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Add Subtitles to a Canva Video

Canva doesn't import SRT or VTT files. Burn styled captions into your video with Exemplary AI, then upload the MP4 to Canva and design around it.

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Canva can't import an SRT or VTT file: subtitle files aren't among the formats it uploads.

So there are two ways to get subtitles into a Canva design. Use Canva's own captions, which it generates from the speech (Text > Dynamic text > Captions, or the Captions app), or burn the captions into the video first with Exemplary AI: upload the video, correct the transcript, pick a caption style and export an MP4 (H.264) with the captions in the picture, then upload that MP4 to Canva. Free plan: 500 one-time credits; files up to 500 MB and 30 min long; 720p video exports with a watermark.

Subtitles in Canva at a glance

Facts checked .

SRT or VTT import
Not supported: subtitle files aren't among Canva's upload formats
Canva's own captions
Generated from the speech, editable on their own layer, burned in when you download an MP4
Caption files out of Canva
No SRT or VTT export in Canva’s help
With Exemplary AI
An MP4 (H.264) with styled captions burned in, plus the transcript as SRT, VTT or TXT files if you need them elsewhere
Caption styles
26 caption styles
Free plan
500 one-time credits; files up to 500 MB and 30 min long; 720p video exports with a watermark
How it works

How to add burned-in subtitles to a Canva video

A captioned MP4 exported from Exemplary AI

Canva's captions or captions burned in first?

Canva's own captions are the quick route inside Canva: generate them from the speech (Text > Dynamic text > Captions, or search the Apps panel for Captions), edit the words and timing on their own layer, pick a style pack, and they're burned in when you download the design as an MP4. Canva's help lists dozens of spoken languages and detects the language automatically, and its feature page calls the auto caption generator free.

Burning the captions in with Exemplary AI first suits a few cases: you want a look from the Exemplary AI caption library (Default, TikTok, Karaoke, Beast, Focus and Mogul and more), you need the same video captioned in other languages (translate the transcript into any of 116 languages and export a version for each), or you also need an SRT file for YouTube from the same transcript.

Canva also has view-only accessibility captions (File > Accessibility > Show view-only captions on media). Those are generated for you, can't be edited, show only inside Canva and can't be downloaded, so they won't be in the video you export.

More on burned-in captions: burn subtitles into video, the caption styles, and captions vs subtitles. Editing in a video editor instead? See CapCut or Premiere Pro.

What it does

Captions Canva Keeps

Burned into the MP4 before it reaches Canva, so they survive any design and any download.

Part of the picture

The captions are drawn into the video, so Canva treats it like any other clip and they can't get lost.

Caption looks from the library

Pick from 26 caption styles, with the spoken word highlighted, and set them at the top, center or bottom of the frame.

A version per language

Translate the transcript into any of 116 languages and export a captioned MP4 for each language.

An SRT too

The same transcript downloads as SRT, VTT or TXT, for YouTube or a player that takes subtitle files.

Keep going

From spoken words to finished captions

Create a subtitle track, choose how it looks, or make the captions part of the video.

Browse all 155 tools
Questions

Common questions

Can you upload an SRT file to Canva?
No. Subtitle files such as SRT and VTT aren't among the formats Canva uploads, and Canva's help documents no way to import them. Burn the captions into the video before you upload it, or use Canva's own captions.
How do I add subtitles to a video in Canva?
Either generate captions in Canva (Text > Dynamic text > Captions, or the Captions app) and edit them on their layer, or upload a video that already has the captions burned in, for example an MP4 exported from Exemplary AI.
Are Canva captions free?
Canva's feature page calls its auto caption generator free, and its help page doesn't name a plan. The same feature page labels Canva's AI translator a Pro feature; the help page doesn't say whether translating captions needs Pro.
Can I download captions from Canva as an SRT?
Canva's help documents no SRT or VTT export. Its editable captions are burned into the MP4 when you download, and its view-only accessibility captions can't be downloaded at all.
Will burned-in captions stay when I download from Canva?
Yes. They are part of the video picture, so they come out in any MP4 you download from Canva, whatever you design around them.
Is there a watermark on the Free plan?
Yes, on video exports: the Free plan includes 500 one-time credits; files up to 500 MB and 30 min long; 720p video exports with a watermark. The captioned MP4 is a video export, so on the Free plan it carries the watermark; the plans on the pricing page show which exports are watermark-free.

Discover more Subtitles & Captions

Give your words a place on screen

Upload a video to review its transcript, adjust the captions, and export the finished result.

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