Best Apps to Add Text to a Video Online for Free

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  • Add stylish titles and stickers
  • Use various fonts for text blocks
  • Apply transitions, filters, and more
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What are the best apps to add text to a video? There are a lot of options out there – so let’s explore the top applications to write text on videos, how easy they are to learn, how much they cost, and how you can find the best text adder software for your videos.

Software

Best for

License

Download

Movavi Video Editor (macOS, Windows)

Add text to videos, create cool video effects

Free trial, paid

Download
Download
Download
Download

Fastreel (online tool)

Write text on videos, edit videos online

Free

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iMovie (macOS)

Simple edits for personal videos

Free

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At Movavi, we’re committed to providing you with verified information only. Here’s what we do to ensure this:

  • When selecting products to include in our reviews, we research both demand and popularity.

  • All products mentioned in this article have been tested by Movavi Content Team.

  • When testing, we compare key parameters, including video and audio trimming, visual effects, stabilization, video quality adjustments, saving and sharing videos, and other significant features.

  • We study user reviews from popular review platforms and make use of this information when writing our product reviews.

  • We collect feedback from our users and analyze their opinions of Movavi software as well as products from other companies.

Special pick: Movavi Video Editor

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If we had to choose just one app from the table above, it would have to be Movavi Video Editor. With a free trial and versions available for macOS and Windows, Movavi’s video editing software provides professional-level features and tools in a user-friendly interface that’s easy to learn. Whether you want to add a text box, overlay captions, or write text on videos for other purposes, Movavi Video Editor is a robust tool that gives you everything you need to create really cool videos – without the steep learning curve of some other software options.

Text adder software for your desktop or laptop

Movavi Video Editor

Best for: Adding text, filters, transitions, and professional editing details to videos

Movavi Video Editor is a robust video editing platform. It offers a range of features for beginners and professional video creators. Some of the key features include titles, filters, transitions, chroma key, stabilization, and voiceover tools.

Key features:

  • A variety of titles, filters, and transitions
  • Advanced features like chroma key and stabilization
  • Voiceover

Download Movavi Video Editor

Pros:

  • Intuitive user interface

  • Video stabilization feature

  • Professional transitions with sound

Cons:

  • Lack of control with color tuning

  • No free version after trial period

  • Basic text editing options

iMovie

Best for: Entry-level video editing for personal use

Apple’s iMovie is a free video editing tool that comes with all Mac OS laptops and desktops, and an iOS version is available for iOS mobile devices. It is only compatible with Mac OS and iOS devices, which limits its usefulness to a lot of video creators. While it’s a user-friendly option for new creators, seasoned editors sometimes find its lack of functionality frustrating.

Key features:

  • Intuitive transitions
  • Chroma key
  • Color matching

Download iMovie

Pros:

  • Free

  • User-friendly interface

  • Color-matching feature

Cons:

  • Lacks a lot of useful editing tools and controls

  • No multicam or motion tracking

  • Only compatible with Mac OS and iOS devices

Adobe® Premiere® Pro

Best for: Professional-level video editing

  • OS

    macOS, Windows

  • Price

    $20.99/month after 30-day free trial with Adobe® Stock

  • G2 rating

    4.5/5.0

Adobe® Premiere® Pro is a full, professional video editing platform that’s used for feature films, TV, YouTube, and social videos. Best for more experienced video editors, Premiere® Pro is not the most intuitive program around, but it does include a range of Adobe fonts, audio and video transition options, color grading tools, and tutorials to help users adapt to the software.

Key features:

  • Advanced video-editing tools
  • Color grading tools
  • Video transitions

Download Adobe® Premiere® Pro

Pros:

  • Cross-compatibility with other Adobe platforms (e.g., Photoshop®, After Effects®)

  • Custom keyboard shortcuts

  • Capabilities to import videos in multiple formats

Cons:

  • Difficult to learn

  • Uses a lot of computer resources and crashes when memory is low

  • Long export times

VLC

Best for: Basic edits for video creators looking for a free option

VLC was originally a freeware media player, but it has since been expanded to include video editing features and tools. This open-source platform is non-linear, and many users report having difficulty learning how to use it when they first get started. It’s built and supported by volunteers, so support is sometimes difficult. Users can often find answers to their questions about editing challenges in VLC message boards.

Key features:

  • Cropping and cutting
  • Image effects
  • Anti-flickering and motion blurring tools

Download VLC

Pros:

  • Free

  • Highly customizable

  • Supports almost all file formats

Cons:

  • Interface is not user-friendly

  • Users must download codecs to edit some video file formats

  • Little to no support for bugs and glitches

How to add text to a video online

Fastreel

Best for: Professional-level video editing without downloading editing software

  • Price

    Free with watermark, $9.95/video, or $9.95–$19.95/month

  • Trustpilot rating

    4.3/5.0

Fastreel by Movavi is an online video editing tool that lets you add words to a video without downloading any software to your computer. Along with writing capabilities, Fastreel also lets you create short or long video clips with transitions, titles, and other features and effects that make a professional-looking video. And, if you’re creating a video for personal use and don’t mind a watermark, you can do it all for free. Or you can pay a fee per video or per month to edit videos online without a watermark.

Key features:

  • Chroma key
  • Transitions and titles
  • Crop and merge videos

Go to Fastreel

Pros:

  • User-friendly interface

  • Supports multiple file formats, including videos, photos, and audio files

  • Lots of online editing tools

Cons:

  • Watermark on free version

  • Videos limited to 30 minutes

  • Videos only available online for 24 hours

Veed.io

Best for: Adding text to videos online

Veed.io is an online video text-adding application. To use it, you just upload your video and add the text you want. Veed.io has some customizability, as you can upload your own fonts and brand colors, but if you don’t already have the fonts you want, you may have to buy them or stick with the limited selection from the app.

Key features:

  • Online text adding
  • Custom font capabilities

Go to Veed.io

Pros:

  • No download

  • Easy user interface

  • Customizability

Cons:

  • Watermark on free version

  • Expensive subscription for limited features

  • Difficulty getting text aligned correctly

Kapwing

Best for: Adding text or watermarks to videos online for free

Kapwing is a free online video editor with an emphasis on simplicity. It supports photos, videos, and GIFs, and is best used for adding branding, watermarks, or text to short videos or GIFs.

Key features:

  • Supports emojis and watermarks, as well as text for videos
  • No download
  • Simple editing features

Go to Kapwing

Pros:

  • User-friendly interface

  • Cloud-based video editing

  • No spam or watermarks

Cons:

  • Limited editing features

  • Poor customer service and support

  • Unstable connection and unreliable processing

Biteable

Best for: Adding captions and animations to videos online

Biteable is an online video editing and text writer application. It allows you to make simple edits to videos online by uploading your footage and adding captions and other effects over a video.

Key features:

  • Tools to create Facebook cover videos
  • Basic video editing tools
  • Caption adding capabilities

Go to Biteable

Pros:

  • Stock animations are easy to add to videos

  • Templates and stock footage available in app

  • Supports image uploads as well as video

Cons:

  • Not user-friendly

  • Low-quality video clips and animations

  • Slow processing

Adobe® Spark®

Best for: Adding captions and titles to videos online

  • Price

    $9.99/month after free trial

  • G2 rating

    4.4/5.0

Adobe® Spark® is an online tool that allows users to upload images and videos and add a caption, message, and/or other simple edits. After adding text and other effects, users can download their videos and upload them to YouTube or other sharing platforms.

Key features:

  • Customizable text and typography
  • Cropping and cutting capabilities
  • Filters

Go to Adobe® Spark®

Pros:

  • Options for text and fonts

  • Easy to use

  • Free trial

Cons:

  • No free option after trial

  • Limited editing abilities

  • Issues with longer video clips

How to add words to a video with Movavi Video Editor

Adding text to a video is a good idea if you want to make your clip more personal, artistic, or even humorous. With Movavi Video Editor, you can do it in just a few clicks. Just read this guide and see for yourself how easy it is to use Movavi’s software!

Step 1. Download and install the program

Download Movavi Video Editor and run the installation file on your computer. Once the program is installed, launch it.

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Step 2. Add your clip

Click Add Files and select the video you want to add text to. The clip will appear in the Media Bin. Drag and drop your video onto the Timeline.

Step 3. Add a title to your video

There’s a whole gallery of title styles in Movavi Video Editor. Beyond just a simple title, you can also add animated text to your video. Just go to the Titles tab, select the text style that you think fits best, and drag and drop it into place on the Titles Track. Drag on the edges of the item to adjust when the title should appear and disappear.

Double-click on the title and, in the Preview Window that appears, enter your text and adjust the font, size, and color if you need to. Click Apply when everything is set.

If you want to add a meme text to your video, create two titles and place one on top of the frame and the other at the bottom. If you want to add floating text to the video, choose a style from the Basic title category.

Step 4. Save the result

To save your clip, click Export. Name your file, choose the appropriate format, quality, and destination folder. When you are happy, click Start. Now you know how to put text on a video with Movavi Video Editor.

In conclusion: what to look for in text-adding software for your videos

Hopefully, this article has helped you identify what to look for in an app to add text to your videos. To sum everything up, let’s talk about a few of the most important things to look for when choosing the best text-adding app:

  • Ease of use: How easily can you do what you need to do with the app you’re considering? Some apps have a lot of features and tools, but they can be difficult to learn. Others are easy to use but don’t do everything you need. Look for an app that has all the features you need without making your editing job a nightmare.

  • Features and tools: It doesn’t matter how easy a video editing app is to use if it doesn’t do what you need. Do you need an app with no watermark? Are you looking for something that you can use online, or do you need to use it when you’re not connected to the internet?

  • File formats: Again, make sure that the app you choose supports your preferred video file formats. If you need to work with a MOV file but the software only supports MP4, it’ll be useless when you need to get your videos ready to share.

  • Reviews and ratings: What are other users saying about the app? Does it glitch or lag when processing videos? Does it have any known flaws that everyone’s talking about?

  • Technical support: Does the app creator provide customer support and assistance with technical difficulties? If you’re not a tech wizard and you have problems with the app, you might want to make sure that you can turn to a solid customer support team before you commit.

Movavi Video Editor

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*The free version of Movavi Video Editor may have the following restrictions depending on the build: watermark on exported clips, 60-second video or 1/2 audio length limit, and/or some advanced features unavailable when exporting videos.

Movavi Video Editor

Frequently asked questions

How do I add floating text to a video?

What app can I use to add text to videos?

How can I add text to a video on my laptop?

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