Add Text to Video Online
Add multiple text layers, titles, labels, or manual captions to a video. Control timing, position, size, font, colors, outline, shadow, background box, opacity, and rotation.
Add Text with an Online Video Editor
Create and preview multiple text layers directly over the displayed video frame. Drag a selected layer, resize it with corner handles, rotate it, and choose when it appears.
Text is entered manually. The tool does not transcribe speech or automatically generate subtitle timing.
How to Add Text to Video
Each text element is a separate layer. You can give layers different wording, styles, positions, sizes, angles, and visibility ranges. The preview shows which layers are active at the current timeline position.
Step-by-step
- Upload or drag and drop a video file.
- Edit the sample layer or click Add text for another layer.
- Enter the wording and choose a preset or custom style.
- Drag, resize, or rotate the layer in the preview.
- Set its start and end time, then preview the timeline.
- Click Add text and download the processed video.
Available controls
- Title, Caption, and Label presets.
- Font family and size, text color and opacity.
- Line spacing, outline, shadow, and background box.
- Position, dimensions, rotation, start, and end time.
- Multiple independently editable text layers.
Titles, Labels, and Manual Captions
Choose the text type by purpose
- Title: introduce a topic, section, person, or location.
- Label: identify an object, step, feature, or speaker.
- Callout: highlight a short instruction or key fact.
- Manual caption: type a short line and set its timing yourself.
Text overlay vs subtitles
Use this tool for manually positioned text. For longer dialogue with many timed lines, use Add Subtitles to Video or the full editor rather than creating every sentence as a design layer.
Why Add Text to a Video?
Text can establish context, identify a speaker, explain a step, reinforce a call to action, or make a short message understandable without audio. Keep each layer concise enough to read during its visible duration.
Check contrast against both bright and dark parts of the footage. An outline, shadow, or semi-transparent box can improve readability when the background changes.
Popular use cases
- Add an opening title or section heading.
- Identify people, products, locations, or tutorial steps.
- Place a short call to action at a specific time.
- Add manually timed captions for a short quote.
- Highlight an important number, warning, or instruction.
Design for readability
Avoid long paragraphs, low contrast, very small type, and text too close to frame edges. Preview the whole video because a position that works in one scene may cover a face or important object later.
Safe Placement and Timing
Keep essential text inside a comfortable margin from the frame edges so it is less likely to be obscured by a platform interface or cropped in another layout. Check faces, product details, existing captions, and logos throughout the layer's full visible range.
Give viewers enough time to read. Short labels can appear briefly, while a longer sentence needs a longer start-to-end range. The tool does not automatically calculate reading time or platform safe zones.
Add Text, Add Subtitles, Add Image, or Use the Full Editor?
Add Text
Create styled, positioned text layers with manual timing.
Add Subtitles
Work with longer sequences of timed dialogue or caption lines.
Add Image
Place a logo, graphic, sticker, or other image overlay instead of text.
Full Video Editor
Combine text with clips, audio, subtitles, transitions, and more complex timing.
Supported Video Formats
The uploader accepts common formats including MP4, MOV, AVI, WebM, and MKV. Browser preview and processing support can vary by the codecs inside each file, so review the downloaded result before publishing.
Learn More About Adding Text to Video
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about adding text to videos.
Can I add text to video online for free?
Yes. You can add text directly in your browser without installing software.
Can I position text anywhere on the video?
You can drag text within the displayed video frame and resize or rotate the selected layer. Keep essential wording away from the outer edges.
Can I control when text appears?
Yes. You can set the timing and duration of each text element.
Will adding text reduce video quality?
Adding text creates a newly processed file, so encoding, file size, or visual quality can change. Review the downloaded result before publishing.
What formats are supported?
The uploader accepts common formats including MP4, MOV, AVI, WebM, and MKV. Compatibility can depend on the codecs inside the file.
Can I add multiple text layers?
Yes. You can add multiple text elements to the same video.
Can I add titles to video?
Yes. Use the Title preset or customize a text layer's font, colors, outline, shadow, background box, position, and timing.
Can I add text overlay to video?
Yes. Each layer can have its own wording, style, position, size, rotation, start time, and end time.
Does the tool automatically generate captions?
No. Text and timing are entered manually. Use Add Subtitles to Video or another transcription workflow for longer spoken dialogue.
Can I use different styles in one text layer?
A layer uses one set of style controls. Create separate layers when words need different fonts, colors, sizes, positions, or timing.