Free phone and desktop editor for TikToks and Reels, with auto captions and templates.
Video & Audio
Captions
Phone and web app that edits talking-head videos and adds animated captions for you.
3.9our rating
FreemiumFrom $24.99/moWorks with Claude Code
Quick take
- The fastest route from a phone clip of you talking to a captioned, trimmed video ready for Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn.
- The free plan covers basic trims and one caption style. The AI features need Max at $24.99 a month (iPhone price).
- AI features run on credits, and users say heavy edits like background changes burn through them quickly.
- The company is now called Mirage, but the app and website still say Captions.
- For long videos or a proper timeline, Descript, CapCut or Premiere do more.
What is Captions?
Captions is a video editor built for people who talk to camera. You film on your phone or upload a clip, and it transcribes what you said, adds animated captions in a style you pick, cuts out pauses and filler words, and can add zooms, B-roll, music and sound effects in one tap. Paid plans add AI tools such as eye-contact correction, dubbing into other languages, an AI "twin" of you, and AI actors for ads. The company behind it renamed itself Mirage in September 2025, but the app is still called Captions.
Pick it when the job is short, captioned social video of a person speaking: a founder update, a product tip, a recruiting clip. It is quicker than CapCut for that one job and far simpler than Descript or Premiere. If you mostly turn long recordings into many short clips, Opus Clip is built for that; if you need a full editing timeline, use Descript or CapCut.
The catch is the credit system. Free has no AI credits, and on paid plans the heavier AI features eat credits fast, so a month's allowance can go in a handful of edits. Billing and refund complaints come up regularly, and the listed prices are the iPhone prices, so check what you will pay on web or Android.
Who's using it, and who it's for
- Founders
- Coaches and consultants
- Social media managers
- Content creators
- Small marketing teams
Founders, coaches and marketers who post talking-to-camera videos on social media every week.
Key features
Automatic captions
Transcribes your speech and adds animated captions in dozens of styles and many languages.
AI Edit
Cuts silences and filler words and adds zooms, B-roll, music and sound effects in one go.
Eye contact and dubbing
Makes it look like you are looking at the lens while reading, and translates your voice into other languages.
AI twin and AI actors
Create a digital version of yourself or use stock AI presenters to make ad variations without filming.
Long video to clips
Pulls short clips from a longer recording for social posting.
Chat-based editing
Describe the change you want in plain words and the editor applies it.
How we rate it
3.9 / 5
Our rating
From using the tool ourselves. The average of the five scores.
- Ease of use
- 4.5
- Features
- 4.0
- Output quality
- 4.0
- Value for money
- 3.0
- Speed & reliability
- 4.0
How quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
How completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
How good the results are before you fix them.
What you get for the price, including the free plan.
How fast it is and how often it falls over.
Captions pricing
Free
Free
Trying it out with simple trims and captions.
- Basic editing tools such as trimming and transitions
- One caption template
- No AI credits
- Our pick
Max
$24.99/mo
Anyone posting talking-head videos every week.
- 500 AI credits a month
- AI Edit styles, AI twin and AI actors
- Long video to clips, custom B-roll and music
- Chat-based editor
Frontier
$69.99/mo
Heavy users and small teams making lots of AI video.
- 1,400 AI credits a month
- Access to the most advanced generative models
- Higher tiers up to 5,600 credits for $279.99/mo
Enterprise
Custom
Brands producing video at volume.
- Bulk credit discounts and custom seats
- Dedicated account manager and priority support
- Your data kept out of model training
Which plan should you pick?
Start on Free to see if the caption styles suit your brand. If you post most weeks, Max is the plan to pay for; only move to Frontier if you keep running out of credits. Prices shown are the iPhone prices and yearly plans are cheaper, so compare before you buy.
Prices in USD unless noted, checked 22 October 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on their site before you buy.
Best use cases
Ways Captions can slot into your week.
- 1
Weekly founder update
Film a two-minute update on your phone, let AI Edit cut the pauses and add captions, and post it to LinkedIn and Instagram.
- 2
Product tips for social
Record short how-to clips about your product and add on-brand captions so they work with the sound off.
- 3
Reach other markets
Dub a product video into Spanish or German in your own voice instead of filming it again.
- 4
Test ad hooks
Use AI actors to make several versions of the same ad script and see which opening performs best.
How it fits your tech stack
It sits at the start of a social video workflow: film, edit in Captions, then post or schedule through a tool like Later. Use Opus Clip next to it if you also cut clips from podcasts or webinars.
Connects to
- TikTok
- YouTube
Pros and cons
Pros
- Very quick to learn: filming to finished clip in minutes
- Caption styles look current and are easy to match to your brand
- Eye contact, dubbing and AI twin are useful for people who dislike filming
- Works on phone and web
- Has an API for captioning and video generation
Cons
- AI credits run out fast, and some users say failed AI edits still use them
- Recurring complaints about trial charges, renewals and refunds
- Free plan is very limited
- Not built for long or complex edits
Captions alternatives
The closest alternatives to Captions in the library, best rated first.
ElevenLabs
4.6
Best for video voiceovers
Compare with Captions
TurboScribe
4.4
Best for interview and research transcripts
Compare with CaptionsBest for rescuing poorly recorded interviews
Compare with CaptionsBest for brand films and product videos
Compare with Captions
Why it made the list
It is one of the most used apps for captioned short-form video, and it turns a raw phone clip into a postable video in minutes.
Captions FAQ
How much does Captions cost?
There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $24.99/mo. Prices checked 22 October 2026 against Captions's pricing page.
Is Captions free?
Yes, Captions has a free option. Start on Free to see if the caption styles suit your brand. If you post most weeks, Max is the plan to pay for; only move to Frontier if you keep running out of credits. Prices shown are the iPhone prices and yearly plans are cheaper, so compare before you buy.
What is Captions best for?
Captions is best for captioned reels, TikToks and Shorts, cleaning up talking-head clips and dubbing a video into other languages. Founders, coaches and marketers who post talking-to-camera videos on social media every week.
What are the best Captions alternatives?
The closest alternatives are ElevenLabs, TurboScribe, Adobe Podcast and DaVinci Resolve. ElevenLabs is best for video voiceovers.
More tools in Video & Audio
Turns long videos into short clips, and edits raw talking-head footage by chat.
Edit video and podcasts by editing the transcript, as easily as fixing a typo in a doc.
Type a script and a lifelike presenter reads it on camera, in your voice or any language.