How to Make Automatic Subtitles on Mac

By NUR Technologies · October 28, 2026 · 4 min read

Typing subtitles by hand means writing every word and syncing it to the audio. Automatic subtitles do the listening for you. Here is what a Mac offers and how to get a finished result.

What macOS has built in

Recent versions of macOS include Live Captions in the Accessibility settings, which shows live text of the audio playing on your Mac. It is meant for following along, not for producing subtitles for your own video: it does not create a caption file or put captions into the video.

Automatic subtitles with Offcaps

1. Drop in the videoOpen it in Offcaps.
2. Wait for the transcriptionOn-device AI writes the words with timing for each word. Nothing is uploaded.
3. Fix mistakesRead the text and correct names, brands and numbers.
4. Choose a look and exportPick a style, then export an MP4 with burned-in captions, or an SRT or VTT file.

Tips for better automatic subtitles

• Clear audio helps most: less background noise means fewer mistakes.
• Check proper nouns: names of people, places and products are the usual slips.
• Keep a copy of the text: you can also export plain text and reuse it for a post or a description.