How to Add Subtitles to Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts
Many viewers watch short videos with the sound off, in a queue, on a bus, or late at night with someone asleep next to them. Subtitles keep your message working for them. Here is a practical workflow that works with any editor.
First, understand the two kinds of subtitles
- Burned-in (open) captions are part of the picture. Every platform shows them identically and viewers cannot turn them off. This is what most Reels and TikToks use.
- Sidecar subtitle files (
.srtor.vtt) travel next to the video. The player draws the text, viewers can switch it on or off, and you can offer several languages. YouTube and Facebook support this.
Which one you need depends on where you post. Platforms change their menus often, so treat the platform notes below as a guide and check the current options in each app.
The workflow
Step 1: Get an accurate transcript
Upload your voiceover or video to a transcription tool. In Lafzaly, you drop in an MP4, MOV, WebM, MP3 or WAV file of up to 4 minutes and receive timestamped lines already written in Roman Urdu. Any speech-to-text tool can start this step, but the later steps matter more than the tool.
Step 2: Edit before you export
Read every line. Fix names, places, brand names and slang the recogniser may have misheard. Make repeated words consistent (see our Roman Urdu writing guide). Check that no line is too long for the screen.
Step 3: Export an SRT or VTT file
Download the .srt file (the most widely supported) or .vtt. Both are plain text; see SRT vs VTT if you want to know the difference. Always keep the file encoded as UTF-8 so letters display correctly.
Step 4: Put the subtitles on the video
Platform by platform
| Platform | What works |
|---|---|
| YouTube and Shorts | Open YouTube Studio, choose the video, then Subtitles, add a language, and upload a file (SRT and VTT are accepted) with timing. Because Shorts are YouTube videos, the same workflow applies. |
| Facebook's video tools let you upload an SRT file for videos you publish. The exact menu name varies between Pages, Business Suite and the app, so look for a subtitles or captions section on the video's settings. | |
| Instagram Reels | Reels does not take a sidecar file. Burn the captions into the video in an editor, or use the platform's own caption tools and check the result carefully, since automatic captions may not handle Roman Urdu or mixed Urdu-English speech well. |
| TikTok | Same approach as Reels: burn the captions in with your editor before uploading, or use TikTok's built-in captions and review them for errors. |
Burning captions in with an editor
Editors such as CapCut and Premiere Pro can import subtitle files or let you paste text line by line. In many editors you can import an SRT directly into the caption or text track, then restyle it: pick a bold, high-contrast font, a size readable on a small screen, and one highlight colour. Export the finished video and upload that version.
Lafzaly shows a live preview with animated, word-by-word caption styles so you can judge the look before you export. You can download a finished video with the captions burned in (Export captioned video) or take the SRT/VTT file to your editor. The video export renders in your browser at normal playback speed and gives an MP4 where your browser supports it, otherwise WebM.
Keep text inside the safe zone
Each app overlays buttons, usernames and descriptions on the video. In vertical video, keep captions away from the very bottom and the right edge where those controls sit, and place them in the lower-middle area of the frame instead. Preview on a real phone before you post.
Common problems and fixes
- Letters appear as boxes or question marks. The file was saved in the wrong encoding. Re-save as UTF-8.
- Subtitles drift out of sync. You trimmed or changed the speed of the video after exporting the file. Export the subtitles again from the final cut, or shift the timing in your editor.
- Lines flash too quickly. Merge very short lines, or extend their end time. See the readability guide.
- Captions hide the speaker's face or on-screen text. Move the caption block up or down for that segment.
Start with a free transcript
The free plan includes 3 minutes of video transcription per day, enough to test the whole workflow on a short clip.
Caption a video