Generate Closed Captions for Any Video
Closed captions are a separate file, not text burned into the picture, so a viewer can turn them on or off and a platform can display them in the viewer’s own language. Upload a video and ScreenApp transcribes the audio, times each line to the moment it’s spoken, and hands you that file.
You get the caption file, not a captioned copy of the video. Add the SRT or VTT to your upload on YouTube, load it into your editor, or use it on any platform that reads caption files. Captions are an accessibility feature, so readability matters as much as wording, and reading speed is the part most people never measure. The subtitle quality checker reports characters per second for every cue, alongside line length and any overlapping timings.
What you get:
- A timed transcript, in 100+ languages
- Export as PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT
- transcript and caption translation, for a caption track in a second language
- Speaker labels when more than one person talks
- Free plan: 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each
How to Generate Closed Captions
- Upload a video or paste a link: drag in an MP4, MOV, AVI, WebM or similar file, or paste a video URL.
- Let the AI transcribe it: ScreenApp processes the audio track and times each line to the moment it’s spoken, with no manual typing.
- Download the caption file: export as SRT or VTT and attach it to your video on YouTube, in your editor, or on the platform you publish to.
Accuracy depends on the audio. Clear, single-speaker narration transcribes best; overlapping speech or heavy background noise leaves more for you to review and fix. See how we measure accuracy.
Captions and Subtitles Are Not the Same Thing
The two words get used as if they mean one thing, and for accessibility they do not.
Subtitles assume you can hear the audio and just need the words, which is why a subtitle track for a foreign film carries dialogue and nothing else. Closed captions assume you cannot hear it. That means they carry everything a hearing viewer gets from the soundtrack, not only the speech.
In practice that is three additions. Who is speaking, when it is not obvious from the picture. Non-speech sound that carries meaning, like a door slamming, a phone ringing or laughter offscreen. And a note when music is doing narrative work rather than sitting underneath it.
A transcription tool, this one included, gives you the spoken words with timings and speaker labels. It does not hear a doorbell and decide that it matters to the plot, because that is a judgment about the content. So for a video where sound carries meaning, the generated file is a strong first draft rather than a finished caption track, and the additions are a short editing pass afterward.
For a talking head, a lecture or a meeting recording, there is usually nothing to add and the generated captions are the whole job.
What Makes Captions Actually Accessible
Having captions and having usable captions are different states, and compliance checklists only test the first one.
Accessibility standards ask for captions to be present, accurate and synchronized. WCAG covers prerecorded video at Level A and live audio at AA, and Section 508 points at WCAG for the same requirement. None of them sets a reading speed or a line length, so a file can be fully present, roughly synchronized and still move faster than anyone can read.
That is the failure worth guarding against, because it passes every audit. Once you have the file, the subtitle quality checker measures the readability side: reading speed per cue, line length, cue duration and overlapping timings. It runs in the browser and takes a few seconds, which is less time than arguing about whether captions count.
Closed Caption Generator vs Other Apps
| Feature | ScreenApp | Veed | Kapwing | HappyScribe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 2 transcriptions, up to 45 min each | Not stated | Up to 4 min, 2 GB file size | 10-minute trial |
| Caption export formats | PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT | SRT, VTT and TXT (paid plans) | SRT, VTT, or TXT | .SRT, .VTT, .STL |
| Languages | 100+ | Not stated | Not stated | 60+ |
| Paid plan | $19/month annual | Not stated | $16/month annual | $8.50/month annual |
Sources, checked 2026-09-29: ScreenApp supported languages, ScreenApp pricing, kapwing.com/pricing, Happy Scribe pricing, veed.io/tools/add-subtitles, kapwing.com/subtitles/audio, happyscribe.com/tools/add-subtitles-to-video
- vs Veed: Veed translates captions into 125+ languages and its caption downloads are SRT, VTT and TXT (paid plans). ScreenApp transcribes in 100+ languages and adds transcript and caption translation for a second track.
- vs Kapwing: Kapwing’s free plan caps video length at 4 minutes and uploads at 2 GB, with Pro at $16 a month billed annually. ScreenApp’s free plan covers 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each and exports PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT.
- vs HappyScribe: HappyScribe’s free plan is a 10-minute trial, and its Basic plan starts at $8.50 a month billed annually. ScreenApp’s paid plan is $19 a month billed annually.
Who Uses a Closed Caption Generator
Content creators upload a video once and get a caption file ready to attach on YouTube or another platform that reads SRT and VTT, without typing a caption by hand.
Educators turn a recorded lecture or webinar into a timed transcript automatically, then attach the file so students who are deaf, hard of hearing, or watching without sound can follow along.
Businesses run product demos and training videos through the generator so viewers with the sound off still get the message, then attach the caption file when they publish.
Podcasters publishing video episodes get a caption file generated automatically from the recording instead of typing captions by hand for each episode.
International teams transcribe a video and use caption translation to produce a caption track for a different market without re-recording anything.
Filmmakers generate a first-pass caption file for dialogue in a short film or documentary, then review it before publishing.
