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Free in the app
Unlimited video length with captions, free
You can caption a video of any length in FrameCast without paying, and without a watermark. The Mac app, the iPhone editor, and the web editor transcribe on the device and burn the words into the picture, or — in the web editor — save an SRT or WebVTT file.
“Unlimited” means the caption pass itself. A free share link is a different limit: 25 live share links, up to 30 minutes each, at 1080p. Pro shares up to 4 hours in 4K. Local export is not cut off at 30 minutes.
What is actually free
Recording on the Mac has no time cap. Editing has no time cap. Transcribe the take, edit the lines, and export with captions burned in. None of that spends voice credits.
Live captions, transcripts, and Apple Intelligence script tools need macOS 26 or later. The web editor is separate: it transcribes with an on-device speech model in Chrome, Edge, or Safari, in about 30-second sections, and it does not use the macOS 26 requirement.
- Live captions while you record on Mac, from the microphone
- Captions from the recording in the Mac and iPhone editors, burned into MP4, HEVC, ProRes, or GIF
- Web editor captions you can burn into an MP4 or download as SRT or WebVTT
- Word-by-word captions in the Mac editor, with the current word highlighted
- Smart cleanup still moves caption timing when you cut ums and pauses
The limits that do exist
Free watch pages: 25 live share links, up to 30 minutes each, at 1080p, with a transcript and chapters. Pro is $5.00/month, $60.00 billed yearly. Team is $7.00/seat/month, billed yearly.
Live captions need the microphone. System audio alone is not speech the recognizer can hear. Jargon, crosstalk, and names can still come out wrong — you can edit the lines.
A generated voice-over is not captions. Catalogue samples are free to audition. Pressing Generate spends voice credits. Exporting a take you already generated does not charge again.
A path from the free caption to a paid link
Caption and export on your machine first. When the video needs a link someone can open without a file, share it. Twenty-five live links are included. The first thing worth paying for is Pro: unlimited links, viewer insights, link controls, and your own branding, without a watermark on the watch page.
Questions
- Is there a maximum video length for free captions?
- No. The Mac app, the iPhone editor, and the web editor do not cap how long a local video can be when you add captions. A free share link can be up to 30 minutes. Pro share links can be up to 4 hours.
- Do captions upload my video?
- No. Mac and iPhone captions use on-device speech recognition. The web editor transcribes on your device as well. A share link is a separate choice, and that upload is how someone watches the video in a browser.
- Which Mac version do live captions need?
- Live captions, transcripts, and Apple Intelligence script tools need macOS 26 or later.
- Are captions the same thing as AI voice-over?
- No. Captions are free. AI voice-over spends voice credits, and only when you generate a take. Hearing a catalogue sample is free.
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Use it free. Pay when a link should last.
FrameCast recording, captions, cleanup, and export stay free. Pro is $5.00/month billed yearly for unlimited share links and viewer insights.