You can get subtitles for any video, in any app or website, using the live captions built into your browser or operating system: Chrome Live Caption on desktop, Live Captions on Windows 11, Mac and iPhone, and Live Caption on Android. They listen to the sound and caption it on the fly, no subtitle file needed. The catch is that most of them caption in the language being spoken; if you need translated subtitles, you need a live translation tool on top.
Here is what each built-in option does, where it stops, and how to get translated subtitles on any player.
Free live captions built into your device
Chrome Live Caption
In Chrome on desktop, open Settings, Accessibility and turn on Live Caption. Any audio playing in a Chrome tab, including videos on sites with no subtitles, gets captions in a small movable box. It supports a limited set of recognition languages, and recent versions can also translate captions into some languages. It only hears audio inside Chrome, not other apps. Details in our guide to Chrome Live Caption translation.
Windows 11 Live Captions
Press Win + Ctrl + L or turn it on in Accessibility settings. Windows captions all system audio, so it works across the browser, media players and meeting apps. At the time of writing, Copilot+ PCs can also translate many languages into English. See Windows 11 Live Captions translation.
Live Captions on Mac
On Apple silicon Macs, open System Settings, Accessibility, Live Captions. It captions system audio in a floating window, with English the most complete language and support for others varying by version and region. It transcribes rather than translates. More in live captions on Mac.
iPhone and Android
iPhone has Live Captions under Accessibility, and Android has Live Caption, usually reachable from the volume controls. Both caption audio from any app. Some Android phones, such as recent Pixel models, can translate live captions in supported languages; most others cannot.
Built-in captions compared
| Tool | Works on | Hears | Translates? | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chrome Live Caption | Chrome desktop | Chrome tabs only | Into some languages in recent versions | Not other apps; limited languages |
| Windows 11 Live Captions | Windows 11 | All system audio | Into English on Copilot+ PCs | Translation tied to hardware |
| Live Captions on Mac | Apple silicon Macs | All system audio | No | Same-language captions only |
| iPhone Live Captions | iPhone, iPad | Any app, calls | No | Same-language captions only |
| Android Live Caption | Many Android phones | Any app | On some phones, such as Pixel | Varies by phone |
If you only need captions in the language being spoken, for example for accessibility or a noisy room, these are excellent and free. Use them.
How to get translated subtitles for any video
When the video is in a language you do not understand and your device cannot translate its captions, you need a translator that hears the audio and outputs your language. The options depend on the device.
On a computer: SpeakFlow Pro, Watch video preset
SpeakFlow Pro for Mac and Windows listens to whatever the computer plays and shows translated subtitles in a floating panel that sits over any player, whether it is a browser tab, VLC, a course platform or a streaming app.
- Install SpeakFlow Pro on Mac (macOS 14.4+) or Windows 10/11.
- Choose the Watch video preset and your language. The spoken language is detected automatically across 60+ languages.
- Play the video and press Play in SpeakFlow.
- Drag and resize the caption panel under the video. Turn on a natural voice if you would rather listen.
Translation usually runs 1 to 2 seconds behind speech, and you keep a full bilingual transcript afterwards. Every computer gets one free hour.
On a phone: Live subtitles in the SpeakFlow app
The SpeakFlow phone app floats translated captions over other apps. On iPhone it uses a screen broadcast that only captures the sound of other apps, never your microphone, and shows captions in a Picture-in-Picture window; on Android it uses a floating overlay. Choose a style (Reading, Compact, Two languages or Large), and optionally an AI voice that reads the translation aloud. Some apps block their audio from capture, and those will stay silent to the app.
Is there a Chrome extension that adds subtitles to any video?
Extensions that claim to subtitle "any video" usually work in one of two ways: they read existing caption tracks on specific sites, or they send tab audio to a speech service. The first is accurate but limited to sites they support; the second works more broadly but only for audio in that browser tab.
Our own extension, SpeakFlow Translate, is the first kind and is honest about it: it works on YouTube only, on desktop Chrome, Edge, Brave and Opera. On YouTube it is very good: translated subtitles in sync into 100+ languages, two-language display, AI dubbing, a subtitle panel and SRT export, all free. It needs the video to have a caption track, though auto-generated captions count. For non-YouTube video, or audio outside the browser, a desktop app like SpeakFlow Pro is the more reliable choice.
How to get more accurate live captions
Built-in captions and live translators share the same weak spots, and a few habits fix most of them:
- Start from clean audio. Very quiet, compressed or distorted sources are harder to recognize, so pick the best-quality version of the video when there is a choice.
- Choose the right recognition language. Several tools ask you to pick the spoken language. If it is set wrong, the captions turn into nonsense rather than slightly off.
- Expect trouble with music and crosstalk. Songs, loud background tracks and several people talking at once are the hardest cases for every tool.
- Give context for specialist content. Medical lectures, legal webinars and gaming streams are full of names and jargon. Tools that accept a topic or glossary, as SpeakFlow Pro does, handle these better.
- Position the caption box. Move it below the video or over a static part of the picture so it does not cover on-screen text.
If captions are fine but the language is the problem, that is the moment to switch from captions to translation.
Which should you use?
| Situation | Use |
|---|---|
| Captions in the same language, any video | Your device's built-in live captions |
| Translated subtitles on YouTube | SpeakFlow Translate extension (free) |
| Translated subtitles on any player, computer | SpeakFlow Pro, Watch video |
| Translated subtitles over apps on your phone | SpeakFlow phone app, Live subtitles |
| Subtitles you can save as a file | SRT export from the extension on YouTube |
Get subtitles on your next video
Turn on your device's live captions first; for same-language captions they are hard to beat. When you need subtitles in your own language, use SpeakFlow Translate for YouTube and SpeakFlow Pro for everything else on your computer.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get subtitles on any video in Chrome?
Turn on Live Caption in Chrome's Accessibility settings. It captions any audio playing in a Chrome tab, and recent versions can translate captions into some languages.
Can Windows 11 add subtitles to any video?
Yes. Live Captions (Win + Ctrl + L) captions all system audio, and on Copilot+ PCs it can also translate many languages into English at the time of writing.
Does Mac Live Captions translate?
No, it captions in the spoken language. For translated subtitles on a Mac, use a live translation app that listens to system audio, such as SpeakFlow Pro.
Is there an app that shows translated subtitles over any app on my phone?
The SpeakFlow phone app's Live subtitles mode floats translated captions over other apps on iPhone and Android. Some apps block audio capture, so it will not work in every app.