How to add captions to a Facebook reel
By the maker of Captions Cut. Facts checked on from the pages listed under Sources.
The short answer
Facebook can transcribe a reel’s audio into an on-screen caption (tap Captions while editing) and lets Page videos use generated captions or an uploaded SRT file. Since June 2025 every Facebook video is posted as a reel. For word-by-word styled captions, burn them in with Captions Cut and keep them out of the top 14% and bottom 35% of the frame.
Facebook Reels video limits
| Facebook Reels | |
|---|---|
| Length | No minimum or maximum, Facebook says. |
| Shape | 9:16 recommended, 1440 × 2560 for ads. |
| File size | Up to 4 GB for Reels ads, MP4, MOV or GIF. |
Captions built into Facebook Reels
- In the reels editor, tapping Captions transcribes the audio into a caption you can restyle (font and colour).
- Page videos can use computer-generated captions, or an uploaded .srt file.
- Facebook’s automatic captions for ads are English only.
- Viewers on a computer can choose Settings › Media › Always show captions.
Caption files. Facebook takes SubRip (.srt) files for Page and profile videos and ads; the file must be UTF-8 with hh:mm:ss,mmm times.
Where captions are safe
Meta’s ads guide asks to leave roughly 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% on each side of a reel free of text: about 269, 672 and 65 pixels on 1080 × 1920. Captions Cut keeps captions inside the area the vertical apps leave clear: below the top bar and above the caption, buttons and username at the bottom. Drag them anywhere if your shot needs it.
Burn captions into a Facebook reel with Captions Cut
- Open captionscut.com/edit in a browser, or the Captions Cut iPhone app, and add the clip.
- Choose the spoken language or leave it on Auto detect (53 languages), check the cost (1 credit per second of audio) and create the captions.
- Read the transcript and tap any word to fix it.
- Pick one of 48 styles and place the captions clear of the app’s buttons.
- Export in 1080p or 4K and post it to Facebook Reels.
The video stays on your device: only the audio is sent for transcription, and it is deleted right after.
Platform captions or burned-in captions?
| Built into Facebook Reels | Burned-in captions | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sees them | Viewers who have captions on | Everyone, including on reposts and downloads |
| Style | The platform’s | Yours: font, colour, word-by-word highlight |
| Fixing mistakes | In the platform, after posting | Before posting, word by word |
| Search and accessibility tools | Readable as text by the platform | Part of the picture; add a caption file too where the platform takes one |
How we checked
Every Facebook Reels fact on this page comes from the platform’s own help, ads or developer pages, read on 22 October 2026. Where a page says nothing (a language list, a safe zone), this page says so rather than guess. Ads-guide numbers are for ads; organic posts have the same buttons in the same places.
Questions
Can I upload SRT captions to a Facebook reel?
Facebook documents SRT uploads for Page and profile videos and for ads. For a reel posted from the app, burned-in captions are the dependable way to have them show.
Sources
- Facebook: Reels length and orientation
- Facebook: creative tools in Reels
- Facebook: captions on Page videos
- Facebook: captions for video ads
- Meta ads guide: Facebook Reels
Each page read on .