Comparison
iPhone caption apps compared
What each one actually charges, whether your video leaves your phone, and where each of them — including ours — falls down.
Who wrote this
We make Captionry, one of the apps in the table. You should read this page knowing that. What we have tried to do instead of pretending otherwise: quote every price from the competitor's own live App Store listing rather than from memory, name the things they do better than us, and give Captionry its own row of real limitations. If you find something here that is wrong or out of date, email [email protected] and we will correct it.
The comparison
| App | What it costs | Is your video uploaded? | Watermark on free export |
|---|---|---|---|
| Captionry(ours) | Local captions and export are free. Optional cloud proofreading: 15 free or 120 subscriber video minutes per UTC calendar month. Optional subscription: US$3.99 per month or US$24.99 per year (U.S. prices). | Video/audio: only if you create a share link. Caption text: only with permission for Captionry cloud, or when you create a share link, as part of that video. | None, ever. |
| The subscription apps, including the category leader | $5.99–$7.99 per week, $7.99–$9.99 per month, or $47.99–$64.99 per year, depending on the app. Some add a higher tier around $24.99. | Yes — processing happens on their servers. | Free use is capped; the paid tier is the product. |
| The credit and minute-pack apps | Packs of transcription minutes from $0.99 to $19.99, a $3.99 one-time editor unlock, and a $24.99/month business tier. | Yes. | Free minutes are capped. |
We describe the alternatives by how they charge rather than by name. Every figure was read from a live US App Store listing on 5 September 2026, but subscription prices change often — and you should trust the App Store over a page written by one of the competitors.
How long it takes
On-device transcription has no video upload or queue. Optional cloud text proofreading adds network time when enabled. Local-path measurements on an iPhone 14:
- A 1-minute clip
- about 56 seconds, captioned and exported
- A 3-minute clip
- about 2 minutes 25 seconds
- A 10-minute clip
- under 8 minutes
There is no import length limit. Roughly half that time is writing the new video file, not the transcription — so a faster phone helps, but so does a shorter clip.
Where Captionry is the wrong choice
A comparison that finds the author best at everything is not a comparison. These are real reasons to use something else:
- You need Android, a desktop app, or a layout optimised for iPad. Captionry runs on iPad but is not yet optimised for its larger screen.
- Difficult audio — heavy noise, crosstalk or a distant microphone. Captionry does not re-transcribe audio in the cloud; optional AI proofreading only corrects likely errors in the local transcript. Cloud-first apps may do better when the speech was not captured clearly.
- You want the video edited for you — filler words cut, jump cuts made, B-roll suggested, an AI presenter. Captionry does captions. Several apps above do much more than that.
- You need translation into a language that neither Apple's built-in translation nor Captionry's optional AI step covers.
- You need a team plan, a web dashboard, or brand kits shared across people.
What Captionry is actually for
One person on an iPhone, with no sign-up: import up to 10 clips, transcribe locally, edit captions, choose from 20 caption styles and 16 fonts, add an optional translated line, and export to Photos. Those local features remain free. Optional cloud text proofreading has a free allowance and a larger subscription allowance.
Questions people actually ask
Is there a genuinely free iPhone app that adds subtitles without a watermark?
Captionry keeps local captioning, editing and watermark-free export free. Optional cloud proofreading includes 15 free video minutes per UTC calendar month, with a 120-minute subscriber allowance.
Do caption apps upload my video?
Captionry uploads a video only if you create a share link for it. With your permission, caption text, timing, languages and saved correction rules may go through Captionry cloud proofreading. You can keep captions local and choose whether to share subtitle files.
Can I caption a video without an internet connection?
Yes. Local transcription, editing and export work offline. Optional cloud text proofreading needs internet and is skipped when offline.
What is the longest video I can caption?
Captionry has no import limit; a 10-minute clip was measured at under 8 minutes end to end on an iPhone 14. Its optional AI proofreading takes videos up to 30 minutes and 400 captions; longer videos keep the local captions. Some competitors cap imports — one of the best-known at 30 minutes — and users of others report failures on clips longer than a few minutes.
Does it do bilingual or dual subtitles?
Yes — a second translated caption line, styled separately, translated on the iPhone (iOS 18 or later) or, if you allow it, by the optional AI step (also on iOS 16 and 17). It is a one-tap option, not a separate purchase.
Captionry
Local captions and export are free. Optional AI subscription; no Captionry account. Video and audio are uploaded only if you create a share link.