Captions and subtitles for short videos: style, size and placement
How to style, size and place captions on TikTok, Reels and Shorts so they are easy to read and never covered by the app, with a caption style sheet to copy.
The short answer
For short vertical videos, use burned-in captions in a bold sans-serif font, a few words at a time, high contrast against the background, and placed in the center area of the frame, slightly above or below middle. Keep them clear of the bottom band and right edge where TikTok, Reels and Shorts put their own captions and buttons.
Captions help people who watch with sound off, people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and people watching in a second language. They also keep attention: words appearing in time with speech give the eye something to follow.
Captions vs subtitles vs on-screen text
- Burned-in captions: part of the video image. Visible everywhere the video goes, styled exactly how you want.
- Closed captions: a separate text track that viewers can turn on. Platforms like YouTube support uploaded caption files, and they help accessibility and search.
- Auto captions: generated by the platform. Handy, but check them for errors, and make sure they do not overlap your burned-in text.
- On-screen text: headlines, labels and hooks that are not a transcript of speech.
For short-form social, burned-in captions are the common choice. For YouTube long videos, add a proper caption file as well.
Style rules that work
- Font: a bold, simple sans-serif. Avoid thin or script fonts.
- Size: large enough to read on a phone at arm's length. If you squint in preview, it is too small.
- Words per screen: about three to six. One short line, two at most.
- Contrast: white text with a dark outline or shadow, or dark text on a light box. Check it against the brightest and darkest shots.
- Highlight: optionally color the word being spoken. Use one accent color and keep it consistent.
- Timing: each caption appears with its words and leaves when they end. No captions running ahead of the voice.
Placement and safe zones
Every app covers part of the frame. The bottom holds the username and post caption; the right side holds the like, comment and share buttons. Exact margins differ by app and change with updates. TikTok and Meta publish safe zone guides for ads; use those as a check.
A practical rule: keep captions inside the central area, horizontally centered, with a margin from the right edge. Many creators place them just below the middle of the frame, where they sit under the subject's face but above the app's caption.
Plan for captions when you generate. Prompt for the subject in the upper or middle part of the frame and calm space below. For example: "Vertical 9:16, a woman in a denim jacket speaking to camera in a sunlit kitchen, framed from the chest up in the upper half of the frame, soft background."
Try this prompt in Create VideoA caption style sheet to copy
Copy this sheet into your project notes so every video in a series looks the same.
- Font: bold sans-serif, all lowercase or sentence case, never all caps for full sentences.
- Size: big enough that four words fill about two-thirds of the frame width.
- Color: white with a black outline; spoken keyword highlighted in one brand color.
- Position: centered, just below the middle of the frame.
- Line length: up to five words. Break lines at natural pauses, not mid-phrase.
- Hook text: larger, upper middle, first two seconds only.
- Numbers: written as digits for speed ("3 tips").
- Check: preview on a phone with the app's interface on, using a safe zone overlay.
A line broken at a natural pause reads like this: "you are storing / your herbs wrong" rather than "you are storing your / herbs wrong".
Captions in other languages
Captions are the cheapest way to reach a second language audience. You can keep the original voice and add translated captions, or replace the voice and caption in the new language.
ClickPop has AI voices in 30+ languages and adds captions, so you can make a voiced and captioned version for each language. Have a native speaker check the translation before you post, especially for slang or product terms. Some languages run longer than English, so allow fewer words per caption line.
Captions with exact words and numbers
AI video models are often weak at drawing text inside a scene; letters can warp or spell wrong. Do not ask the video model to render your captions. Add captions as a separate layer after generation.
For explainers where every number matters, ClickPop's Faceless Studio draws diagrams, charts and kinetic type in code, so every word and number on screen is exact, and it adds narration, music and captions.
Mistakes to avoid
- Captions at the very bottom, under the app's own caption.
- Long sentences that fill the screen and fall behind the voice.
- Thin white text on a bright background.
- Auto captions left uncorrected, with brand names misspelled.
- Burned-in captions plus platform auto captions overlapping.
- Different caption styles on every video in a series.
Questions
Where should captions go on TikTok and Reels?
In the central area of the frame, often just below the middle, clear of the bottom band and right-side buttons.
What font size should captions be?
Large enough to read on a phone at arm's length. If you have to squint in preview, make it bigger.
Should I use auto captions or burned-in captions?
Burned-in captions give you control and show everywhere. If you also use auto captions, correct them and make sure they do not overlap.
Can AI video models write captions inside the video?
They often warp text. Add captions as a separate layer after generating the video.