Guide
How to get captions on TikTok
By Rakshit · Updated
There are two ways to get captions on TikTok. TikTok's own auto captions are switched on from the editing page after you upload or record: the speech is transcribed, you can edit it, and viewers can hide it. Burned-in captions are drawn into the video file, so they always show and travel to other apps. KeyMo makes the burned-in kind, in 12 styles, on its vertical clips.
Two things people mean by TikTok captions
The word captions covers three different things on TikTok. Auto captions are a TikTok feature that turns your speech into text. Burned-in captions are letters drawn into the picture by an editing or clipping tool before you upload. The caption you type under a post is a third thing again: it is the description, and it has nothing to do with what is said in the video.
| TikTok auto captions | Burned-in captions | Post caption (description) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where they come from | A TikTok option you choose while editing a video | An editor or clipping tool draws them into the video | Text you type when you post |
| Can a viewer hide them? | Yes. TikTok says viewers can show or hide auto-generated captions | No. W3C calls captions that cannot be turned off open captions | Not applicable |
| Can you fix the words? | Yes, TikTok says creators can edit the text once it is generated | Yes, in the tool that made them | Yes |
| Look and motion | Not described on the TikTok pages we read | Whatever the tool offers: font, colour, word highlight | Plain text under the video |
| Stays with the file on other apps | Not documented, so do not assume it | Yes, it is part of the picture | No |
So the first question is which one you want. If you only need the words on screen for one video you are posting on TikTok, the built-in option is the quickest route. If you want a look, or you post the same clip in several places, the burned-in kind is the one to plan for.
How to turn on TikTok auto captions
TikTok describes the feature in its launch post and on its accessibility page. Put together, the steps are:
- Upload or record the video in TikTok so that you reach the editing page.
- Choose auto captions there. TikTok says the speech is then transcribed automatically and shown on your video.
- Read the text and correct it. TikTok says creators can edit the captions after they are generated.
- Post the video. A viewer can show or hide the captions: the accessibility page says to long-press the video and tap Captions.
The launch post describes the viewer control a little differently, as the share panel and then the captions button, so the exact menu may differ between app versions. It also says the feature started in American English and Japanese with more languages to come. We did not find a current language list on the pages we read, so open the option in your own app to see what it offers.
Read the words before you post
Automatic transcription is a draft. W3C's accessibility guidance says automatically generated captions do not meet user needs or accessibility requirements unless they are confirmed to be fully accurate, and that they usually need significant editing. It gives one small example: missing a single word such as "not" can make the caption say the opposite of the audio. YouTube gives the same advice about its own automatic captions and tells creators to review and edit them.
On a podcast clip the weak spots are guest names, brand names and numbers, so check those twice. If the clip is going out with burned-in captions, fix the text before export, because you cannot hide a typo afterwards the way a viewer can hide a caption track.
When burned-in captions are the better choice
- You post the same clip to TikTok, Reels and Shorts. Burned-in captions are part of the file, so they go wherever it goes. We found no TikTok statement about what happens to its auto captions when a video is saved or reposted elsewhere.
- You want a look: a larger word, a colour on the word being spoken. That is a design choice, covered in word-by-word captions.
- You cut a dozen clips from one long video and would rather not switch captions on clip by clip.
- You want every viewer to see the words. Open captions cannot be turned off, which is also the downside: if you want viewers to choose, use TikTok's own option.
Whichever you pick, keep the text clear of the interface. TikTok's advertiser help says text and logos should sit inside the safe zone or they might be covered or cropped, and that a longer caption makes the safe zone smaller. That page is written for ads, but the idea carries over; see the TikTok safe zone page for the layout.
One more distinction: for ads, TikTok says it recommends showing 5 to 10 words per second when you use captions or text overlays. That is ad guidance, not a rule for ordinary posts.
Where KeyMo fits
KeyMo makes the burned-in kind. Paste a YouTube link (paid plans) or upload an MP4 or MOV of 5 minutes to 3 hours. It returns up to 15 vertical clips at 1080x1920, each with a score out of 10 and a one-line reason, and keeps only clips that score 7 or higher, so a weak episode returns fewer. Captions are word-by-word and come in 12 styles, or none. No clip carries a watermark on any plan.
To change a style or fix a word, open the clip in the chat editor and tell KeyMo what to change. If you are turning a podcast into TikToks, the podcast to TikTok page shows the whole flow. Starter is $12 a month for 300 source minutes and Pro is $29 for 900. There is no free plan.
If you post a single finished short and never reuse it, TikTok's built-in captions may be all you need. KeyMo earns its place when you have a long video and want many captioned clips out of it.
Sources: TikTok: Accessibility (checked 11 October 2026); TikTok Newsroom: Introducing auto captions (checked 11 October 2026); TikTok Ads Help: In-feed ads (reservation) (checked 11 October 2026); TikTok Ads Help: Creative best practices (checked 11 October 2026); W3C WAI: Captions/Subtitles (checked 11 October 2026); YouTube Help: Use automatic captioning (checked 11 October 2026).