Word-by-word captions for Instagram Reels

Instagram Reels aspect ratios and length limits

Duration: Instagram's Reels editor supports clips up to 3 minutes (Instagram's recommendation engine favours Reels under 3 minutes for non-follower reach).
Full-screen vertical (9:16): Cuecaps exports 1080 × 1920 MP4s (or 1440p/4K on Pro) at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps.
Feed portrait (4:5): Cuecaps also exports 1080 × 1350 if you produce 4:5 feed videos from the same project.

Navigating Meta's 35% bottom UI zone

Meta's official Reels specification instructs creators and advertisers to keep the top 14%, the bottom 35% and 6% on each side free of text. That bottom 35% is taller than both YouTube Shorts and TikTok because Instagram stacks the account handle, follow button, caption preview, audio marquee and engagement icons across the lower third.

In the Cuecaps studio, drag your caption block slightly higher than default—to around 55–60% of the frame height (shown live as a percentage while you drag)—or verify your exact frame in our free Reels Safe Zone Checker (/tools/safe-zone-checker).

Staying inside the Instagram profile grid crop

Instagram displays Reels on your profile grid as 3:4 vertical thumbnails, cropping off the top and bottom of your 9:16 video. Placing your captions at 55–60% height keeps them safely inside both the 9:16 Reels safe zone and the 3:4 profile grid crop.

Pro tip: when picking your Reel cover frame, scrub to a moment where a bold emphasised hook word is on screen so visitors browsing your grid can read the topic without tapping.

Burned-in styles vs. Instagram closed captions

Instagram's auto-generated closed captions sit low near the interface text, can be switched off by viewers, and frequently misspell brand names or industry terms.

With Cuecaps, you feed custom names and terms into Cloud transcription (ElevenLabs Scribe v2) beforehand, style your words with 24 video-licensed fonts or your own uploaded brand font, and burn the captions directly into the MP4 (or export a transparent MOV/WebM overlay for Premiere, Resolve or Final Cut).

Questions

Should I export 9:16 or 4:5 for Instagram Reels?

Always export 9:16 (1080 × 1920) for Reels so your video fills the entire vertical phone screen. Only choose 4:5 (1080 × 1350) if you are posting a traditional in-feed portrait video.

Why are my captions getting covered at the bottom of Instagram Reels?

Instagram's Reels interface covers the bottom 35% of a 9:16 frame—higher than Shorts or TikTok. Drag your captions up to 55–60% height in the Cuecaps studio before exporting.

Can I use my brand's custom font on Reels?

Yes. In addition to 24 built-in fonts (like Instrument Serif, Poppins, Montserrat and TikTok Sans), Creator and Pro let you upload your own TTF, OTF or WOFF font files and save your brand layout as a reusable preset.

Try it on your video

You can also drop a file anywhere on this page. Or tryTry the demo clip