How to Add Subtitles to a Video on Windows 11 and 10

Subtitles make videos easier to follow: many people watch with the sound off, and captions help viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing, who are learning the language, or who are in a noisy place. On a Windows PC you have three good ways to add them. Pick by what you need at the end: a video with the words on screen, or a subtitle file.

First: burned-in subtitles or an SRT file?

You don't have to choose only one: ClipTitle can export both from the same captions.

Method 1: Generate subtitles automatically with AI (ClipTitle)

ClipTitle is a Windows app that writes word-timed subtitles for you in 85+ languages, then lets you style and export them. Your video stays on your PC.

1. Install ClipTitle from the Microsoft Store and open it. Sign in with your Microsoft account (the person icon at the top right) to get your free AI minutes.
2. Import your video: click Import (or press Ctrl+I), or drag the file into the window. MP4, MOV and WEBM work.
3. Generate the captions: click the video to open it, then click Generate captions (or right-click the video and choose Generate captions). The language is detected automatically, even when people mix two languages.
4. Check the text: play the video and fix any word in the caption list. Names, brands and slang are worth a quick look.
5. Style it (optional): pick a look in the Templates tab, or change the font, size, colors and position yourself. For a vertical video, choose View ▸ Aspect ratio ▸ 9:16 (Reel).
6. Export: choose Export ▸ Video with captions (MP4) (Ctrl+E) for burned-in subtitles, or Export ▸ Subtitles (SRT) / Web subtitles (VTT) for a file. There is no watermark.

Need the subtitles in another language too? Open the Translate panel and pick one of 80 languages: the translated captions keep the same timing. See how translation works.

Method 2: Use Clipchamp, the editor built into Windows 11

Clipchamp is Microsoft's free video editor. Its auto-captions are a good option for simple videos in one language.

1. Open Clipchamp from the Start menu and create a new video.
2. Import your video and drag it onto the timeline.
3. Select the clip, open Captions in the panel on the right and click Transcribe media.
4. Choose the spoken language and wait for the captions to appear.
5. Fix any mistakes in the transcript, adjust the caption style, then Export the video.

Good to know: Clipchamp transcribes one language per video, so speech that mixes languages comes out poorly, and its caption styles are simpler than the animated, word-by-word styles popular on Reels and TikTok.

Method 3: Add an existing SRT subtitle file

If you already have subtitles as an .srt file (from a translator, a website or ClipTitle), what to do depends on where the video goes:

• To watch it on your PC: give the SRT the same name as the video (for example trip.mp4 and trip.srt) and keep both in the same folder. VLC and many other players load it automatically; in VLC you can also use Subtitle ▸ Add Subtitle File.
• To upload to YouTube: upload the video as usual, then in YouTube Studio open Subtitles for that video and upload the SRT file.
• To show it on Instagram, TikTok or anywhere else: these apps don't take SRT files, so the subtitles need to be burned into the video (Method 1).

Which method should you use?

Tips for subtitles people can read

• Keep each caption to one or two short lines. Long blocks of text are skipped, especially on phones.
• Use strong contrast: white text with a dark outline or a background box works on any video.
• Keep captions away from the edges, and on vertical videos away from the bottom, where apps place their buttons and descriptions.
• Check names, numbers and brand words before exporting. AI is very accurate, but it doesn't know your guest's name.
• Export an SRT as well as the video: it's useful for YouTube, and for translating later.