How to add captions to a Vimeo video that's already up
Vimeo can't caption a video in place — but there are three ways to end up with captions anyway. The right one depends on whether you have a caption file, how many videos you're dealing with, and what you'd pay per minute.
Option 1: attach a caption file you already have
If you have an .srt or .vtt file for the video, attach it in the video's settings under Languages. The captions appear on the existing video immediately — no re-upload, no lost views.
This is the best option when it applies. It usually doesn't: most back catalogues were never transcribed, so there are no files to attach. Making the files means transcribing every video — which is option 2.
Option 2: pay for transcription, then attach the files
Vimeo integrates with Rev for paid captions, and speech-to-text services like Deepgram transcribe audio for around $0.26 per hour. You get back a caption file, which you attach as in option 1.
Per-minute pricing is fine for a handful of videos, and it's the right call when you need guaranteed accuracy — legal, medical, or compliance-grade captions. Across a whole archive it adds up fast, and you still have to move every file into place by hand.
Option 3: re-upload, and let Vimeo caption the copy
Vimeo auto-captions every video uploaded after May 25, 2022 — paid plans, up to 8 hours. Its help docs are explicit that for older videos, re-uploading is the way to get automatic captions. The new copy gets a caption track shortly after upload, and you can correct it in Vimeo's transcript editor.
The tradeoffs: the copy starts with zero views, and for a big library the manual work is real. Recaption exists for exactly this case — it re-uploads each un-captioned video in your account, keeps the copy private and tagged [cc] so it never competes with the original, and never uploads the same video twice. One flat fee per run.
Which option for a whole library?
A quick decision guide:
- You have caption files → attach them (option 1).
- A few important videos, accuracy is critical → pay for transcription (option 2).
- A backlog, no files, auto-caption quality is fine → re-upload (option 3). That's the one Recaption automates.
Questions.
- Will re-uploading lose the video's views and comments?
- Yes — the new copy starts fresh. That's why Recaption never modifies or deletes your originals and keeps copies private by default: you decide when, or whether, to point embeds at the captioned copies.
- Can I edit the captions Vimeo generates?
- Yes. Open the video's transcript editor to fix words and timing. Auto-generated tracks are labeled 'Autogenerated' so viewers can tell them apart from human-made ones.
- How accurate are Vimeo's auto captions?
- Good on clean, single-speaker audio; weaker with heavy accents, crosstalk, or loud music. If you need perfect captions — for compliance, for example — pay for human transcription instead.