How to Add Captions on TikTok: A Beginner’s Guide

how to add captions on tiktok

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If you are a beginner on TikTok, the variety of its features may confuse you and even scare you because it seems like there are so many possibilities.

TikTok captions are one of those features, and the question of how to add captions on TikTok is a problem for many.

However, they are a fantastic feature, so everyone should know how to use them to their advantage.

Therefore, we decided to make things a bit easier for you and help you learn how to add captions to your TikTok account with just a few steps and set yourself up for success.

5 Biggest Reasons You Should Add Captions to your TikTok

There are numerous reasons why you should use this useful feature, and here are a few:

  1. If you’re not a native speaker and speak with an accent, captions will be there to make sure your viewers can understand you well
  2. If you speak a different language (French, Italian, etc.) but want people who don’t speak those languages to be able to understand you, you can add captions
  3. Similarly, your viewers might understand the language you speak, but they are not native speakers and so need a little support in the form of subtitles.
  4. There are times when you can’t turn on the sound, and if your viewers are in one of those situations, captions will help them understand your video
  5. Captions will make sure that people with hearing impairments can enjoy your content without any obstacles

songs for tiktok

What Types Of TikTok Captions Are There?

There are 2 types of TikTok captions you can use on your account: 

  • Closed captions
  • Subtitles

This is how both of these features work and when you are supposed to use them.

Closed captions

@ryanhdlombard

When parents say this… | Now with Closed Captions. #fyp #relate #dad #parents #backinmyday

♬ original sound – Ryan Lombard

Closed captions are mainly used when the audio quality is poor or if the creator has an accent and wants to ensure everyone who see their videos will understand them well.

You will see that someone has added closed captions when there is a CC sign in the lower left corner, and you will be able to turn them on and off whenever you like.

This also makes your video more accessible to people with hearing impediments or to those who don’t have the option to turn on the sound at the moment of listening to your video.

Subtitles

On the other hand, subtitles are mainly used by TikTok creators who speak another language and want people worldwide to understand them. So they add subtitles in English (or another language, as the example above shows).

Subtitles usually can’t be turned off, and the creator manually adds them to the video.

These are the types of TikTok captions you can add to your video, and we will help you learn how to do it successfully.

Some of the best TikTokers use them all the time, and if you plan on becoming a content creator on this platform, this is one of the TikTok features you must use.

tiktok sound effects

How to Add Captions on TikTok App

Plenty of features have appeared on TikTok during the past 2 years, but it seems like nothing caught users’ attention like the closed captions.

Captioning TikToks yourself is pretty easy, and you will only need to make a few simple clicks to create the perfect videos.

This is how to add captions on the TikTok app quickly:

  • Upload a video or record a new one.
  • Click on the green checkbox in the lower right corner to confirm this is the video you want to publish.
  • Choose the “Text” button at the bottom of the screen – you add it the same way as you would add TikTok hashtags in your description box.
  • Choose your preferred text color, font, and alignment.
  • Move the text box where you want the users to see it on the video.
  • Choose the timing when the text appears in the video by clicking the clock button.
  • Adjust the timeline with your text box.
  • Click on “Play” to preview.
  • When everything looks fine, click “Done” and make the video ready to publish.

While this is a good way to add captions to your TikTok videos, it may not be the best, and there are pros and cons.

Pros

  • Everything is done through the Real Captions app for TikTok, and you have all the available options.
  • The video quality will stay the same all the time.

Cons

  • Has many bugs.
  • It can’t sync with the timeline perfectly every time.

Pros and cons of adding captions through 3rd Party apps

How to caption TikToks on the official app is quite time-consuming, especially if you want everything to look perfect and well-adjusted. For that reason, plenty of third-party apps you can download to the mobile phone will make the process of adding captions to TikTok straightforward.

These are some of the pros and cons of these apps, so you can decide which option is better for you.

Pros

  • Automatic transcribing is the main reason why people choose these apps because it works fast and is accurate
  • You can use the app through TikTok, so you don’t have to constantly switch between apps.
  • It’s very easy to learn how to edit TikTok videos through these apps. 
  • Editing the misspelled parts is very easy; all you need to do is rewrite the wrong parts.

Cons

  • There are no customization options, so if you want to add something interesting to your text or choose another font, you will need to do it through TikTok.
  • The video quality created and saved through this app can be bad.
  • Most of these apps are not free to use.

Best Captions App for TikTok

As you can see, these apps have some good and bad sides, and we have decided to list some of the best captions apps for TikTok.

InShot

InShot is probably the most popular captions app for TikTok editing. If you are struggling with learning how to add captions to TikTok, you will easily do it through it for free. It also preserves video quality, so you don’t need to worry about blur.

CapCut

This video editor is made mainly for editing TikTok videos. It has most of the features available on the platform, so you can do everything much faster but still feel like you are on TikTok.

Splice

Splice is a fantastic editing app that allows you to do pretty much anything with your video and still keep the highest quality of it. Mastering how to caption TikToks is easy with this app’s features. It will enable you to experiment until you create the desired video.

Some of the best TikTokers use these apps to create original content and make money on TikTok, so you should try them if you want a successful experience.

It can also be used for adding captions to TikTok live and any other TikTok format.

Creative Ideas for Captions

Most people indeed use captions to sum up their video or write down everything mentioned in the video. However, some prefer to use it to catch people’s attention and often add captions that don’t have much to do with the video but are just fascinating.

If you want to go viral on the For You Page and attract millions of people to your account, here are some TikTokers giving you TikTok captions ideas:

 

 

If you want to go viral on the For You Page and attract millions of people to your account, then these are some of the captions you could use, depending on the type of your video.

  • Dance till you drop.
  • So, do you want to learn how to make a TikTok?
  • On my way to your #FYP.
  • Assignment understood.
  • How much time till I become a TikTok star?
  • This is like, hard?
  • The party starts when I TikTok.
  • Not the best – but learning every day.
  • A bit of craziness keeps life interesting.
  • Not sure what I was supposed to do here…
  • I’m not crazy, just authentic.

Wrap Up

As you can see, learning how to add captions on TikTok brings a lot to your video, and sometimes they can make or break it, especially if you are trying to go viral.

With our guides and hacks, you can add the perfect captions and make your video visible to millions of users.

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About Stefan Mitrovic

Stefan Mitrovic is a tech geek and one of the founders of streammentor.com. He's been trying to teach people how to stream, become popular and make a living out of it for a few years now. Even if one reader finds his writings useful, it's enough horsepower to make him write 2-3 guides daily.

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