SoCaptionsvsiMovie
iMovie doesn't have a real captioning system. The workaround is to add title text clips frame by frame — workable for a 30-second clip, painful past that.
Side by side
Feature
iMovie
SoCaptions
AI captioning
None — manual title text only
Whisper-grade, automatic
Cost
Free with macOS / iOS
$3/mo for 100 minutes
Best length
30s clips at most
Any length up to 60 minutes
Caption styling
Title presets, limited
One-click viral presets
Output
MP4 with title text rendered in
MP4 + SRT/VTT/ASS
iMovie strengths
- Free on every Mac / iPhone / iPad
- Familiar to Apple-ecosystem creators
- Good enough for a single short clip
iMovie trade-offs
- No real captioning — captions are just title text clips
- Manual timing per cue is slow at scale
- No SRT/VTT export at all
SoCaptions strengths
- Real captioning workflow, not a workaround
- Whisper transcription does timing automatically
- Exports SRT/VTT for soft caption upload
Choose iMovie if…
You only ever caption a single 30-second clip and you're already in iMovie.
Choose SoCaptions if…
You caption more than one clip, you want SRT export, or your audience is bigger than your friends.
The verdict
iMovie is fine for a one-off short clip. SoCaptions is the right tool for any caption workflow above casual.
Frequently asked
Does iMovie have automatic captions?+
No. iMovie has no AI captioning. You add title text clips manually for each line.
Can iMovie export an SRT?+
No. iMovie has no SRT/VTT export. You'd export the captioned video as MP4 only.
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