How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- Rev is the fastest route to accurate captions for one-off videos, with AI captions from $0.25 per minute and human-verified captions at $1.99 per minute.
- 3Play Media, Verbit, and Ai-Media serve organizations with compliance needs, offering live captioning, audio description, and integrations with video platforms.
- Sonix, Trint, and HappyScribe fit teams that caption in-house: AI drafts in dozens of languages with editors for cleanup, priced per audio hour or per minute.
- Amara is the free option for DIY captioning, with a solid online editor backed by a nonprofit, plus a paid service when you want it done for you.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Rev | Fast, accurate captions on demand | $0.25 per minute (AI captions) | No |
 3Play Media | Compliance-grade accessibility at scale | See website | No |
 Ai-Media | Broadcast and live captioning | See website | No |
 Verbit | Education, legal, and media workflows | See website | No |
 CaptioningStar | Full-service captioning on a budget | See website | No |
 Sonix | In-house AI captioning and transcription | $10 per audio hour | Free trial |
 Trint | Newsrooms and media teams | See website | Free trial |
 HappyScribe | Multilingual teams in 150+ languages | See website | Free trial |
 Amara | Free DIY captioning | Free (paid Amara On Demand service available) | Yes |
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We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best closed captioning software
Starting price$0.25 per minute (AI captions)
Free planNo
Picture a marketing manager who needs captions on a product video by tomorrow. She uploads the file to Rev, gets AI captions back in minutes for $0.25 per minute, and reviews them in the built-in editor. When the video is a CEO keynote that cannot contain errors, she orders human captions at $1.99 per minute instead. That two-tier choice is why Rev stays popular: speed when you need it, humans when accuracy matters more.
Rev has shifted its main platform toward legal and investigative work, but the captioning service runs as before, with speaker identification and support for 37+ languages on AI captions. The custom glossary is a small feature with outsized value: add product names and jargon once, and they come out spelled right every time. There is no free plan, so budget per-minute costs for your video volume.
What we like- AI captions from $0.25/min with five-minute turnaround
- Human captions at $1.99/min for near-perfect accuracy
- Custom glossary for brand terms
Watch out for- No free tier
- Human turnaround takes up to 24 hours
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Universities, government agencies, and media companies with legal accessibility obligations tend to land on 3Play Media. The service combines AI drafts with expert human review to hit 99%+ accuracy, and the same account can order live captioning for events, audio description for blind viewers, and translation into 20+ languages. Integrations with platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, and Kaltura push finished captions straight to your library.
Compliance is the selling point: 3Play guarantees adherence to ADA, Section 508, WCAG, and broadcast rules like CVAA. That assurance costs more than per-minute AI services, and pricing is quote-based rather than self-serve. For a company captioning a few videos a month, the enterprise machinery is overkill. For an organization captioning thousands of hours under a legal deadline, it is exactly the point.
What we like- 99%+ accuracy with human review
- Live captioning and audio description
- 20+ integrations with video platforms
Watch out for- Pricing is quote-based and premium
- Overkill for a handful of videos
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Ai-Media lives in the world of live television, sports, and large events. Its LEXI AI engine generates real-time captions during broadcasts, delivered through the iCap cloud network that broadcasters already use, with optional hardware encoders for studio production. The company also offers automated audio description, which matters now that ADA Title II deadlines require it for many public entities.
This is infrastructure, not an app you sign up for in five minutes. Pricing is custom and the sales process is consultative. If you run a broadcast operation, a university with live-streamed classes, or a government agency captioning public meetings, Ai-Media's accuracy at live speed is hard to match. Everyone else should look at the file-based services on this list.
What we like- Real-time LEXI AI captions for live broadcast
- ICap cloud delivery network
- Hardware encoders for professional production
Watch out for- Enterprise sales process
- Not built for one-off file captioning
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Verbit sells to institutions rather than individuals: universities captioning lecture libraries, courts needing transcripts, media companies localizing content. The platform pairs AI with human expertise, offers live captioning for classrooms and meetings, and translates into 50+ languages. Compliance coverage spans ADA, FCC, and WCAG, which is why procurement teams at large organizations approve it.
The trade is accessibility of the buying kind. There is no pricing page with a buy button; you talk to sales. Smaller teams may find the platform's breadth, legal transcription, market research, education, media, more than they need. For a university accessibility office or a media company standardizing captioning across departments, that breadth is the appeal.
What we like- Purpose-built for education, legal, and media
- Live captioning plus transcription
- Strong compliance coverage (ADA, FCC, WCAG)
Watch out for- Enterprise pricing with no self-serve option
- Platform is broad, which adds complexity
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
CaptioningStar is a full-service captioning company rather than a software platform, and that distinction matters for buyers who want to hand off the work entirely. Operating since 2006, it covers closed captions, open captions, broadcast captioning, live event captioning, and audio description, in more than 100 languages. You send files or stream credentials; finished captions come back.
Because humans do the work, pricing is quote-based and turnaround depends on current volume, so plan ahead for big projects. The upside is a single vendor for everything accessibility-related, with 16,000+ clients as evidence it delivers. Small businesses that need a few dozen videos captioned correctly, without learning a new tool, often find this simpler than a platform subscription.
What we like- Human captioning services since 2006
- Live, broadcast, and open captioning
- 100+ languages
Watch out for- Service-based, so turnaround depends on queue
- Website pricing is quote-driven
#6
Sonix
Best for: In-house AI captioning and transcription
Visit sonix.ai
Starting price$10 per audio hour
Free planFree trial
Sonix is for teams that caption their own videos and want the AI to do the first draft. Upload a file, get a timestamped transcript with speaker labels in minutes, then clean it up in the browser editor and export captions in standard formats. At $10 per audio hour for pay-as-you-go AI transcription across 54+ languages, the math beats human services for large libraries where perfect accuracy is not legally required.
The honest limit is accuracy. Sonix advertises high AI accuracy, but machine captions still mishear names, jargon, and crosstalk, so anything requiring legal compliance needs a human pass. For internal training videos, YouTube content, and podcasts where you review before publishing, the workflow is fast and the price is fair. A free trial lets you test accuracy on your own audio before committing.
What we like- AI transcription at $10 per audio hour
- 54+ languages
- In-browser editor with speaker labels and search
Watch out for- AI accuracy needs human review for compliance-grade work
- Pay-as-you-go adds up at high volume
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial
Trint grew up in newsrooms, and it shows. Reporters upload interviews, search transcripts for quotes, and push selects into stories, with captions as a natural export of the same workflow. Live transcription covers 50+ languages, translation reaches 70+, and the Story Builder turns verified quotes into drafts. Collaboration is real-time, so producers and editors work the same file.
Captioning here is a feature of a media production platform, not a standalone service, and pricing reflects that team focus. A solo creator captioning occasional videos will find it more than needed. A content team that transcribes daily and publishes captioned video as part of its output gets transcription, captions, and collaboration in one subscription.
What we like- Built for journalist and media workflows
- Live transcription in 50+ languages
- Collaborative editing and story builder
Watch out for- Priced for teams, not casual users
- Captioning is part of a bigger platform
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial
When your videos span languages, HappyScribe's 150+ language coverage is the standout spec. The platform combines AI transcription with an optional human-made service at 99%+ accuracy, plus subtitles and translation in the same workspace. Pay-as-you-go per-minute pricing suits irregular volumes, while subscriptions fit steady output. An AI glossary keeps names and jargon spelled correctly across languages.
The company is upfront that AI transcription lands around 90% on real multi-speaker meetings, which is fine for drafts and YouTube uploads but not for compliance filings. For European teams, EU data residency and GDPR compliance are practical advantages. Check the pricing page for current per-minute and plan rates, since they are updated regularly.
What we like- 150+ languages, the widest on this list
- AI plus optional human-made 99%+ service
- Pay-as-you-go per minute available
Watch out for- Subscription pricing adds up for heavy users
- Human service costs significantly more
Starting priceFree (paid Amara On Demand service available)
Free planYes
Amara is the free path. Run by the nonprofit Participatory Culture Foundation, it offers a well-designed online editor for creating captions and subtitles yourself, with waveforms, keyboard shortcuts, and team management for coordinating volunteers or vendors. It integrates with YouTube and Vimeo for import and export, and an API automates larger workflows.
There is no AI transcription inside the editor, so you type or paste from another tool, which takes real time. For nonprofits, educators, and community projects captioning on a zero budget, that trade is worth it, and the platform's FCC accessibility award signals genuine quality. When you would rather pay, Amara On Demand orders professional subtitles from the same organization.
What we like- Free online subtitle editor
- Team and volunteer workflows
- Nonprofit mission with FCC recognition
Watch out for- No AI auto-captioning built in
- Manual work takes time
What to look for before you buy
Start with accuracy requirements, because they split this market in two. If captions must meet legal standards like ADA or FCC rules, you need human-verified services such as 3Play Media, Verbit, or CaptioningStar, and you should ask for their accuracy guarantee in writing. If captions are for YouTube engagement and general accessibility, AI drafts from Sonix, Trint, HappyScribe, or Rev, reviewed by a human before publishing, are far cheaper.
Next, check turnaround and volume. Live events need real-time captioning from Ai-Media, 3Play, or Verbit, booked in advance. Large back catalogs favor per-minute AI pricing or platform subscriptions over per-file services. Then look at formats: confirm the tool exports the caption files your platform needs, typically SRT or VTT for web video, SCC for broadcast. Finally, test with your own audio. Accents, jargon, and crosstalk vary wildly, so run the free trial on a real file before committing to a vendor.
How we chose
We researched pricing pages, documentation, and feature lists on each vendor's own site, then checked buyer sentiment on G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot. We included both service-based captioning (humans do the work) and software platforms (you do the work with AI help), because buyers search for both under "closed captioning software." We excluded generic transcription tools with no caption export, freelancers marketplaces, and services that had shut down. We did not order captioning ourselves; the method rests on vendor documentation, published pricing, and public reviews.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between closed captions and subtitles?
Closed captions include non-speech information like sound effects and speaker labels, and viewers can turn them on or off. Subtitles typically translate dialogue only. For accessibility compliance in the US, you usually need true closed captions, not just subtitles.
How much does closed captioning cost?
AI captioning runs from about $0.25 per minute (Rev) or $10 per audio hour (Sonix). Human-verified captioning costs more, around $1.99 per minute at Rev, with enterprise services like 3Play Media priced by quote. Free options like Amara cost only your time.
How accurate is AI captioning?
Good AI reaches roughly 90% word accuracy on clear audio, less with accents, jargon, or crosstalk. That is fine for YouTube and internal video after a human review. Legal and broadcast compliance generally requires human-verified captions at 99%+ accuracy.
Do I need live captioning or post-production captioning?
Live captioning covers events, classes, and broadcasts as they happen, from vendors like Ai-Media, 3Play Media, and Verbit. Post-production captioning applies to recorded videos and is cheaper and more accurate, since there is no real-time pressure.
Which caption formats will I need?
SRT and VTT cover most web video including YouTube and Vimeo. Broadcast television uses SCC. Social platforms accept SRT uploads. Confirm your video host's requirements before ordering, and ask the vendor which formats are included.
Can I caption videos myself for free?
Yes. Amara's free editor handles the whole job, and YouTube's built-in caption tools generate free automatic captions you can edit. DIY works for small volumes; the time cost grows fast past a few hours of video per month.
Sources we checked (11)
- https://www.rev.com
- https://www.3playmedia.com
- https://ai-media.tv/
- https://verbit.ai/
- https://www.captioningstar.com
- https://sonix.ai/
- https://trint.com/
- https://www.happyscribe.com
- https://amara.org/
- https://www.notta.ai/en/blog/best-closed-captioning-software
- http://riverside.com/blog/best-closed-captioning-software
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.