What Is the Difference Between Captions and Subtitles?
Captions write out a video’s speech and key sounds for people who cannot hear it; subtitles give the speech in a language the viewer reads, often a translation.
In the usual meaning, captions are in the same language as the audio and include sounds that matter, such as [applause] or [thunder], so a deaf or hard-of-hearing viewer can follow. Subtitles assume the viewer can hear and give the dialogue in another language. British English often calls both subtitles.
YouTube uses the two words together: its help page says subtitles and captions share your videos with a larger audience, including deaf or hard-of-hearing viewers and viewers who speak another language, and suggests typing sound notes like “[applause]”. It makes automatic captions only in the video’s own language.
Either can be closed, a separate track the viewer turns on or off, or open, burned into the picture. Most short videos burn captions in, because many people watch with the sound off.
How to add captions to TikTok, Reels and Shorts
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