Guide
Add captions to a Reel with Instagram's Captions sticker, closed captions, or an editor that burns them in
Updated
You can caption a Reel inside Instagram, with the Captions sticker or with closed captions. Or an editing app burns the captions into the video before you upload it.
In short
- You add captions to an Instagram Reel with the Captions sticker: tap Stickers, pick Captions, then fix any wrong words.
- Closed captions are the second built-in way, switched on under More options before you share the Reel.
- The third way is to burn the captions into the video with an editing app, such as Instagram's free Edits app, before you upload.
- Burned-in captions look the same everywhere you post the video, but Instagram can't translate them.
- In Cutroom's Magic Editor, the captions come in the style you pick, and you fix a misheard word for free by tapping it.
How do you add captions to an Instagram Reel?
Inside Instagram, the Captions sticker writes out what you say, and closed captions show your words as text at the bottom of the Reel. The third way is to burn the captions into the video with an editing app before you upload.
Three ways to caption a Reel
Instagram's side is from its own help pages; Edits and CapCut from their own pages. Read on 12 November 2026.
| Captions sticker | Closed captions | Burned in by an editor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where you add them | In Instagram, while you make the Reel | In Instagram, under More options before you share | In an editing app, before you upload |
| Where they show | Where you place the sticker | At the bottom of the Reel | Wherever the editor puts them |
| Fix a wrong word | Yes, tap the transcript twice, then the word | Not covered in Instagram's help | Yes, in Edits and in Cutroom |
| Translated for viewers | Yes, Instagram can translate the sticker | Yes, with Translate closed captions | No, the words are part of the picture |
| Price | Free | Free | Free in Instagram's Edits app |
: Where you add them
- Captions sticker
- In Instagram, while you make the Reel
- Closed captions
- In Instagram, under More options before you share
- Burned in by an editor
- In an editing app, before you upload
: Where they show
- Captions sticker
- Where you place the sticker
- Closed captions
- At the bottom of the Reel
- Burned in by an editor
- Wherever the editor puts them
: Fix a wrong word
- Captions sticker
- Yes, tap the transcript twice, then the word
- Closed captions
- Not covered in Instagram's help
- Burned in by an editor
- Yes, in Edits and in Cutroom
: Translated for viewers
- Captions sticker
- Yes, Instagram can translate the sticker
- Closed captions
- Yes, with Translate closed captions
- Burned in by an editor
- No, the words are part of the picture
: Price
- Captions sticker
- Free
- Closed captions
- Free
- Burned in by an editor
- Free in Instagram's Edits app
Way 1: Instagram's Captions sticker, step by step
These are the steps from Instagram's own help pages for the phone app.
- Instagram says captions are only available in some places, and stickers may be missing in Japan and in Europe.
- If the Captions sticker isn't there, update the app. If it still isn't there, it may not be offered where you live or for that Reel, and closed captions are the way to go.
Adding the Captions sticker to a Reel
Start a Reel
Record it, or pick a clip from your camera roll
Tap Stickers
At the top of the screen
Pick Captions
Instagram writes out what you say
Change the look
Tap the transcript for colour, the options at the bottom for font
Fix wrong words
Tap the transcript twice, then tap a word
Place it and share
Keep it clear of your mouth and the buttons
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.
Way 2: Instagram's closed captions
Closed captions are Instagram's built-in subtitles. You switch them on before you share, and Instagram writes what you say as text at the bottom of the Reel.
- In the same place, a Translate closed captions switch lets Instagram translate the captions for viewers.
- Instagram's help doesn't say you can move or restyle closed captions, so use the sticker if you want to choose where the captions sit and how they look.
Switching on closed captions for a Reel
From Instagram's help page for the iPhone app, read on 12 November 2026.
Start a Reel
Tap Create, then Reel, and pick a video
Tap Next, then Next again
Tap More options
Switch on Enable closed captions
Instagram writes out what you say
Share the Reel
The captions show at the bottom
Way 3: captions burned in by an editor
Burned-in captions are drawn into the video itself before you upload it. They look the same on Instagram, TikTok or anywhere else you post.
- Instagram's free Edits app writes the captions when you tap Captions, lets you fix the words and pick a style, font and colour, and exports the video with no watermark.
- CapCut writes captions too, in its phone app, desktop app and website, but its auto caption generator is a Pro feature, listed at $19.99 a month or $179.99 a year and varying by region (November 2026).
- Instagram can't translate burned-in captions, because they are part of the picture.
- In Cutroom's Magic Editor, Jacob makes the whole edit after one press of "Make my video", captions included.
- The style you pick decides how the captions look and where they sit. If you want a different look, you tap a word and pick one of the style's other caption looks, which is free.
- You can also ask Jacob in plain words, such as "Make the key words stand out more" or "Use less text on screen".
- You can't pick your own font, and there is no captions file (SRT) to download, only the finished MP4.
Fixing a misheard word in Reel captions
Auto captions can get names wrong, so read them once before you post. The Captions sticker, the Edits app and the Magic Editor all let you fix a word without filming again.
- With the Captions sticker, tap the transcript twice, then tap the word and type it again.
- In the Magic Editor, tap the word in the transcript and use Fix this word. The captions change, and your voice stays as it is.
- Fixing a caption word with a tap is free. Asking Jacob in the chat does the same for 40 credits.
- Every change Jacob makes is a new version. The earlier versions stay, and going back to one is free.
A creator's app verdict with her name misheard, before and after
The captions heard her name as Ryan. Fixing the word changes the captions, not her voice.
Drawing of an example clip, not a customer video
Before · the clip as filmed
A 40-second phone video of a creator giving her verdict on three habit apps she tried
“Um, so, I'm Rhian, and I tried three habit apps for a week , for a whole week. … (pause) The free one won by a mile.”
struck through = what Jacob cuts
After · Jacob's first edit, Verdict style
“I'm Rhian, and I tried three habit apps for a week. The free one won by a mile.”
- On “apps”: you shrink into a small card while your screenshot apps.png plays on a laptop
- On “Rhian”: your words as captions in the Verdict look, with your name misheard as Ryan
- On “won”: you full screen again for the verdict, then a typed call to action and a follow card
- Under the whole video: calm music under your voice
window: apps.png
Then you ask Jacob
- “The captions say Ryan, but my name is Rhian”v2the captions read Rhian, and your voice stays as it is
Which way to caption your Reel
Pick the route by where the video will go and how much of the edit you want done for you.
Which way to caption your Reel
Choose the Captions sticker if you post only to Instagram and want captions you can restyle in the app for free.
Choose closed captions if you want Instagram to write the captions and show them at the bottom of the Reel.
Choose Instagram's Edits app if you post the same video on several apps and want free burned-in captions that look the same on each.
Choose Cutroom's Magic Editor if you film yourself talking and want the whole Reel edited, captions included, from one clip. Your first video is free.
Questions people ask
- How do I add captions to my Instagram Reel?
- Start your Reel, tap Stickers at the top and pick Captions. Instagram writes out what you say. Tap the transcript to change the colour and font, and tap it twice to fix a word.
- Why can't I find the Captions sticker on Instagram?
- It isn't available everywhere. Instagram says stickers may be unavailable in Japan and in Europe, and not every sticker is offered for every Reel. Update the app first; if it's still missing, switch on closed captions under More options instead.
- Can I burn captions into a Reel for free?
- Yes. Instagram's Edits app writes captions from what you say for free, lets you fix the words and change the font and colour, and exports the video with no watermark. CapCut's auto captions need its Pro plan.
- Can I edit the words in Instagram's auto captions?
- Yes. Tap the Captions sticker's transcript twice, then tap the word you want to change and type it again.
- What is the difference between the Captions sticker and closed captions?
- The sticker sits on your Reel, and you can change its colour, font and words. Closed captions are switched on under More options and show as text at the bottom of the Reel.
- Are burned-in captions better for Reels?
- They are better when you post the same video in several places, because they look the same everywhere. The trade-off is that viewers can't switch them off and Instagram can't translate them.
- Can Cutroom add captions to my Reel?
- Yes. Cutroom's Magic Editor burns captions into the whole edit in the style you pick, and you fix a misheard word with a free tap. It exports one vertical MP4 that you post yourself. Your first video is free.
Film one clip and get the Reel back with the captions already in it. Your first video is free.