What are burned-in captions?
Burned-in captions are subtitles baked into the video itself, so they always appear and can't be turned off. Here's when to use them versus closed captions.
In this article
The short definition
Burned-in captions (also called 'open captions' or 'hardcoded captions') are subtitles rendered permanently into the video's pixels. They're part of the image itself, so they always display, on every platform, and can't be turned off. This is different from closed captions, which are a separate text track the viewer can toggle.
Burned-in vs closed captions
Closed captions (and SRT files) are a separate, toggleable layer — good for long-form on YouTube or Vimeo, where viewers can turn them on or off. Burned-in captions travel with the file and show no matter what. For short-form — TikTok, Reels, Shorts — burned-in is the standard, because those platforms render their own UI and a separate caption track may not display reliably.
Why short-form relies on them
Most short-form is watched on mute, and the platforms autoplay silently. Burned-in captions guarantee the words are on screen the moment a clip starts — no dependence on the viewer enabling anything. They also let you style the text (size, color, animation) as part of the design, which a plain closed-caption track can't.
The trade-off
Because they're permanent, burned-in captions can't be edited after export or turned off — so you want them correct and well-placed before you render. The fix is to keep the caption text and styling editable right up to export, then burn them in once you're happy.
FAQ
What are burned-in captions?
Subtitles rendered permanently into the video's pixels, so they always display on every platform and can't be turned off — unlike closed captions, which are a toggleable separate track.
Burned-in or closed captions — which should I use?
For short-form (TikTok, Reels, Shorts), burned-in, because those feeds autoplay muted and may not show a separate track reliably. For long-form on YouTube, closed captions/SRT work well and stay toggleable.
Can you edit burned-in captions after exporting?
No — they're permanent once rendered. Edit the text and styling before export; tools like FrameOS keep captions editable right up to the burn-in step.
Are burned-in captions the same as open captions?
Yes — 'open captions' and 'hardcoded captions' are other names for burned-in captions.