Burn Subtitles into a Video for Instagram Reels — Free
Most Instagram Reels are watched with sound off. Burning captions into the pixels (instead of relying on auto-captions) keeps the message visible everywhere.
Step-by-step
Prepare a SRT or VTT subtitle file
Use any auto-captioning tool to generate captions. Export as SRT or VTT — both are plain text and widely supported.
Burn the subtitles in
Open the Subtitle Burner, drop in the video and the SRT, choose font / size / color, and export. The text becomes part of the video pixels.
Reframe to 9:16 and post
Reframe to 9:16 (1080×1920) and upload to Reels. Burned-in captions appear regardless of viewer settings.
Recommended settings
| Subtitle formats supported | SRT, VTT, ASS |
|---|---|
| Recommended font size | 32–40 px for 1080p |
| Output | H.264 + AAC, MP4 (9:16) |
Check before you publish
- Check the captions sit above the bottom 20%. Instagram puts the account name, the caption and the audio strip there, and burned-in text ends up underneath them.
- Read the whole clip at phone size. 32 px is the floor for 1080p, and anything smaller is a wall of grey on a 6-inch screen.
- Confirm the timing at the end of the clip, where drift in an SRT is largest and most visible.
Tools you may also need
FAQ
Should I use Reels' built-in captions instead?
They work for organic posts but disappear in cross-posts (DMs, downloads, embeds). Burned-in captions are permanent and travel everywhere.
Can I customize the font?
Yes — the burner lets you pick any system font, set color and outline, and reposition the line. Subtitles for the bottom-third are standard.
Does this run in my browser?
Yes — every step in this guide uses an in-browser FFmpeg WebAssembly tool. Your video never uploads to a server and never leaves your device.