusing the same checklist keeps your captions consistent across videos, and consistency is what makes a channel look professional. If you edit on an emulator, the caption steps are identical — you are still using the phone app, just on a larger display.
Frequently asked questions
Should captions match speech word for word?
As closely as possible, yes, especially for names, numbers, and key claims. Light cleanup of fillers is fine, but do not change the meaning of what was said.
How long should each caption stay on screen?
Long enough to read comfortably at normal speed. Split long sentences at natural pauses rather than leaving one block up for many seconds.
What caption style is most readable?
A bold, clean typeface in a high-contrast colour, usually white on a dark semi-transparent background, kept to one or two short lines in a consistent position.
Do captions help if viewers watch with sound on?
Yes. They help in noisy places, for viewers skimming quickly, and for anyone who misses a word. They also reinforce key points.
Why do my captions look fine in preview but wrong after export?
Check the exported file itself. Edge cropping, platform overlays, and export settings can change how captions appear compared with the in-app preview.
What should I do if automatic captions mishear a word?
Edit that block manually, and check neighbouring blocks too. Automatic transcription often makes the same mistake more than once in a project.
Next: Trim and Split Clips in Edits →
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