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Word-by-word captions for short videos

Last updated: 10 November 2026

Word-by-word captions show the words as they are spoken and highlight the current one. They are common on TikTok, Shorts and Reels because they keep viewers reading when the sound is off.

Make them readable on a phone

• Big, bold letters with an outline or a background box, so they read over any picture.
• Two or three short lines at most.
• Keep them clear of faces and of the app's own buttons near the bottom of the screen.
• Highlight key words in a second colour, sparingly.

By hand

Most editors let you add captions from a transcript and then time each word or phrase. It is accurate but slow: every word needs a start and end time.

Automatically

A transcription tool can time each word for you. Always read the result, because names, numbers and technical terms are the most common errors.

Doing it with snipo

snipo times captions to every spoken word, highlights key words, and offers 49 styles (four on the free plan). You can edit the text, move the captions up or down, and change their size before you download.

Questions

Why do short videos use word-by-word captions?

Many viewers watch without sound, and highlighting each word as it is spoken makes the captions easier to follow.