Subtitling and captioning: what to know

What the job involves, what changes the price, and what to ask a pro.

What subtitling and captioning is

A subtitling and captioning specialist creates timed text for your videos, adding captions for viewers who cannot hear the audio or subtitles in other languages. The specialist delivers files that work on the platform where the video will be published.

Signs you need it

  • You are publishing a video online and want viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing to follow it.
  • You have a video in one language and want to reach viewers who speak another language.
  • Your video has a lot of background noise or specialist terms, and viewers struggle to follow the speech.
  • You need caption files that match a platform's format for upload.
  • A video you are publishing has been asked to include captions by a school, employer or client.
  • You have a video that is already subtitled, and the timing or the wording needs correction.

What the pro does

  • Confirms the video, the languages needed, the platform and the format the files must follow.
  • Transcribes the speech with speaker labels or sound notes where the captions need them.
  • Times each line of text to the speech, keeping lines short enough to read on screen.
  • Translates the text into the other languages, if subtitles are needed, and checks the wording against the picture.
  • Delivers the caption or subtitle files, and checks each one plays correctly on the platform.

What changes the price

Every job is different, so we do not publish prices. These are the things that move the quote up or down.

  • Length of the video and the amount of speech in it.
  • Number of languages needed for subtitles.
  • Audio quality, and whether there is music, accents or overlapping speakers.
  • Whether sound notes, such as laughter or music cues, are included.
  • Technical or specialist terms that need checking.
  • Number of files and formats required by the platform.
  • Turnaround time for the publishing date.

What a written quote should spell out

  • The video length and the languages covered.
  • The file formats delivered, and which platform they are for.
  • Whether sound notes and speaker labels are included.
  • How the timing is checked against the picture.
  • The turnaround date and the number of revision rounds.

Questions to ask before you hire

  • Which platform will the captions go on, and what file format does it need?
  • Will you include sound notes, such as music or laughter, or only the speech?
  • How do you time the captions, and will you check them on the video itself?
  • Can you translate the subtitles, and who checks the translated wording?
  • How do you handle names and terms that the video uses?
  • Can you show a sample of captions you timed for a video like mine?

Red flags

  • Returns files that have never been played on the video or the platform.
  • Uses machine captions with no human check and presents them as finished.
  • Lines of text so long that viewers cannot read them in time.
  • Cannot name the file formats it delivers or the platforms it works with.
  • Promises that captions will meet a specific standard without knowing the requirement.

What you can do yourself

You can use a free or built-in automatic caption tool for a first draft, then play the video and correct the wording and timing yourself. Hire a captioning specialist when the video is long, when captions must be accurate for accessibility or a formal requirement, or when you need subtitles in another language that a person must check.

Licenses and permits

Captioning and subtitling are not commonly licensed, so a license is usually not required for this work. Check with your state or local licensing agency about business rules that apply to you, and ask the specialist for a sample caption file and video clip as proof of skill.

Subtitling and captioning questions

What is the difference between captions and subtitles?

Captions show the speech and important sounds in the same language, for viewers who cannot hear the audio. Subtitles translate the speech into another language for viewers who understand that language but not the one spoken.

Do the captions need to match the platform?

Yes. Each platform accepts certain file formats and timing rules, so the specialist should confirm the format before timing begins. Ask for a test upload if you can.

Can captions be generated automatically?

Automatic tools can make a first draft quickly, but they often make errors with names, terms and overlapping speech. A person should review the captions against the video before publishing.

Pro reviewers

Pros who offer subtitling and captioning remotely can improve this guide, like Wikipedia. We check every edit before it goes live. Every approved edit is credited in the edit history and on the pro's profile.

Edit history

How guide reviews work

How it works

  1. 1. Describe the job

    Pick the service, add your ZIP and a sentence about what is going on.

  2. 2. Pick the pros you want

    See pros who serve your ZIP and choose who you want to hear from.

  3. 3. They reach out

    They contact you the way you chose: phone, email or in-app messages.

More writing, editing and translation guides

Find a pro near you

Find a pro

About this guide

Request subtitling and captioning