How to add captionsto Instagram Reels.

Two kinds of captions on a Reel

Instagram can generate captions for a Reel itself. They appear in Instagram's own plain style, and they come and go with the viewer's settings, so you don't control how they look or exactly where they sit.

Burned-in captions are part of the picture: you add them in an editor, export the video, and post that file. Every viewer sees them, in the font, colours and animation you chose, on every app the Reel is shared to. That's the look you see on most creator Reels: big words that pop in as they're spoken.

Many people watch Reels with the sound off. Burned-in captions carry the message either way, and they still show when the Reel is reshared, downloaded or posted to TikTok or Shorts as well.

Add animated captions with CAPWAV

1. Open the Reels caption generator and drop in your clip from your phone or computer.
2. Choose the language you speak in the video, and a caption style. You see the style on your own video before anything is transcribed.
3. CAPWAV writes the captions word by word. Fix any word, and change the style, size and position in the editor.
4. Export the MP4 and post it to Instagram as a Reel. The captions are part of the video, so nothing else needs to be switched on.

Your video stays on your device while you edit and export: only the audio is sent to be transcribed. The Free plan includes 2 minutes of captions a month, with the CAPWAV watermark on exports; paid plans remove it.

Size and shape for Reels

Reels are vertical. Film or export at 9:16, ideally 1080 × 1920 pixels. If your clip is landscape or square, Smart Reframe on the Pro plan turns it into 9:16 and follows the speaker.

Keep captions clear of Instagram's buttons

Instagram draws its own interface over a Reel: your name, the post caption and the audio name along the bottom, and the like, comment and share buttons down the right. Captions placed there get covered.

A safe rule of thumb: keep captions out of the bottom fifth of the frame and away from the right edge. A little above the middle of the lower half reads well and stays clear. Our caption safe zones guide goes through every platform.

Make the captions easy to read

• Show a few words at a time. Short lines are read in a glance; a full sentence on screen is skipped.
• Use strong contrast: white or yellow text with an outline or shadow, or text on a box, reads over any footage.
• Highlight the word being spoken. Karaoke-style captions keep viewers' eyes moving with your voice.
• Check the spelling of names and brands before you export. One wrong word in large type is very visible.

Browse the caption templates for looks made for Reels, or read which caption styles work best.