What’s the difference between captions, subtitles, and transcripts, and why does it matter for accessibility and compliance? This guide explains how to use each format to meet WCAG 2.2, ADA, and EAA requirements for accessible video content.
In 2016, The Cheesecake Factory paid $15,000 to settle an EEOC lawsuit after denying a deaf employee closed captioned training videos. FedEx Ground faced even greater penalties in 2020, agreeing to a $3.3 million settlement after repeated failures to provide captioned training and ASL interpretation.
Both cases reveal a common misunderstanding of what constitutes accessible video content. Many organizations wrongly use captions, subtitles, and transcripts interchangeably or even skip them entirely. This can have serious legal consequences, especially when user experience and accessibility standards are involved.
In this guide, we’ll explain what each format does and how to use them to make your video content more accessible to every viewer.
What are Captions?
Captions are text versions of a video’s audio content to make it understandable without sound. They include both spoken dialogue and other meaningful non-speech elements like sound effects, music cues, pauses, and speaker names. This makes them especially useful for deaf or hard-of-hearing audiences and anyone watching the video with the volume off.
Captions aren’t just for TV and film. In fact, they’re widely used in corporate training videos, online courses, social media clips, and public service announcements. And in many cases, they’re not optional. In the U.S., captions are legally required under Section 508 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Similarly, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) mandates them for certain public-facing content and workplace materials.
Open Caption vs. Closed Caption
There are two main types of captions: open and closed.
- Open captions are permanently embedded in the video. They’re always visible, and the viewer cannot turn them off.
- Closed captions, on the other hand, are optional. Viewers can enable or disable them, usually through a media player’s settings or CC button.
Open captions are often used on social media or in public displays, where viewers may not have sound or control access. Closed captions are ideal when you want to give users flexibility, for example, on streaming platforms and websites.
What are Subtitles?
Subtitles are on-screen text that display the spoken dialogue in a video, typically translated into another language. Their main purpose is to help viewers understand speech when they can hear the audio but don’t understand the language being spoken.
Unlike captions, most subtitles focus only on spoken dialogue. They generally do not include non-speech elements like music, sound effects, or speaker identification. This is because it is assumed the viewer can hear what’s happening, even if they don’t understand the words.
There are different types of subtitles: standard, SDH, and forced narratives.
- Standard subtitles translate spoken language only.
- Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SDH) include additional information, like sound effects or tone cues.
- Forced narrative subtitles appear when a different language is used briefly within a video, for instance, a foreign phrase in an English-language film.
Subtitles are meant to bridge language gaps. They translate spoken words into another language so viewers can understand the dialogue, even if they don’t speak it. But they don’t include non-verbal audio, like sound effects, music, or speaker identification. So while subtitles are great for global reach, they don’t meet the accessibility needs of deaf or hard-of-hearing users.
What are Transcripts?
Transcripts are full-text versions of audio or video content, presented as a complete written script. Unlike captions or subtitles, they’re not time-synced with the video. They’re simply written out and provided alongside the content, often as a downloadable file.
Transcripts are useful for podcasts, interviews, webinars, and training videos, especially for users who prefer to read or use screen readers to access web content. They allow users to search, scan, or review video content without replaying the media.
However, transcripts alone don’t meet accessibility requirements for most video content. WCAG standards require time-synced audio descriptions for multimedia with meaningful audio. That means while a transcript might support accessibility for audio-only content (like podcasts or voice messages), it does not make videos with visuals, sound effects, or speaker interaction accessible.
As such, transcripts are most powerful when used as alternatives to other formats in the following context:
- Alongside captions for a more complete user experience
- As a downloadable alternative, or
- As searchable content that supports SEO and knowledge access
💡 Best Practice:
Provide transcripts in plain HTML format (not PDF) and always place the link close to the media player and label it clearly (e.g., “Download Transcript ”).
When to Use Captions, Subtitles, or Transcripts
Captions, subtitles, and transcripts each play a specific role in making video content accessible. However, they are not interchangeable. Using the wrong format can create barriers for people with disabilities and lead to non-compliance with accessibility standards.
Use captions when:
- Your video must be accessible to deaf or hard-of-hearing users.
- You’re aiming to meet legal obligations for training, educational, or public-facing video content under regulations like Section 508 or the EAA.
- Your video includes sound effects, speaker changes, or tone cues that viewers need to understand the content.
Use subtitles when:
- Your audience can hear the audio but needs the dialogue translated into another language.
- You’re publishing content for platforms that autoplay without sound.
- The focus is on global reach for entertainment, explainer, or marketing videos for international or multilingual viewers.
Note: Subtitles help you reach more people, but they’re not a substitute for captions in accessibility contexts.
Use transcripts when:
- The content is audio-only (like podcasts or voiceover clips).
- You want users to quickly search, scan, or reference information from the video.
- Your team needs content repurposing material for blogs, social posts, or knowledge bases.
- You’re supporting screen reader users or providing supplementary access to multimedia.
Note: Transcripts should complement (not replace) captions when visuals or video elements are involved.
Managing accessibility and compliance at scale can be challenging, especially when accessibility requirements vary by jurisdiction and content type.
Equally AI’s Managed Accessibility solution solves this by providing an end-to-end platform to help you identify and fix compliance gaps across your web content. The result is a systematic approach to accessibility that scales with your content production.
💬Let’s discuss: Book a free call with an expert here
Captioning and Subtitling Tools
Whether you’re publishing a course, editing a podcast, or creating marketing videos, choosing the right tool for captions or subtitles can save you time and ensure better accessibility. Here’s a look at some of the most trusted options available.
- Rev
Offers both AI-generated and human-edited captions, subtitles, and transcripts. It’s widely used across industries like legal, education, and enterprise training. It also supports SDH formatting.
- Subly
Built for speed and multilingual content. It automatically generates subtitles and translates them into over 30 languages, with a user-friendly interface and customization options for branded content.
- Riverside
Best known as a podcast and video recording platform, Riverside also offers automated transcription and captions. Its built-in editor makes it easy to add open captions during post-production.
- Amara
A collaborative subtitling platform used by nonprofits, educational institutions, and accessibility advocates. It supports community-generated translations and SDH-style subtitles.
- Adobe Premiere Pro
Premiere Pro includes built-in captioning tools for editors who want full creative control. You can create open or closed captions, customize the style, and export captions as separate files or burn them into the video.
Note: These tools help you generate captions or subtitles, but it’s still your responsibility to ensure they meet WCAG requirements.
