Captions Cut vs CapCut
A full video editor with auto captions inside, against an app that only does captions.
Written by the maker of Captions Cut. CapCut’s facts are from its public pages, checked 21 October 2026; plans and prices change, so confirm them there.
The short answer
CapCut is a complete video editor, on every platform, with automatic captions as one of hundreds of tools; the video goes to CapCut’s servers for captioning and the fuller feature set sits behind CapCut Pro. Captions Cut does one thing: word-by-word animated captions for short videos, on iPhone and in the browser, with the video never leaving your device, paid per second of audio rather than by subscription. If you already edit in CapCut and its captions look the way you want, stay there. If you want captions that follow every word, a transcript you can correct, and no video upload, Captions Cut is the lighter tool.
Side by side
| Captions Cut | CapCut | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A captions app. Captions only: transcript, timing, position, style, translation. No cuts, music or effects. | A full video editor: cuts, transitions, effects, music, text, templates, with auto captions as one feature. |
| Price | Free app; 1 credit per second of audio. Packs from $2.99 (30 minutes), never expire. Pro $7.99 a month or $49.99 a year. | Free editor. CapCut Pro, as checked in October 2026, is listed around $19.99 a month or $179.99 a year in the US and varies by region and store; a lower tier around $9.99 caps exports at 1080p. |
| Where the video goes | The video stays on your device. Only the audio track is uploaded for transcription and deleted right after. | The video is uploaded to CapCut’s servers for auto captions and most AI features. |
| Platforms | iPhone (iOS 18 or later) and the web editor in Chrome, Edge or Safari. | iPhone, Android, Windows, macOS and the web. |
| Languages | 53 spoken languages plus Auto detect. | Auto captions in a long list of languages; the exact count varies by platform and plan. |
| Caption styles | 48 word-by-word animated styles, 137 open-licence fonts, every style editable. | Many text presets and animations; word-by-word highlighting is available through templates and the caption settings. |
| Editing the transcript | Tap any word to fix the text or nudge its timing; split or merge lines. | Edit the generated text and timing in the caption track. |
| Export | 1080p or 4K to Photos or a download; free exports carry a small mark, Pro removes it. | 1080p on free and the lower tier; 4K with Pro. Some templates end with a CapCut clip you can delete. |
| Account | None needed. Sign in with Apple or Google only to share credits between iPhone and the web. | A CapCut or TikTok account is needed for cloud features. |
Choose CapCut when
- You want to cut, colour, add music and effects in the same app as the captions.
- You edit on Android, Windows or a Mac.
- You rely on CapCut’s templates and trend library.
- You caption a lot of long video on the free tier and the cloud processing suits you.
Choose Captions Cut when
- You want the video to stay on your phone: only the audio is sent, then deleted.
- You caption a few clips a week and would rather pay per second than subscribe.
- You want the spoken word highlighted, with styles made for that, in one tap.
- You want captions kept inside the safe area of Reels, TikTok and Shorts without checking each one.
Questions
Is Captions Cut made by CapCut?
No. Captions Cut is an independent app by a single developer, with no connection to CapCut or ByteDance. The names sound alike; the products are different.
Can I use both?
Yes. A common flow is to cut the video in CapCut, export it, then caption the export in Captions Cut so the captions follow every word and the video never leaves the phone.
Which is cheaper?
For captions alone, usually Captions Cut: a 2 hours pack costs $8.99 and never expires, so an occasional creator pays nothing in the months they post nothing. CapCut’s free tier is free, but 4K export and the full toolkit need CapCut Pro, which as of October 2026 costs more per month than Captions Cut Pro.