Live Captions / Captions for videos without subtitles on a PC
How to get captions for videos without subtitles on a PC
Updated October 28, 2026
To get captions for a video that has none, install Live Captions & Transcribe, set the audio source to computer sound, and press Start while the video plays: it generates live captions from the video's own audio, in a browser, a streaming app, or a local video player, no subtitle file needed. For videos already hosted on YouTube, its automatic captions or Chrome's Live Caption are free options worth trying first.
Plenty of video never comes with subtitles: an old home recording, a conference talk uploaded without captions, a regional broadcast, a podcast video, or a file a friend sent you. This guide covers getting captions for all of these on a PC, including the free options and where they stop being enough.
Your options for captioning a video without subtitles
| Option | Works for | Saves a subtitle file | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live Captions & Transcribe | Any video or audio the PC plays: browser, streaming app, local file | Yes: TXT or SRT export | Free to try, then minute packs or a subscription |
| YouTube auto-captions | YouTube videos YouTube has processed | No (viewable on YouTube only) | Free |
| Chrome Live Caption | Only video/audio playing in a Chrome tab | No | Free |
| Windows 11 Live Captions | Any sound on the PC (Windows 11 only) | No | Free, built in |
Online videos and streams in a browser
For a video playing in a browser tab — a news site's embedded video, a live stream, a regional broadcaster's player, or a video platform other than YouTube — the video itself usually has no caption track to turn on, because captioning was never added by whoever published it.
- Install Live Captions & Transcribe from the Microsoft Store. No account or card is needed to try it.
- Open the video or stream in your browser and start playing it.
- Set the audio source to computer sound so the app captions whatever the browser plays.
- Press Start. Captions appear over the page a second or two behind the audio, in a window you can resize and move.
- Export the result to SRT afterward if you want a subtitle file to go with a saved copy of the video, or to TXT for a plain transcript.
Because it listens to the PC's sound rather than to one video platform, this works the same way for a Twitch stream, a conference recording, or a broadcaster's live player.
TV broadcasts played through the PC
If a TV channel or broadcast is being watched through a browser or an app on the PC, for example a streaming service's live-TV tab or a broadcaster's own app, the same approach applies: Live Captions & Transcribe captions the PC's sound output regardless of which app is producing it. It will not caption a television that is not connected to or playing through the PC — for an actual TV set with its own tuner, the remote's "CC" or closed-caption button is the right tool, not a PC app.
Local video files without a subtitle track
A video file saved on the PC — an old recording, a downloaded conference talk, a file a colleague sent — often has no subtitle track at all, in any player. This is the clearest case where a browser extension cannot help, since there is no webpage involved:
- Open the video file in VLC, Windows Media Player, or any other local player.
- In Live Captions & Transcribe, choose computer sound as the audio source.
- Press Start and play the video. Captions appear live as the audio plays.
- If you want to keep captions with the file, export the session to SRT; most players can load an SRT file alongside the matching video.
Good to know. The app needs an internet connection. While captions are running, the audio is sent to a cloud speech recognition service to turn it into text; it is not recorded, and history stays on your PC. It captions in the spoken language and does not translate.
Podcasts and audio-only content
The same approach works for a podcast playing through the PC, whether in a browser, a podcast app, or a media player: set the audio source to computer sound, press Start, and read along or export a transcript afterward. This is useful for following a podcast in a noisy environment, searching an episode for a specific topic later, or keeping notes without typing them yourself.
Free options, and when they are enough
Not every video without visible subtitles needs a separate app:
- YouTube's automatic captions (the CC button) exist on many videos YouTube has already processed, and they are free. If the video is on YouTube and already has captions, there is no reason to add another tool — the limit is that not every video has them, and they only appear on YouTube.
- Chrome Live Caption is free and works for any audio playing in a Chrome tab, including videos with no subtitle track. Its limits are that it only covers Chrome, not other browsers or apps outside the browser, and it does not save a transcript or subtitle file.
- Windows 11 Live Captions captions any sound on a Windows 11 PC for free, which covers local video files and browsers alike, but is not available on Windows 10 and does not export a subtitle file.
Where a dedicated app is worth it: you want an SRT file to go with the video afterward, the video is a local file with no browser involved, you move between several sources (stream, local file, podcast) and want one consistent tool, or you are on Windows 10, where the free built-in option does not exist.
Try Live Captions & Transcribe free on Windows 10 or 11. No account, no card.
Get it from Microsoft Store