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Edit Videos

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Add text to a video

Add and position text, preview it, then create your video.

How it works
  1. ImportChoose source
  2. EditSet the change
  3. PreviewReview result
  4. ExportCreate file
InputMP4, WebM, MOV and M4V videoOutputMP4 or WebM video

Text carries the message when a video plays muted, which is how most feed video is watched. This tool adds text layers you position by dragging them straight onto the picture, style with your own font size, colour and background, and time so each one appears and disappears exactly when you want. Everything is previewed in motion before export.

Legibility beats styling

Text on video has to survive a small screen, a moving background and compression. That means large — as a rule of thumb, at least 4% of the frame height, which is roughly 45 pixels on a 1080p canvas — with strong contrast against whatever is behind it. A solid or semi-transparent panel behind the words is more reliable than an outline or a drop shadow, because backgrounds change from shot to shot and a stroke that works over a dark wall vanishes over a bright window. Thin decorative fonts are the first thing to fall apart under a low bitrate.

Timing and safe areas

Give text long enough to be read: roughly a second for a short phrase, plus about a third of a second per extra word, and longer if the viewer is also meant to be watching something happen. Keep text inside a margin of around 10% from every edge — platforms crop differently, and phone interfaces plant buttons, captions and usernames over the bottom and right of a vertical video. Anything you place in those zones can be covered on the exact devices where most people will watch.

Layers for different jobs

Several independent text layers are easier to manage than one long block, because each can have its own position, style and timing — a title that appears in the first two seconds, a lower third under a speaker, a call to action at the end. Keeping them separate also means changing one does not disturb the others. If the text is a transcript of what is being said, use the subtitle tool instead: it handles timing to speech automatically and produces a standard caption format.

Questions, answered

What font size should I use?

At least 4% of the frame height — about 45 pixels on a 1080p video — for anything that must be readable on a phone. Titles want considerably more.

How do I make text readable over a busy background?

Put a solid or semi-transparent panel behind it. Outlines and shadows work over some backgrounds and disappear over others, while a panel is reliable everywhere in the clip.

How long should text stay on screen?

About a second for a short phrase, plus roughly a third of a second per additional word. Add more if the viewer also needs to watch something happening in the frame.

Can I add several pieces of text at different times?

Yes. Each text layer has its own position, styling and timing, so a title, a lower third and an end card can coexist in one video.

Should I use this for subtitles?

No. For a transcript of speech, the subtitle tool generates timed captions automatically and can export SRT or burn them in, which is far quicker than placing each line by hand.

Useful next steps

Continue with a tool that fits naturally after add text to video.

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