How to add subtitles to a video on Android
Updated
The short answer: either you type them yourself, line by line, in a video editor on your phone, or you let an app generate them and you just check them. The first option works for a thirty-second video; for anything longer, the second one saves you hours. In this guide you’ll see both, how many words to show at once, where to place them and the mistakes that stand out most. If you want to try the second one with your own videos, see how ClipMix’s auto captions work.
Why captions are worth it
A big share of people watch short videos with the phone on silent: on the bus, in a waiting room, in the middle of the night. Without text on screen, someone talking to camera gets nothing across and the thumb swipes to the next video. With text, the message lands anyway. Captions also help people who are hard of hearing, people who aren’t fluent in your language and people who simply take things in better by reading.
Option 1: type them by hand in an editor
Almost every video editor for Android lets you add text layers over the image. The process is always similar:
- Put the playhead where a sentence starts.
- Add a text box and type what’s being said.
- Set when it appears and when it disappears.
- Repeat with the next sentence.
The upside: total control over every word, the font and the position. The downside: one minute of video can take twenty or thirty text boxes, each with its own start and end. For a half-hour interview, it’s just not doable.
Option 2: generate them and check them
Other apps recognize what’s being said and create the synced text for you. Your job becomes proofreading: read, tap the wrong word and type it correctly. Before you pick one, check three things:
- That you can fix it word by word, not just delete and redo the whole sentence.
- That the captions are burned into the image when you export, so they look the same on every platform without uploading a separate file.
- That it works in your language and, if you record in more than one, that you don’t have to set it by hand every time.
How many words to show on screen
There’s no single number, but there is a rule: the faster the video, the fewer words at once.
| Video pace | Words at once | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Short, punchy sentences | 1 | The text jumps with the voice and holds attention |
| Normal conversation | 3 | Readable at a glance without losing the thread |
| Slow explanation | 5 | More context fits and it’s easier on the eyes |
If in doubt, start with three. It works best for most clips and it’s the easiest to read on a small screen.
Highlight the word being spoken
A very popular style in short videos marks the word being said at each instant in another color, like karaoke. It helps people follow the rhythm and, in a conversation between several people, notice when the speaker changes. Pick a color that contrasts with the video’s background: a bright green or yellow on white letters reads well almost every time.
Where to place the text
In vertical, each platform’s interface covers part of the screen: the account name at the top, the description at the bottom, the buttons on the right. Captions have to stay out of those areas and, at the same time, not cover your face. The most common spot is the lower part of the frame, below the face and above the description. You’ll find the measurements Meta recommends in the guide to the TikTok and Reels safe zone.
Size, font and contrast
- Bold, plain lettering. Thin or script fonts disappear on a six-inch screen.
- Outline or shadow. A dark border around white letters separates them from any background, even a white T-shirt.
- No paragraphs. If a line doesn’t fit across the screen, it’s too many words.
What fails most when you check
Names, brands, acronyms and technical terms are the words any automatic system recognizes worst, and the ones that stand out most when they’re wrong. Before exporting, do one pass looking only for those words. Other things worth checking:
- numbers written two different ways in the same video;
- filler words that add nothing (“um,” “you know”) and that you can remove from the text;
- words split across two lines in a way that changes the meaning of the sentence.
Step by step with ClipMix on Android
- Pick the video from your phone’s gallery. ClipMix detects the language on its own if you speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German or Italian.
- Review the clips it suggests. Each one already comes with captions synced word by word.
- Choose the style: the Classic or Karaoke template, one, three or five words at once and the color of the active word.
- Fix whatever you need by tapping the word in the editor. It works offline.
- Export. The captions are burned into the image and the clip is saved to your gallery.
If you also need to turn the video from horizontal to vertical, the guide on making a video vertical on Android explains how to leave room for the text without cutting anyone out.
In short
- Typing them by hand works for very short videos; for everything else, generate and check.
- Three words at once is the most comfortable starting point.
- Keep the text clear of each platform’s interface and off the face.
- Check names, brands and acronyms before exporting.