Guide
You add captions to a Facebook Reel with one tap on Captions in the reels composer
Updated
Facebook's reels composer has a Captions tool that turns your voice into text on the video. If you'd rather have the captions done before you open Facebook, Cutroom's Magic Editor burns them in for you.
In short
- To add captions to a Facebook Reel, add your video in the reels composer, tap Captions, let Facebook write out your audio, then tap Done.
- Burned-in captions are part of the picture, so they show on every app and stay on the video when it's downloaded or posted somewhere else.
- Cutroom's Magic Editor burns captions into your video from one clip of you talking, and you fix a misheard word for free by tapping it.
A barber's weekly offer, before and after Cutroom's Magic Editor
Captions follow every word you say. If one is spelled wrong, like 'scalp', tap it and fix it for free.
Drawing of an example clip, not a customer video
Before · the clip as filmed
A 25-second phone video of a barber telling clients about this week's offer
“Um, this week every cut comes with a free , uh, scalp treatment. So yeah, book it on our page before Saturday.”
struck through = what Jacob cuts
After · Jacob's first edit, Steps style
“This week every cut comes with a free scalp treatment. book it on our page before Saturday.”
- On “treatment”: your screenshot of the booking page in a floating window
- On “Saturday”: one big word at a time under the window, in your accent colour
- Under the whole video: captions timed to every word, burned into the video
- Under the whole video: upbeat music under your voice
Then you ask Jacob
- “Make the key words stand out more”v2the same edit, with bigger and brighter key words
- “Change the music to something calmer”v3the same edit, with calmer music under your voice
How do you add captions to a Facebook Reel?
Here are the steps from Meta's help page, in the Facebook app on your phone, as of November 2026. Captions you add this way sit on the reel, so every viewer sees them.
- Start a new reel and add your video.
- Tap Captions. Facebook writes out the audio and puts it on the reel as a caption.
- Pick a font and a colour from the options at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap Done, then finish and share your reel as usual.
- Read the captions before you post, and check names, brands and prices word by word.
- Watch the reel once with the sound off, and make sure no caption sits under Facebook's buttons at the bottom or on the right.
What Meta's help pages don't cover
Meta's Reels page only covers the Facebook app on your phone. It leaves a few common questions open, as of November 2026.
- It doesn't say how to fix one wrong word in a caption.
- It doesn't say what to do if you can't see the Captions button.
- It doesn't say how to add captions to a reel from a computer.
- Meta's page on caption files (.srt files, a plain text file of timed captions) covers uploaded videos. It doesn't mention Reels.
- If any of these matters to you, burn the captions into the video before you upload. Then Facebook just shows the picture.
How Cutroom's Magic Editor edits a video like this
Jacob is the AI editor inside Cutroom's Magic Editor: it edits your video for you, then changes it when you ask in a chat.
The 4 styles, as example edits
Steps
Three steps, four angles
Skit
Hook, hard stop, demo card
Verdict
The tester's verdict
Poster
Typography does the talking
Hover or tap an example to play it, without sound. These are example edits of each style; the presenters in them are generated with AI.
- Your take: one video of you talking, up to 3 minutes
- Your style: one of 4: Steps, Skit, Verdict or Poster
- Your files: screenshots, a screen recording or a logo, if you have them
- Your goal: what the video is for, in a few words, if you like
- Jacob makes it: normally 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email
- Your edit: ask Jacob for changes in a chat, then export
Then you ask Jacob, for example
- “Make this about 10 seconds shorter”
- “Put a clip on the strongest sentence”
- “Change the music to something calmer”
Each change is a new version, and going back is free. First cut 250 credits, each change 40, questions free, export 30 credits per started minute.
Burning captions in before you upload
You can also put the captions into the video before it reaches Facebook. Burned-in captions are drawn into the picture. They stay when the same video goes to Instagram, TikTok or a WhatsApp group.
Cutroom's Magic Editor does this from one clip of you talking. You upload the clip, pick a style and press "Make my video". Jacob, its AI editor, makes the whole edit, with captions timed to your voice.
- It normally takes 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email when your first cut is ready.
- Tap any word and use "Fix this word" to correct a misheard caption. It is free, and your voice stays as it is.
- Ask Jacob for bigger changes in the chat, like "Make the key words stand out more". A change costs 40 credits.
- You get one vertical MP4, 1080 by 1920, and you upload it to Facebook yourself. Cutroom does not post for you and does not make a separate captions file.
Questions people ask
- Does Facebook add captions to Reels automatically?
- Facebook writes out your audio once you tap Captions in the reels composer. Meta's help page doesn't say it adds captions to a reel if you don't tap it. You can change the font and colour before you tap Done.
- Can I change the font of captions on a Facebook Reel?
- Yes. Meta's help page says you can pick the font and colour of the caption from options at the bottom of the reels composer.
- Can I upload an .srt file to a Facebook Reel?
- Meta doesn't say. Its help page on .srt files covers uploaded videos and doesn't mention Reels, as of November 2026. Burned-in captions work on any reel because they are part of the picture.
- Can Cutroom post my Reel to Facebook?
- No. Cutroom's Magic Editor gives you a vertical MP4 with the captions burned in, and you upload it yourself. A video up to a minute costs 280 credits. Your first video is free, no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite at $19.99/month removes it.
Want the captions done before you open Facebook? Film one clip and let Cutroom's Magic Editor make the edit.