[best fonts for subtitles]

7 Best Fonts for Subtitles on Social Media Videos

Published on March 18, 2024

7 Best Fonts for Subtitles on Social Media Videos

Adding subtitles and captions to your video is not just "nice to have" but a must in order to remain relevant to your target audience, making it more accessible, enjoyable, and inclusive. It doesn't matter if you want to reach a broader audience or just transcend language barriers, adding subtitles and captions is a must-have feature.

Is there an easier way to do it? The most effective way to do this is to use an online video editor like Flixier, which features an auto subtitle generator. But here's the catch: picking the right font matters just as much as the words themselves. The wrong choice can distract, while the right one keeps eyes glued to the screen.

Why add subtitles to social media videos?

Nearly 80% of users scroll with the sound off, that means your message disappears without subtitles. Adding them keeps viewers hooked, ensures your story is understood, and makes your content accessible to everyone, whether they're hard of hearing, watching in public, or simply scrolling on mute.

So, to remain competitive among other players in the industry, grow your business, and tap into new markets, adding captions can increase your chances of getting new viewers.

What are the best fonts for subtitles in 2025?

1.Arial

ARIAL font for social media

Does it look familiar? Well, it's the one you find everywhere. It was designed by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders in 1982. Arial is a versatile and uncomplicated sans-serif font that is used worldwide. It is particularly popular for subtitles due to its readability. However, the Arial font family has more than fifteen distinct variations, making it a go-to for many digital and graphic design projects, such as advertising, digital media, and graphic design. Arial has quickly gained favor among designers due to its legibility, readability, and prominent visibility. 
 

2. Helvetica

HELVETICA  font for social media

This elegant sans-serif font style was designed by Mac Meidinger and Eduard Hoffman in Switzerland in 1957. Featuring clear lines, this font looks great on all backgrounds and is an excellent choice for video subtitling. Having its own documentary, it's undoubtedly one of the most famous and used fonts worldwide in advertising and broadcasting companies. Even renowned brands such as Panasonic, Jeep, Target, and Harley-Davidson use Helvetica. It is easy to read and remains bold even in point sizes below 12.

3. Open Sans

OPEN SANS font for social media

One popular typeface that works wonderfully on screens and at lower sizes is Open Sans. Its clear letterforms and style make it suitable for all video formats. Designed for Google in 2011, it's a popular subtitle choice as it offers a positive user experience. However, its lack of expressiveness means that it may not be suitable for all videos, so ensure that it matches the tone of your video.

4. Verdana

VERDANA font for social media

This typeface is widely used due to its condensed style, which makes it easier to read text over videos, even in small sizes and on smaller screens. The balanced design, consistent spacing, and proportion make this modern San Serif font style reliable and easy to read, making it a suitable choice for video captions. Because it does not take up much room, Verdana is an excellent choice for video productions that need a lot of text.

5. Roboto

ROBOTO font for social media

One of the best fonts for YouTube subtitles due to its mechanical structure and for efficiently displaying on all types of devices. After all, it's Android-specific and so ubiquitous that not only Google and YouTube but even the US government use it. The font is highly legible on mobile screens and has a consistent stroke width that keeps viewers engaged. Edit YouTube videos using Roboto for YouTube Thumbnails and Banners to set you apart from competition. 

6. Futura

FUTURA font for social media

Futura is a tech-oriented font designed by Paul Renner in 1972. Given its legibility on a variety of backgrounds, it continues to see heavy usage in 2024, particularly in viral social media videos that rely heavily on text. The progressive style makes it ideal for subtitling technology-related videos. By using Flixier's online subtitle editor, you can personalize this font to make it even more distinctive.

7. Tahoma

tahoma font for social media

The Sans-serif font is ideal for digital displays since it allows viewers to focus on the content. It has consistent readability on various screen resolutions. Subtitles in videos are often made using Tahoma because of its formal aesthetic and its ability to render nicely on different video frame sizes.


 

Best tools to add subtitles to videos

In an era of short-form content, people tend to get distracted easily, even with subtitles. So, it's important to have eye-catching and trendy captions (just like the ones Alex Hormozi uses!) that will grab their attention and make them focus on your message. 

Flixier

If you want one tool that does it all, from subtitles to editing, translations, and publishing, Flixier is the pick.You can easily master subtitling with an online video editor like Flixier, which features an AI caption generator, among other valuable editing tools. Easily create, edit, and export subtitles and captions for your videos. The best part? You can add subtitles to your videos automatically and make them look top-notch by choosing from various animated shapes, highlighting keywords, and selecting fonts that match the tone of your content. On top of that, Flixier can translate subtitles into more than 50 different languages. You can access it from most commonly used browsers and edit your videos anywhere. 

VEED.IO

VEED.IO is the stylist in the subtitles group. Accuracy is quite solid, and its design options are good, offering everything from animated captions to branded layouts. Free exports carry a watermark, but if your focus is highly polished, on-trend captions, VEED.IO might be a good fit.

Happy Scribe

Happy Scribe offers a generous free plan (5 files a month, watermark-free). But, accuracy ranges from good with machine transcription to near-perfect with their paid human service. The design options are simpler than Flixier or VEED.IO, but for text-first projects, it’s reliable.

Rev.com

Rev is famous for accuracy. You can opt for machine transcription, but their human service guarantees 99% precision( at the human pace, of course). The trade-off is price, it’s one of the most expensive options. Plus, styling is basic, but when subtitles absolutely need to be flawless (training videos, client work, broadcast), Rev might be worth it.

Kapwing

Kapwing balances accuracy and creative control. You can edit fonts, colors, animations, and even use “safe zone” guides for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts so your captions never get cut off by any platform. The only downside is that the free plan is restrictive, but the design flexibility makes it a strong choice for social media creators.

You've got the tools, so let's work on those skills! 

 

In Closing

Adding subtitles or captions is an important step in the video creation process, holding more power than we give it credit for. 
 

However, subtitling your video is only half the battle. The other half involves editing and choosing the best fonts for closed captions, which can make the subtitles more understandable, less obtrusive, and perfectly timed. 
 

Generating subtitles automatically and editing are a breeze using web-based tools like Flixier, which don't require advanced editing skills. This ensures that the translations are exact and the timing is on the spot, resulting in an enjoyable viewing experience for a wider audience. Plus, you can stylize the subtitles' font, color, and size. At this point, you have the option to either save the subtitle file alone or publish the video along with the subtitles.

 

Hopefully, now you have a better understanding of subtitles, fonts, and how they may enhance your content. This will make it easier for you to stylize engaging captions. Consider using a video editing tool to help you along the process. With an intuitive interface and powerful editing tools, Flixier helps you fine-tune your subtitles to take your video content to the next level. Happy subtitling!

About the author
Andreea Manastireanu

Andreea is always ready to take you through the latest news, tips, and guidelines on video editing. A consumer of too much (latest) information and a notorious overthinker, she's a wearer of many hats and a master of some.

Andreea Manastireanu

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Frequently
Asked
Questions

How do I choose subtitle font?

First of all, make sure the font is compatible with the platform you're using to stream your content. Some platforms have specific requirements for captions, so it's important to choose a font that works properly. Secondly, you want a font that's easy to read. Sans serif fonts are usually a safe bet. You should also pick a font that reflects your brand's personality and style. Finally, it's a good idea to choose a font that can support different languages if you have an international audience. Hope that helps!

How big should subtitles be?

To begin with, there is no universally correct font size; rather, it changes with variables such as screen size, platform, audience, and video kind. Having said that, 22 points is a solid baseline. As you work on your subtitles, keep in mind a few critical questions like "Are they easy to read?" ,"Can viewers clearly see them?", "Are they distracting in any way?" Additionally, are they consistent with the overall vibe of your video? Answering these questions thoroughly can help you create subtitles that are not only useful but also interesting and entertaining to watch.

What is the most common subtitle format?

The most popular formats are VTT, SRT, ASS, SSA, and SUB. But with Flixier, you don't need to worry about compatibility issues; you can upload and edit most subtitle files. Using Flixier, you can even convert subtitles from one format to another and save them to your computer.

How to choose the best subtitle font

There are four key features to consider: readability, legibility, visibility, and suitability. These can make or break a video.

What are the most common mistakes when adding captions or subtitles?

Using text that distracts viewers from the visual content Having captions that cut into the frame Using fashionable, hard-to-read typefaces Lack of uniformity in font usage between platforms Using social media platforms' limited features to add and customize subtitles Not complying with the caption requirements of the platform where you plan to publish your content

What's the difference between captions and subtitles?

Subtitles and captions often get mixed up, but they’re not the same thing. Subtitles are there to translate the spoken words so viewers can follow along, assuming they can still hear the audio. They won’t tell you if music starts playing or if there’s an explosion off-screen, they only show the dialogue. Captions, on the other hand, include everything you hear. They show the words being spoken, the sound effects, the background noises, even who is talking. Subtitles are about understanding the language, while captions make a video fully accessible to anyone.
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