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How to Add Subtitles to YouTube Videos in 5 Best Ways

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Last Updated: 2023. 07. 24

Adding subtitles to your YouTube videos offers many benefits. YouTube subtitles allow your video content to reach wider viewers who speak a foreign language and make it easier for people who are hard of hearing to read your YouTube videos with text.

Besides, adding subtitles to YouTube videos can also increase YouTube watch time. So, with higher watch time, your videos are more likely to rank high on YouTube’s search list. You may also add subtitles for strong CTA for a promo video. What’s more, viewers can catch your YouTube videos without audio on.

So, in this post, we will walk you through how to add subtitles to YouTube videos in the 5 best ways. Then, you can automatically add subtitles to YouTube videos with ease.

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Here is what you will learn:

Also, read how to make faceless YouTube videos with ChatGPT and AI video maker.

1. How to Add Subtitles to YouTube Videos Using YouTube Studio

Well, the official way to add subtitles to a YouTube video is by using YouTube Studio. It’s 100% free and offers you an easy way to upload and edit the subtitle and caption.

*Add YouTube Subtitles When Uploading a YouTube Video

Add YouTube subtitles when uploading a YouTube video

When you uploaded a video to YouTube, you will go through the “Video Elements” where you can add subtitles to your YouTube videos in the “Add Subtitles” section.

*Add YouTube Subtitles When a Video Has Been Uploaded

Log in to your YouTube account > go to the left “Subtitle” tab in YouTube Studio > click on the “Language” drop-down menu > add a specific language and click “add” under the “Subtitle” column.

Add subtitles for uploaded YouTube videos

Add subtitles for uploaded YouTube videos

Once you click on the “Add” subtitle button, YouTube Studio offers you 3 options to add subtitles to a YouTube video:

You have 3 options to add subtitles to YouTube plus keyboard shortcuts

You have 3 options to add subtitles to YouTube plus keyboard shortcuts

Option 1: Upload a Prepared Subtitle File

A YouTube subtitle file can be an SRT file or a TXT file in which the subtitles of the speakers in the video and the timings of the texts are written. Once you upload it to the YouTube Studio, YouTube will automatically arrange the subtitles according to the timings.Also, read the 4 best ways to create srt files from video, audio, and text.

Option 2: Auto-sync the Transcript of a Video

You can manually type the transcript of the video with timing or copy and paste the transcript of a video > click on the “Assign Timings” button > YouTube Studio will automatically set subtitles timings for your YouTube videos.

Option 3: Type Subtitles Mannually

You can manually type in the texts as you watch the video and set the timing for each subtitle. To boost working efficiency, YouTube Studio also offers you keyboard shortcuts for editing.

You may use keyboard shortcuts, trim subtitles, or zoom in/out to check for details.

You may use keyboard shortcuts, trim subtitles, or zoom in/out to check for details.

To enable the keyboard shortcut feature, simply check the “Pause while typing” button and click on the “Keyboard Shortcuts”. Then a pop-up window will show you the hotkeys, like “shift+space = pause or play the video”, etc.

Or You can click and drag the caption to move it above the exact audio track and drag the slider to easily trim a subtitle or use the zoom in/ out tool to check whether your timeline is correct or not.

2. How to Add Subtitles to YouTube Videos Automatically Online

If your YouTube video is more than 25 mins and involves multiple speakers, then manually adding subtitles to YouTube videos would drive you crazy and eat up your precious time. That’s where FlexClip AI video maker comes in handy in adding subtitles to YouTube videos.

So, whether you are a YouTube content creator or new to making YouTube videos, the user-friendly and feature-packed FlexClip AI video maker, with its versatile AI auto subtitle generator and extensive AI tools, will be a great timesaver for adding subtitles to YouTube videos and streamlining your YouTube video editing process. So, you can sit back, sip a cup of latte and wait for the auto-generated YouTube subtitles to be ready.

Automatically add subtitles to YouTube videos by FlexClip online in a breeze.

Create Now

With FlexClip, you can:

  • Harness AI auto subtitle generator to automatically add subtitles to YouTube videos online in one click, with up to 90% accuracy. It supports 140+ languages with different accents, and multiple subtitle styles to choose from.
  • Automatically add subtitles to YouTube videos by FlexClip AI auto subtitle generator

    Automatically add subtitles to YouTube videos by FlexClip AI auto subtitle generator.

    Add Subtitles Now
  • Directly download the transcript of YouTube subtitles in subtitle formats like SRT, VTT, SSA, ASS, SUB, and SBV to your computer for closed captions on YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, etc. Alternatively, you can directly export the 1080P YouTube video with burned-in subtitles to your PC or share it on YouTube.
  • Download the auto-generated subtitle of YouTube video in SRT or other 5 subtitle formats for closed captions

    Download the auto-generated subtitle of YouTube video in SRT or other 5 subtitle formats for closed captions.

  • If you already have the SRT file of another language of your YouTube video, you can import your YouTube video and directly upload the subtitle file (SRT, VTT, LRC, SSA, SUB, ASS, SBV) to FlexClip, which auto-syncs the subtitle with the exact timecodes of YouTube videos. Another timesaver for repurposing your YouTube videos to global viewers.
  • Directly upload an SRT file or other subtitle files to add subtitles to YouTube videos

    Directly upload an SRT file or other subtitle files to add subtitles to YouTube videos.

    Add Subtitles Now
  • What sets FlexClip apart from other YouTube subtitle generators is that you can find thousands of expertly-crafted and fully-customizable video templates, covering YouTube intros & outros, YouTube tutorials, podcasts, newscasts, lyric videos, webinars, movie trailers, business & sales promos, app explainer videos, travel, slideshows, educational videos, tech, sports & fitness, etc. With an easy drag and drop of your video assets, you can create a compelling YouTube video in minutes.
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  • Leverage 74,000+ royalty-free music tracks and sound effects to create the vibes and rhythm for YouTube videos, for example, use sound effects, such as “impact”, “hit”, “riser” and “swoosh”, “whoosh”, “glitch”, etc. for text reveal and transitions.
  • Use vast royalty-free music and sound effects for your YouTube videos

    Use vast royalty-free music and sound effects for your YouTube videos.

  • Apart from AI auto-subtitle generator, as a feature-rich AI video maker, FlexClip also empowers you with a treasure trove of AI tools to expedite your YouTube video edits and reclaim tons of precious time. From helpful AI video script generator, powered by ChatGPT, to lifelike free text-to-speech generator, text-to-image generator, text-to-video generator and AI image background remover, and audio extractor, you can automate your video editing process and take your YouTube video to a whole new level.
  • Effortlessly convert text to realistic AI voices for your YouTube videos

    Effortlessly convert text to realistic AI voices for your YouTube videos.

    Use Free TTS

    So, now please walk with me to automatically add subtitles to YouTube videos by FlexClip online:

    Step 1
    Access FlexClip > upload your YouTube videos from your computer, phone, Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox, or Google Photos.
    Upload your YouTube videos to FlexClip

    Upload your YouTube videos to FlexClip.

    Step 2
    Click the Plus Sign to add your YouTube video to the intuitive timeline. You can easily trim or split the video when needed.
    Add the YouTube video to the intuitive timeline and trim or split the video

    Add the YouTube video to the intuitive timeline and trim or split the video.

    Step 3
    Automatically add subtitles to YouTube videos.

    Click the Subtitle tab > Auto AI Subtitle > identify the language in your YouTube video > hit Next > select the style of subtitle, which can be changed later > press the “Generate” button. FlexClip shall automatically transcribe video to text for your YouTube video’s burned-in subtitles.

    Auto-generate subtitles to YouTube videos with the click of a button

    Auto-generate subtitles to YouTube videos with the click of a button.

    Add YouTube Subtitles Now

    Now, you can proofread the auto-generated subtitles > correct any misspellings > tweak the style of the subtitle, such as text font, text color, size, color of text background fill, opacity, alignment, position, boldness, etc.

    Proofread and fine-tune the style of subtitles

    Proofread and fine-tune the style of subtitles.

    If you find one subtitle too long, you can press “Enter” to split it or click the Merge icon to merge two short subtitles with ease. Pretty helpful!

    Easily split and merge subtitles

    Easily split and merge subtitles.

    Alternatively, you can click the download button to save the subtitle of your YouTube video to SRT, VTT, SSA, ASS, SUB, or SBV file and later upload it to YouTube, Facebook, or other video hosting platforms for closed captions of your YouTube videos.

    Download YouTube subtitles in SRT or other 5 subtitle formats for closed captions for YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo

    Download YouTube subtitles in SRT or other 5 subtitle formats for closed captions for YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, etc.

    Create Now
    Step 4
    Preview and share.

    If you are satisfied with the auto-generated YouTube subtitles, you can click the Export button to download the 1080P YouTube video with burned-in subtitles to your hard drive or directly share it to your YouTube channel or Google Drive, Dropbox, or even TikTok; a clickable link is available for your blog posts, newsletters or other repurposings. Super helpful!

    Easily share and repurpose your video content

    Easily share and repurpose your video content.

    Alternatively, you can click the Text tab > scroll down to find more ready-made and editable text animations for your YouTube videos, such as YouTube Like, Share, and Subscribe buttons, YouTube profile titles, lower thirds, news titles, speech bubbles, quotes titles, call-out titles, search bars, location titles, etc.

    Use editable YouTube Like, Share, and Subscribe buttons and speech bubbles for CTAs

    Use editable YouTube Like, Share, and Subscribe buttons and speech bubbles for CTAs.

    Create Now

    With the text selected, clicking the Motion tool, you can easily animate the text with styles, such as typewriter, cinematic glossy blur, glitter, burst, neon, etc. for text reveal. You may trim the duration of text animations as well.

    Easily animate the text with styles

    Easily animate the text with styles.

    Then, click the Audio tab > search for keywords like “pop”, “funk”, “electronic”, cinematic” and “epic”, etc. to add royalty-free music to create the vibes for your YouTube videos; or search for keywords like “swoosh”, “woosh”, “whip”, “impact” and “hit” for text reveal and transitions.

    Add royalty-free music and sound effects to evoke emotions of YouTube video and enhance transition and text reveal

    Add royalty-free music and sound effects to evoke emotions of YouTube video and enhance transition and text reveal.

    Create Now

    A small trick is to layer multiple audio tracks to create real-world auditory experiences. You can easily trim and split audio tracks and adjust audio volume or apply fade in/out effects for seamless audio transition.

    3. How to Add Subtitles to a YouTube Video That Is Not Yours

    What if you have come across a valuable YouTube video that has no subtitles and you want to add subtitles to this YouTube video that is not yours to look back on later, or one of your friends asks your help to add subtitles to his/her YouTube video. So, is there an easy way to do it?

    Well, the answer is yes and the tool you need is HappyScribe, a professional online tool, offering auto-generated and human transcription services.

    Use Happyscribe to add subtitles to a YouTube video that is not yours online

    Use Happyscribe to add subtitles to a YouTube video that is not yours online.

    With Happyscribe, you can directly paste the URL of a YouTube video and add subtitles to that YouTube video automatically. Here is how to do it.

    Step 1
    Sign up for Happyscribe and in the workspace, click New File > Subtitles > click Link > paste the URL of the YouTube video > hit Import.
    Paste the URL of a YouTube video to Happyscribe

    Paste the URL of a YouTube video to Happyscribe.

    Step 2
    Choose the language spoken in the YouTube video and choose either Human Made ($2.25/min, 99% accurate) or Machine Generated subtitles (80% accurate) > submit. If you choose the human transcription service, there will be a 24hrs return time.
    Select the source language in the video and choose either human or machine to generate subtitles

    Select the source language in the video and choose either human or machine to generate subtitles.

    Step 3
    Correct the minor errors.

    If you have chosen the Machine Generate option, once the auto-transcription is done. You may open the auto-transcripted subtitles. You can manually correct the minor mistakes and add the name of multiple speakers at different timestamps, etc.

    4. How to Add Subtitles to YouTube by Hiring Professionals

    For long YouTube videos like documentaries with many terminologies, hiring a professional to add subtitles to your YouTube video can be a great alternative. Our recommendation would be to use the affordable human service offered by Rev($1.25/per min).

    Use Rev’s human service to directly add subtitles on YouTube

    Like HappyScribe, Rev has fine integration with YouTube. So, you can grant Rev access to your online YouTube video and then select the video you wanna add subtitles. Then pay for the service. Then the professionals will add subtitles to your YouTube videos within the agreed time. So, there is no need for you to upload an SRT file to your YouTube Studio and save your precious time.

    Step 1
    Go to Rev. com and Select “Caption” Option and Click “Get Started”
    Step 2
    Grant Rev Access to Your YouTube Account

    Click on the “YouTube” icon > sign in Rev and grant Rev access to your YouTube account. So, Rev can download your YouTube video and directly upload subtitles to your YouTube videos. > select the video you would like to add subtitles > hit “Add Selected to Cart”.

    Step 3
    Finish the Checkout Process

    If you are pressed for time, you can select “Rush My Order” by adding $1 more/ per min for human transcription service.

    5. How to Add Subtitles to YouTube Videos Automatically on iPhone/Android

    Well, if you are a content creator who often uses iPhone/Android to record and create YouTube videos and YouTube Shorts, then CapCut, a free and versatile mobile app with an auto-captioning feature, can be your ultimate choice to add subtitles to YouTube videos automatically on your mobile phone.

    Add subtitles to YouTube videos automatically on your phone by CapCut

    Add subtitles to YouTube videos automatically on your phone by CapCut.

    The only downside is that since CapCut is built to edit short videos, you can only add auto subtitles to YouTube videos that are no more than 15 mins. Other than that, CapCut is almost flawless to add subtitles to YouTube videos automatically.

    Step 1
    Download and open the CapCut on your iPhone/Android.
    Step 2
    Tap New Project and import the YouTube video you want to add subtitles to.
    Import your clips to CapCut

    Import your clips to CapCut.

    Step 3
    Use auto-caption to add subtitles to YouTube videos automatically.

    Tap Text > Auto Captions > select Orignal Sound and the language you wish the subtitles to be > tap Continue. Then CapCut will automatically add subtitles to your YouTube videos with impressive accuracy.

    Add subtitles to YouTube videos automatically by CapCut

    Add subtitles to YouTube videos automatically by CapCut.

    Step 4
    Play back the YouTube video and check if all the subtitles are correct. Or You can tap Batch edit to quickly check the timing and texts of each subtitle and add text styles as well. Amazing.
    Edit subtitles in batch in CapCut

    Edit subtitles in batch in CapCut.

    Step 5
    Download the YouTube videos to your phone and upload it to YouTube.

    Now, It’s Your Move

      Add YouTube Subtitles Accuracy Best Suited For
    YouTube Studio Upload SRT file; paste transcript; type in manually; keyboard shortcuts; display single language subtitle; free > 80% short and long YouTube videos
    FlexClip Automatically add YouTube subtitles; transcribes both video and audio to text; easily stylize subtitles; upload subtitle files for YouTube videos or download subtitles in SRT and other 4 subtitle formats; tons of video templates; diverse AI tools; 4M+ videos, images and audio stock assets > 90% Add subtitles to all YouTube videos, esp.for YouTube content creators and newbies of YouTube video creation
    HappyScribe Paid machine-generated subtitle; paid human service ($2.25/min, 24hrs return) >85%(AI); >99% (Human) Long YouTube videos
    Rev Paid human service, including directly adding subtitles on YouTube ($1.5/min, 24hrs return, expedited subtitle service) > 90% Long YouTube videos
    CapCut Free mobile app with an auto-captioning feature, batch edits > 85% Creating short videos (less than 15 mins) on iPhone/Android

    So, these are the 5 best ways to add subtitles on YouTube. Now, the question is which solution works best for you to add subtitles to YouTube videos. Share this post on your Facebook and Twitter and leave your comments to us. Cheers!

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