Subtylo
by Useful ShedOpen this page in your browser to download. Downloads may not work inside this app. Tap ··· and pick Open in browser (or Open in external browser), or copy the link into your browser.
Caption tips for short videos.
How many words per caption, where to put them, how to make one word stand out, and how to keep them readable with the sound off.
Free to start · Your video stays on your device
Style
Position
Size
Words per caption
3Edit captions
Tap a line to fix a word.
How it works
- Choose a video It opens in your browser.
- Get captions Every word is timed automatically.
- Pick a style Fix any word if needed.
- Download Ready for TikTok, Reels and Shorts.
Pick a style
How many words per caption
Short captions suit vertical video, but how short depends on the speaker. One word is punchy for a slow, dramatic line, but with fast speech it flickers. Three words can be read in one glance, so the eye goes back to the speaker's face. Six words work for slow speech, but on a phone they start to look like a paragraph. Pop, Subtylo's default style, shows three, and the Words per caption slider goes from 1 to 6.
Where to place captions
TikTok and Instagram Reels draw their buttons down the right side of the screen and put the username and your post text at the bottom. Captions placed at the very bottom end up under that text. Middle is the safe choice: below the face, above the post text and left of the buttons. Use Top only when the speaker sits in the lower half of the frame.
Highlight one word, not all of them
When every word is highlighted, none of them stands out. Two things work better: let the word being spoken change colour, so the eye follows the voice (the Pop, Karaoke and Neon styles do this; Clean is plain text on a dark box), and write the one word that matters in capitals by retyping it in the caption list (in Clean or Karaoke; Pop and Neon already show every word in capitals).
Readable on mute
- Size: if you squint at the captions on your own phone, go one size up.
- Contrast: white text needs a dark outline or a dark box, because bright video behind it washes plain text out.
- Short lines: three words or fewer per caption.
- Timing: word-by-word timing keeps the caption from running ahead of the speaker.
Check names before you export
Automatic captions slip most on names and brand words. Before you export, tap the line, retype the word (the timing stays), then play the clip once from start to end with the sound off.
Try it on your own clip
Subtylo makes word-by-word captions in your browser with no account. It is free for videos up to 3 minutes with a small watermark. For platform-specific steps, see TikTok captions and Reels captions.
Pricing
Free
$0
- Captions in 20 tested languages
- All styles
- 720p with a small watermark
- 20 videos a day, up to 3 minutes each
One video
$1.99 one time
- One video, no watermark
- 1080p and its SRT file
- No subscription, no account
10-export pack
$7 one time
- 10 exports, no watermark
- 1080p and SRT files
- SRT subtitles for videos up to 60 minutes
- No subscription
Pro
$9 per month
- Unlimited exports (fair use), no watermark
- 1080p and SRT files
- SRT subtitles for videos up to 60 minutes
- Cancel anytime
Prices include tax. Full refund within 14 days.
Buyers may get occasional emails about similar Useful Shed tools. Say no after paying, or unsubscribe in any email.
Questions
Do I need an account?
No. Open the page and choose a video. If you buy a plan, the email you pay with is your account: we email you an access code, and "Sign in" sends it again on any device. No password.
Is my video uploaded?
No. The video is opened and rendered in your browser. Only its sound, converted to low-quality mono audio, is sent to our server for speech recognition, and we don't store it.
Which videos work?
Captioned videos up to 3 minutes (subtitle files up to 60 minutes, below) in the formats your browser can play: MP4 and WebM everywhere, MOV best in Safari. iPhone videos in the High Efficiency (HEVC) format work on the iPhone and in Safari, but not in every browser on other computers; Subtylo tells you before making captions if yours can't show the picture. The video needs speech for captions to appear.
Does background music get in the way?
Usually not, so there is no need to mute it. In our tests on real creator videos, a narration over background music had 1.1% of its words wrong and a fast host cut with music and cartoon clips 7.3%. A street food show in Singlish with loud street noise did worse (25%), and singing is not captioned reliably. You can fix any word before you download.
Which languages?
The language is detected from the speech and the captions are written in it (no translation yet). We measured 20 languages; Spanish, Italian, German and Russian get fewer than 4 words in 100 wrong, Hindi and Thai the most. See supported languages. You can fix any word before you download.
How long does the download take?
About as long as the video itself: a 30-second video takes about 30 seconds, because your browser plays it once while burning in the captions. Keep the tab open while it runs.
Which file do I get?
An MP4 in Chrome, Edge and Safari, which works everywhere. Firefox makes a WebM file; for TikTok and Instagram use Chrome, Edge or Safari.
How do I cancel or get a refund?
Cancel Pro anytime at app.link.com or by email. Ask within 14 days of a payment and you get the full amount back; see the refund policy.
How big can my video be?
Up to 3 minutes long and 1.5 GB for a video with captions. Any shape works: vertical 9:16, square or landscape; the download keeps your video's shape.
Can I use a longer video?
Yes, up to 60 minutes, as an MP4 or MOV file. Free, you see the captions of the first 3 minutes. With a plan you get subtitles for the whole video as an SRT file, for YouTube, Premiere or DaVinci Resolve. Captions burned into the video stay at 3 minutes: a longer video would not fit in a phone's memory while it is made.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes, in your phone's browser (Safari or Chrome). If you opened this page from Instagram or TikTok, open it in your browser first, because downloads may not work inside those apps. Keep the tab open while your video is made.
How do I get help?
Email support@usefulshed.com with what you tried and, if you bought a plan, your access code or the email you paid with.