6 best closed captioning software (2024)

What is the best subtitling software?

Here are my top picks for the best subtitling software.

1. Rev.

The best solution for short lead times

Rev is a versatile, cloud-based software that offers high-quality, on-demand closed captions, transcripts (manual and automatic), and foreign subtitles. It offers up to 99% accuracy for subtitles, with a turnaround time (TAT) of between 2 and 25 hours.

It employs one of the best AI (artificial intelligence) speech recognition facilities and the largest community of “speech-to-text” freelancers who contribute to rapid turnaround times. The platform also has an intuitive interface that makes it easy to create and configure accounts.

Users can send their video files or URLs or copy and paste links from video platforms like YouTube and Vimeo. Since the software requires no download, users don't need to worry about virus attacks, compatibility issues, or unnecessary pop-ups.

Once the subtitling is complete, Rev returns the subtitle file (usually in.srt format) by email. It also offers subtitles in other compatible file formats for easy access.

When ordering, you can choose the option of burnt subtitles (open subtitles) to directly embed permanent subtitles into your video.

Additionally, it offers a video editor that comes with a range of tools to help users edit the final video according to their needs. You can also access it through the Android and Apple mobile apps.

Features

In tandem with the world's largest community of text-to-speech freelancers, the high-quality AI platform makes Rev a platform for subtitling and transliteration fast, easy and accurate. Thanks to mobile applications and the built-in video editor, users can make specific edits from any device.

In the next section, I mentioned some of its other strengths:

• Confidential download of video files and URLs
• Provides various compatible subtitle files
• Subtitling experts available 24/7
• Integrated video editor and related tools
• Open subtitling service
• iOS and Android mobile applications

Pricing

Rev has a flat rate of $1.25 per minute of video, with no additional charges for delivery or “difficult” audio files.

Here is a quick summary of the turnaround time based on the length of the uploaded file/URL:

• Two hours for a zero to five minute file
• Seven hours for a five to ten minute file
• 12 hours for a 10 to 30 minute file
• 25 hours of delivery for a file lasting 30 to 60 minutes

Get started with Rev today.

2. 3Play Media.

Best for subtitling services that comply with service level agreements (SLA)

3Play Media is a full-service video accessibility platform that provides fast, simple, and accurate closed captions. Depending on the minutes of the video or the size of the file, the turnaround time can vary between 2 hours and four business days.

As with Rev, users can download the required file to the platform directly from a computer or through custom links, integrations, or APIs (application programming interfaces). The file will then be submitted to 2 high quality transcription series to ensure optimal accuracy.

Once ready, the subtitle file can be downloaded in over 50 formats, which are compatible with most video playback and embedding platforms. It has a user-friendly interface where individual users or businesses can connect to the software to complete the order process.

In addition to subtitling services, 3Play offers translations and audio description tools to help users multitask on a single platform. You can connect with a dedicated account manager to monitor the process and ensure that your deadlines are met.

It employs a proprietary technology base that uses 11 patents, unique databases, and AI or machine learning. The platform also has a pool of 2,000 video editors who help with subtitling, transcription, and adaptation.

Features

3Play Media uses a combination of technologies fromartificial intelligence and transcription in 2 steps for a fully tested subtitling process. Users are assigned individual managers who will help them meet deadlines and provide assistance when needed.

Below I mention its main functionalities

• Flexible lead time
• Real-time progress monitoring
• 50 file formats
• Workflow automation and data encryption
• Services that comply with service level agreements
• Precision, time and security guaranteed

Pricing

Users can choose from three subscription plans, whose exact prices will be visible after completing a short application form. But here are some features of the plans to help you better understand.

1. Express plan for a single user:

• Remuneration per project
• Closed captions for social media videos
• Easy upgrade

2. Pro plan for multiple users:

• Live subtitling
• Audio descriptions
• Subtitling and translation

3. Business plan for businesses:

• Customized workflows and turnaround times
• A dedicated account manager

3. CaptioningStar.

Best for full subtitling

CaptioningStar is a New York-based company that offers various video captioning services, including closed captioning, open captioning, real-time captioning, emergency live captioning, etc. Captioners work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide 99% accuracy within flexible timelines.

The software is compatible with all major video and audio file formats, so users can download the required videos directly from their computers. It also integrates with numerous video platforms, allowing users to “pull” videos from Youtube, Dropbox, Vimeo, etc.

You can download or paste the transcript, if available. If not, the software will create one to help the built-in subtitling tool automatically generate the subtitles. Once the subtitling is complete, you can download it in any of the 18 subtitling formats available, such as webvt and srt.

In case of questions, users can contact the CaptioningStar production team at any time, whose response time is 15 minutes. They can also contact the customer service team through various social media channels, like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Features

This software offers users a hassle-free subtitling platform that can provide English and Spanish subtitles for various video content. The multi-format file download feature allows you to embed subtitles into videos without any conversion or editing.

Some of its strengths:

• Bilingual subtitling (English and Spanish)
• Live stream subtitling
• Point-and-click download
• Free API and interactive video player
• Customizable 12, 24, and 36 hour TAT
• 24/7 support team

Pricing

Like Rev, CaptioningStar also has a fixed $2 pricing plan for captioning one minute of video. And if you want both transcripts and subtitles, that'll cost you $2.75 per minute of video.

However, users can take advantage of discounts on bulk orders and referrals.

4. Vitac.

Best for online and offline subtitling

The first subtitling company in the United States, Vitac offers professional subtitling services for offline and online video platforms. Its live subtitling function is compatible with Youtube, Zoom, Live Stream, AdobeConnect, and Skype.

To this end, Vitac integrates video through API platforms, various television network connections, seamless switching, and extensive linguistic research by its team. Subtitles are created as individual text files, after which they can be synchronized with said video.

So users can enable or disable subtitles according to their needs. Subtitle files also go through mandatory decoders, which allow Vitac to edit or redownload them in the event of future errors or discrepancies in the video.

Users can also choose from other subtitling services for various languages, such as Spanish and French. The platform has a team of professional and qualified subtitlers who work around the clock to meet pre-established deadlines.

Vitac allows users to receive subtitles (or transcripts) in srt file format for quick uploading and integration with social media videos. It also allows you to add hard-coded or open subtitles.

Features

Vitac's offline captioning services are FCC (Federal Communications Commission) compliant. It maintains a close link with various television and local news channels to create accurate and integrable automatic subtitling.

I've mentioned a few of the other features below:

• Auto-sync legend files
• Subtitles in several languages
• Live subtitling of videos and conferences on the Internet
• Remote meeting integrations
• Social media integration

Pricing

As Vitac does not publish its prices, users can contact the dedicated service portal to request quotes. They can quickly create a free account by entering some information and project specifications in the form provided for this purpose.

5. Archive Captioning

Best for live captioning

Archive Captioning is another multi-subtitling platform that offers real-time subtitling for live broadcasts. It employs trained captioners who use stenographic machines to convert spoken words into text.

The service also offers several subtitling integrations for meetings and virtual conference platforms on Zoom, Cisco Webex, ON24, and Adobe Connect. Likewise, live subtitling integrations are valid for Facebook, Youtube, Ustream, Wowza Streaming, and Vimeo.

An important feature that users can take advantage of is the post-production subtitling service, which helps content creators make video accessible to people who are hard of hearing. It is also useful for viewers who don't understand English or who are in a “soundless” environment.

You can use the offline subtitling service in various styles, such as pop-on, stationary, and rolled up subtitles. Pop-on subtitles can be placed flexibly and use timed text to sync with images and indicate off-screen sounds (like sound effects).

With the stationary style (centered), you can place captions at the bottom of the screen, where the change of speaker is indicated by a dash (-). And the dropdown actions appear on the screen in a continuous flow, with chevrons (>>) showing speaker changes.

Features

With a range of closed captions and post-production subtitling tools, Archive Captioning aims to meet different customer requirements. Its subtitling team, available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, ensures same-day delivery while guaranteeing quality assurance at several levels for optimal accuracy.

In short, here are the features that the platform has to offer:

• Different subtitle formats
• Safe subtitle outputs
• IP whitelist and password-protected accounts
• Same day turnaround time
• Multi-level quality controls
• Machine translation for foreign language subtitles

Pricing

6. MacCaption and CaptionMaker.

Best for bulk subtitling

MacCaption And CaptionMaker is a licensed subtitling and subtitling software available for Mac devices. However, it also offers the CaptionMaker version, which is compatible with Windows operating systems.

Once video files are uploaded to the platform, its integrated closed captioning technology allows users to create, edit, encode, or reuse subtitles for televisions, the web, and device screens.

It also simplifies the process of bringing subtitles into compliance with existing government regulations. This allows for quick, easy, and efficient integration of subtitles for webcasts or television broadcasts.

The software can also handle high-volume subtitle processing tasks, including text insertion and extraction, format conversions, synchronization, or frame rate adjustment.

You can perform sub-clipping or clip assembly processes and integrate the final output with platforms like Vantage to automate the entire workflow. In addition to direct integration into media files, it allows users to troubleshoot and perform quality checks on video files.

With the latest addition of speech in timed text (speech-to-text), the platform can perform automatic transcription in over 100 languages to create closed captions. This will come in handy for time-limited projects where you can't expect a separate transcription service.

Features

The range of built-in tools and functions help users create accurate captions in accordance with government regulations. Its fast output can be directly integrated into video files for quick streaming.

Its strengths include

• Troubleshooting and quality checks
• Automated workflow integration
• Automatic transcription
• Format conversion tool
• Setting the frame

Pricing

MacCaption and CaptionMaker offer three annual subscription plans, which are valid for only one machine at a time.

1. Desktop Edition to 1,898

• Automatic timestamp
• Popular file formats

2. Pro Edition at 6,598

• Support for embedding subtitles in TV shows
• Subtitle overlay

3. Enterprise Edition at 15,525

• Automated subtitling
• External conversion and scripting and control

The scheduled text-to-speech feature is available separately at a price of $99 per month.

What is subtitling software?

Closed captioning software is a program that allows video creators and owners to create text for a video for interpretive purposes. The text is generally a transcript of the current audio portion, which may also include non-vocal audio elements such as music.

Depending on the software's features, users can embed the text directly into the video or download it separately. Many platforms allow users to create subtitles manually or create them automatically from transcripts.

Summary.

Given the importance of video content on the web, closed captions have become a must-have feature. Pages with video transcripts are likely to see increased revenue compared to pages that don't.

If you want to improve the reach of your videos, choose from the following options:

• Rev: The best solution for short lead times
• 3Play Media: Best subtitling service that complies with service level agreements
• CaptioningStar: Best for full subtitling
• Vitac: Best for online and offline subtitling
• Archive subtitling: Best for live subtitling
• MacCaption: Best for bulk captioning

I hope my efforts will help you find the best subtitling software.

Further reading: Want to know how to combine subtitling software with translation software to create truly global content?

Check out my list of best translation software if you want to extend the reach of your content.