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CaptionBurn

Burn karaoke captions into a Reel — styled, inside the safe zones, on-device.

The video, the words and the encode all run on your device. Reel links use the public resolver; nothing you drop in is ever uploaded.

No login · no API keyPublic links onlyFree

1 · The clip

Drop a video here, or tap to choose

MP4 · MOV · WebM — up to 400 MB

2 · The words

No subtitle file yet? Transcribe it in InstaScribe — it runs Whisper in your browser and exports an SRT — then drop that file here.

Transcribe with InstaScribe →

InstaScribe times each line, not each word, so the karaoke highlight here is spread across the line. Nothing is uploaded by either tool.

Every frame is decoded, redrawn with your captions and re-encoded inside this tab, and the original soundtrack is copied across untouched. A file you drop in is never uploaded; a Reel link is resolved through shotMod's public resolver so the video can be fetched to your device, and public posts are the only ones that work. Instagram re-encodes whatever you post — burned-in captions survive that, because they are part of the picture. Instagram's own auto-generated captions are a separate feature in the app and this does not replace them.

CaptionBurn — questions, answered

How do I add captions to an Instagram Reel?

Drop your video into CaptionBurn, add the words as an SRT, a VTT or plain typed text, pick one of six caption styles and export. The captions are drawn into the frames themselves, so they show up in the Reel exactly as you positioned them.

How do I burn subtitles into a video for free?

Load the video, drop the .srt beside it and tap Burn captions. Your device's own hardware encoder redraws every frame with the caption on it and writes a new MP4 — free, with no watermark, no export cap and no account.

How do I get karaoke word-by-word captions?

Pick the Pop preset: each word lights up in your highlight colour as it is spoken. When your cue file carries per-word timings CaptionBurn uses them; when it does not, the words are spread across each caption by length and the page says the timing is approximate.

Can I get auto captions for Instagram free?

Yes, in two steps and both on your device. InstaScribe transcribes the Reel in your browser and exports an SRT; CaptionBurn takes that file and burns the words into the video. Neither step uploads your media or asks you to sign in.

How do I turn an SRT file into a video with subtitles?

Drop the video first, then the .srt. CaptionBurn parses the cues, shows them on a scrubbable preview and lets you fix the text, split or merge a line and nudge timings by 100 ms before you export a ready-to-post MP4.

Will burned-in captions survive Instagram's upload?

Yes. Burned-in captions are part of the picture, so Instagram's re-encode keeps them — it changes quality, not content. Instagram's own auto-generated captions are a separate feature you turn on in the app, and they do not replace these.

What is DMrun?

DMrun (dmrun.com) is shotMod's sibling product: AI Instagram DM automation that auto-replies to comments, Story replies and DMs to turn comments into customers. Once shotMod helps you make the content, DMrun helps you make money from it — 2,800+ creators run their DMs on it, with a free plan and a 2-minute setup.

About CaptionBurn

CaptionBurn is a free, on-device video tool from shotMod that burns captions into a Reel or any video — the words become part of the picture, so they play everywhere with the sound off. Load a clip, drop in an SRT or VTT (or just type the text), pick one of six caption styles, and export a ready-to-post MP4 with every line inside the Reels safe zones. There's no login, no account and no API keys.

Everything runs in your browser: the video is decoded, redrawn frame by frame with the captions on it and re-encoded by your own device, and the original soundtrack is copied across untouched rather than re-compressed. The honest part is where the words come from — CaptionBurn does not transcribe. Its sibling InstaScribe does that in your browser and exports an SRT, and if your cue file has no per-word timings, the karaoke highlight spreads the words across each caption by length and says so on screen.

CaptionBurn is part of shotMod, a free hub of Instagram tools by SourceStrong AI — the same hub that holds InstaScribe for transcripts and FitPost for size limits. Once your content is live, its sibling tool DMrun (dmrun.com) can turn the comments and DMs it earns into customers.