Captions vs subtitles: what's the difference?

The core difference

Captions are written for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, or anyone watching with the sound off. They carry everything the audio carries: dialogue, who is speaking when it isn't obvious, and meaningful non-speech sound such as [door slams], [phone buzzing] or [upbeat music].

Subtitles assume the viewer can hear the audio but may not understand the language. They usually carry only the dialogue, often translated, and leave sound effects to the soundtrack.

SDH (subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing) sits between the two: subtitle files, sometimes in the same language as the audio, that include speaker labels and sound cues like captions do.

An example of each

The same moment in a film, three ways. Subtitles in Spanish: “No abras esa puerta.” Same-language subtitles: “Don't open that door.” Captions: “[thunder rumbling] MAYA: Don't open that door. [door creaks]” Only the last one tells a viewer who can't hear what is happening and who said it.

Good captions are also edited for reading, not only for accuracy. Common practice is to keep each caption to one or two short lines, leave it on screen long enough to read, break lines at natural phrase boundaries, and only describe sounds that matter to the story. A caption that labels every footstep is as unhelpful as one that leaves out the knock at the door.

Open vs closed, and file formats

Closed captions can be turned on and off by the viewer; they travel as a separate track or file. Open captions are burned into the picture and always visible, which is common on social video that autoplays muted.

The file formats do not decide which one you have. SRT and WebVTT can hold either; what makes a file captions is its content. On the web, the HTML <track> element does let a page label a WebVTT file as kind="captions" or kind="subtitles".

• Use captions for accessibility. Many accessibility guidelines and laws expect them for published video, depending on where and by whom it is published.
• Use subtitles to reach viewers in another language.
• Use open captions for social feeds where most people watch muted.

In MediaFind

MediaFind saves any transcript as an SRT or VTT file, timed from the transcript and made on your computer with nothing uploaded, and Create can burn captions into a video when you render it. A transcript captures what was said, so to turn that file into full captions, add speaker names where needed and the non-speech sounds that matter, which is quick to do in any text editor. Walkthroughs: making SRT subtitles locally and the free subtitle converter.

Frequently asked questions

Are closed captions and subtitles the same thing?

Not strictly. Closed captions include sound cues and speaker labels for viewers who can't hear. Subtitles usually contain only dialogue for viewers who can hear but need the words or a translation.

What does SDH stand for?

Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing: subtitle files that also include sound cues and speaker identification, like captions.

Can an SRT file contain captions?

Yes. SRT is just a timed text format. Whether it counts as captions or subtitles depends on whether it includes sound cues and speaker information.

What are open captions?

Captions burned into the video image so they are always visible and cannot be turned off.