How to add Hindi captions to Reels and Shorts

You need a video, a browser that can export, and a CutXflow account.

• A video with clear speech. CutXflow accepts MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV, M4V, AVI and 3GP files up to 17 minutes long. The limit only matters for long-form video; a short vertical clip is well inside it.
• A browser that can export, ideally a recent desktop Chrome or Edge. Exporting the captioned video uses the browser's WebCodecs API, which MDN marks as limited availability (opens in a new tab). CutXflow's FAQ lists Chrome or Edge on desktop, Safari 17 or later on desktop, Chrome on Android and iPhone on iOS 17 or later, and calls desktop Chrome or Edge the safest choice. The Export panel warns you if your browser cannot export.
• A CutXflow account. Sign in with Google or an email address. Transcription is billed to the account: the free plan includes 3 min of transcription a month, and paid plans start at ₹99 a month.

The whole job happens on one page, Create, in seven steps. The video never has to be uploaded, and nothing needs installing.

1. 1

   Open Create and sign in

   Open the Create page and sign in with Google or an email address. An email account has to verify its address before transcription is allowed.

2. 2

   Choose the spoken language and script

   Pick Hindi to get captions in Devanagari, or Hinglish to get the same speech written in Roman letters. Auto-detect and other languages are in the drop-down under the quick picks, and the app starts on Hinglish.

   The Caption script list shows an example of each: क्या कर रहे हो for Hindi (Devanagari) and kya kar rahe ho for Hinglish (Latin).

3. 3

   Drop in your video

   Drag the file into the drop zone. CutXflow reads the video, extracts the audio on your device and sends only that audio for transcription. The video file itself is not uploaded.

   If your browser cannot extract the audio directly, CutXflow first downloads a one-time audio engine of about 31 MB, and then carries on.

4. 4

   Read through the captions and fix mistakes

   When transcription finishes, the editor opens with the captions on your video. Words the model was unsure about are tinted amber. Double-click a word in the Script & Captions list to correct its spelling, and drag a word's edges on the timeline to fix its timing.

5. 5

   Pick a template and place the captions

   In Styles & Design, choose one of the animated templates and adjust the text settings. Drag the caption block on the preview to where you want it, and set 9:16 in the crop bar if the clip is not already vertical. The grid button shows a Reels and Shorts safe-zone guide.

6. 6

   Export the captioned MP4

   Open Export & Render, choose a resolution and press Export. The captions are drawn onto the video and encoded in your browser, then the file downloads as your-video-captioned.mp4.

7. 7

   Upload the MP4 to Instagram, YouTube or TikTok

   Upload the file the way you upload any video. Because the captions are part of the picture, they appear wherever the video plays.

Either works, and the choice only changes how the words are spelled on screen. Devanagari (क्या कर रहे हो) is Hindi in its own script. Roman Hinglish (kya kar rahe ho) is the same words in English letters. Both are produced from the same transcript, so the timing is identical.

The script is chosen before transcription, so switching means running the video again. Our guide to choosing between Devanagari and Roman script goes through when each one suits.

Automatic captions save most of the typing, but they are not accurate enough to publish unread. How well the speech was recorded decides a lot: background music, overlapping voices and heavy echo all make mistakes more likely. CutXflow does not quote an accuracy percentage, because it varies too much from clip to clip for one number to mean anything. Play the preview through once before you export, and look at these first:

• Amber words. The editor tints the words the model was unsure about.
• Names, brand names and numbers. A wrong name or figure changes what a sentence says, so these are worth checking by eye.
• English words inside Hindi sentences. In Devanagari mode they can come back written in Devanagari letters. In Roman (Hinglish) mode a short list of very common ones, such as video, subscribe and friends, is restored to English spelling and the rest are spelled out by rule.
• Line breaks. Captions break at pauses in the speech. Split or merge lines with the scissors on a line or from the Word Edit panel.

The pricing page has the full plan list.