CapCut auto captions aren't free anymore
What changed, what it costs and what to do if you only used it for captions: an app on your PC, no watermark.
Updated: October 2026 · 5 min read
With its 2025 pricing restructure, CapCut moved auto captions, 4K export and watermark-free output to its Pro plan (about USD 20 a month). On the free plan they are still advertised, but with a usage cap CapCut does not document. If captions were what you used, there is a way out on your PC: AppGrabbit produces subtitles word by word, shows you how they look for free and burns them in with no watermark. October 2026
What changed and when
CapCut became half the world's default editor because its auto captions were good and free. In 2025 it reorganized its pricing and moved that feature, along with 4K and watermark-free output, to the paid plan. According to third-party tests, free accounts keep about five caption generations every 30 days, counted across phone, desktop and tablet, and the app says so nowhere: the upgrade prompt just shows up. In early 2026 the Pro price went up again.
What you really need from CapCut
If you use CapCut to edit (cuts, music, transitions), the change barely touches you: it is still a great editor. If you only opened it to caption a video shot on your phone or pulled from your own socials, you are paying for a whole editor for one feature. That one feature fits in an app that runs on your PC and adds no watermark.
The alternative on your PC, limits included
AppGrabbit produces the subtitles timed word by word (1 credit; 5 free a month), shows you how they look on a real frame of your video in three styles (free) and burns them in with no watermark (Pro, USD 8.99 a month, or a 7-day pass for 3.99). What it does not do: edit the video. No cuts, no mixing, no animation. If you need that, the .srt that comes out here goes into CapCut, Premiere or DaVinci as a captions track, timing included.
CapCut Pro versus AppGrabbit, captions only
| AppGrabbit | CapCut free | CapCut Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto captions | ✓ Yes, word by word | ~ With a monthly cap | ✓ Yes |
| Watermark | ✓ Never | ✗ By feature | ✓ No |
| Your video never leaves your PC | ✓ Never | ~ By feature | ~ By feature |
| Video editing | ✗ No | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| YouTube or TikTok link directly | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Cost | Get subtitles: 1 credit (5 free a month) · preview: free · Make the video: Pro $8.99/mo or 7-day pass $3.99 | Free with caps | About USD 19.99/mo or 179.99/yr |
How to caption with AppGrabbit
- 1Install AppGrabbit for Windows — Download the free installer (everything included). Windows will say it protected your PC because the installer is not code-signed: click More info, then Run anyway.
- 2Open Download › Subtitles with AI — Paste the video link (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, Twitch) or drop your file (mp4, mkv, mov, webm). From the Library, any video has “Subtitles with AI” in its ⋯ menu.
- 3Click “Get subtitles” (1 credit) — The first time, the app gets the AI engine ready on your PC (a one-time download) and carries on by itself. Out come the .srt, the .vtt and the .txt in the Subtitles folder, timed word by word.
- 4Pick the style on a real frame (free) — Classic (two lines at the bottom), Box (on a black box) or Center (three or four large words, the spoken one in yellow). “Previous / next moment” shows another sentence.
- 5Click “Make the video” (Pro or the 7-day pass) — The subtitles are burned into the video, at its size and with no watermark. The MP4 is named after your video plus “_subtitulos” and lands in the Library.
Frequently asked questions
They are still listed on the free plan, but in practice there is a cap: third-party tests report about 5 generations every 30 days per account, and CapCut does not document it. Past that, it asks for Pro.
About USD 19.99 a month or 179.99 a year after the price change in early 2026, according to the sources below. The 2025 restructure also moved 4K export and watermark-free output to Pro.
No. CapCut is a full editor; AppGrabbit downloads, transcribes and subtitles. If what you used CapCut for was auto captions, they are here: word by word, three styles, no watermark. If you need to cut, animate and mix, you still need an editor: the .srt that comes out here goes into CapCut or any other.
Getting the subtitles (.srt, .vtt and .txt) costs 1 credit; Free comes with 5 a month. Previewing them on your video, in the three styles, is free. Burning them in (“Make the video”) is for Pro (USD 8.99 a month) or the 7-day pass (USD 3.99, no renewal). There is never a watermark, not even on Free.
Nothing. The video stays on your PC: the AI engine (Whisper, whisper.cpp) runs on your computer, on your NVIDIA card if you have one or on the CPU if not, and FFmpeg burns the subtitles right there.
Sources (checked October 2026; if CapCut changes, this note gets updated): CapCut Auto Captions Now Cost Money (Descript) · CapCut Auto Captions Not Free Anymore? (Reel Video Captions) · I used to love CapCut, but it's time to move on (Android Authority)
Related guides
The captions CapCut charges for, on your PC
Windows 10/11 · Get subtitles: 1 credit, 5 free a month · Make the video: Pro or 7-day pass