Dedicated caption studio vs. all-in-one editor
CapCut handles your entire short-form edit in one app: timeline cuts, music, transitions, effects and captions. Cuecaps focuses exclusively on the captions and gives you deeper control over them: every spoken word sits as a block on an audio waveform, active words can be boxed, coloured, grown or revealed in ten customizable styles, and captions export either burned-in or on a transparent background.
You don't have to abandon CapCut to use Cuecaps. Many creators cut their video in CapCut for free, then run the exported clip through Cuecaps for unlimited transcription and cleaner word-by-word typography.
Auto-captions on the free plan
While CapCut still lists auto-captions on its free tier, independent testing in 2026 confirmed that free accounts hit a monthly usage cap and a Pro upgrade wall—without a published number of free uses.
In Cuecaps, on-device transcription is permanently free and unlimited on every plan, because the speech model runs locally inside your browser tab. The Free plan also includes 10 minutes a month of cloud transcription (ElevenLabs Scribe v2) for noisy audio, unlimited SRT/VTT subtitle exports, and 1080p MP4 exports with a small "Made with cuecaps.com" mark.
What it costs
- CapCut Pro is $19.99 a month or $179.99 a year in the US before tax (pricing varies by region).
- Cuecaps Creator is €9 a month or €84 a year, including VAT. It removes the watermark and unlocks transparent MOV/WebM overlays, custom font uploads and 300 cloud transcription minutes a month.
- Cuecaps Pro is €19 a month or €180 a year (VAT included), adding 1,200 cloud minutes and 1440p/4K export up to 60 fps.
If you use CapCut Pro's paid video effects, stock library and cloud storage, Cuecaps won't replace those. If auto-captions and word-by-word styling are the only reason you're being pushed to upgrade, Cuecaps Creator costs less than half the monthly price.
Two ways to pair Cuecaps with CapCut
1. Burned-in MP4 (fastest): Finish your cut in CapCut and export the clean video. Drop that MP4 into Cuecaps, generate and style your word-by-word captions, and export the final captioned MP4 ready for TikTok, Reels or Shorts—all rendered locally in your browser.
2. Transparent overlay or SRT: On Creator and Pro, you can export the animated captions alone as a transparent WebM or MOV track to place above your footage in CapCut desktop, or export a free SRT file to feed into CapCut's native subtitle track.
Which one to choose
- Stick with CapCut alone if you want a single mobile or desktop app for cutting, effects and basic captions.
- Choose Cuecaps if you hit CapCut's free auto-caption limit, want frame-accurate word timing on a waveform, or need transparent overlays for Premiere, Resolve or CapCut desktop.
- Use both together: cut for free in CapCut, then caption in Cuecaps.
Prices and limits were verified on 26 October 2026. See the comparison table and sources below.
Side by side
| Compared on | Cuecaps | CapCut |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | Creator €9, Pro €19 (VAT included) | Pro $19.99 (US web price before tax; varies by country) |
| Paid yearly | €7 or €15 a month (€84 or €180 a year, VAT included) | $179.99 a year (about $15 a month, before tax) |
| Export & video limits | Unlimited exports and videos on every plan. Cloud transcription: 300 or 1,200 min/mo; on-device transcription is unlimited | No published video export limit |
| Free plan | Unlimited on-device transcription, 10 cloud minutes/mo, unlimited 1080p MP4 (small watermark) and free SRT/VTT export | Watermark on some exports; free accounts hit an unpublished usage cap on auto captions (per 2026 third-party testing) |
| Transparent NLE overlays | Yes on Creator & Pro: MOV with alpha (PNG codec) and WebM with alpha (VP9) | No standalone transparent caption export on standard workflow |
| Highest resolution | 1080p up to 60 fps on Free & Creator; 1440p and 4K 60 fps on Pro | 1080p free, 4K on Pro |
| Where your video goes | Stays on your computer; rendered in your browser. Only compressed audio is sent for cloud transcription | Depends on whether you use desktop, web or mobile |
| Scope | Dedicated word-by-word captioning studio (pairs with any video editor) | Full all-in-one video editor with cuts, music, effects and templates |
Checked 26 October 2026. CapCut: US dollars before tax; Cuecaps prices are in euros including VAT. Prices change, so check each company’s site before deciding. Sources: CapCut Pro price, FluxNote, October 2026; CapCut auto-caption cap, Reel Video Captions, June 2026.
Questions
Are CapCut's auto captions still free?
CapCut includes a small trial allowance on free accounts, after which users hit a usage cap and a CapCut Pro upgrade prompt (CapCut does not publish the exact monthly cap). Cuecaps' on-device browser transcription has no usage limit on any plan.
Can I use Cuecaps on my phone like CapCut?
Yes. Open cuecaps.com on your phone and the studio fits the screen, with the preview on top and the transcript, styles and timing in a bar at the bottom. You can caption and export there too. CapCut is still the better phone app for cutting and effects; Cuecaps does the captions.
Does Cuecaps have CapCut-style word animations?
Cuecaps includes ten purpose-built presets (Bold, Karaoke, Clean, Comic, Tall, Editorial, Boxed, Rounded, Typewriter and Glow) with eight entrance animations and five active-word highlight modes. Every setting—font, colours, stroke, shadow and words per line—is adjustable and can be saved as a reusable preset.
Why are CapCut's prices listed in dollars?
The verified figures come from CapCut's US web pricing before tax, as regional pricing varies. Cuecaps prices are in euros and include VAT.
Try it on your video
You can also drop a file anywhere on this page. Or tryTry the demo clip