Video Caption / Subtitle Cost Calculator
Estimate the cost of auto-captioning video with AI.
With the default inputs, $0.3600 per video — 60 min · $36.00/month for 100 videos. Enter your own numbers below to recompute instantly; the full step-by-step math is shown under the worked example.
Results update automatically as you type.
- STT rate
- $0.006/min
- Per video
- $0.3600
- Per month
- $36.00
Captioning is transcription applied to video audio. Enter clip length and monthly volume to estimate your per-video and monthly captioning cost.
How this is calculated
Cost = video length (minutes) × transcription price per minute × videos per month. Captioning is transcription applied to the video's audio with timestamps; translating captions into other languages adds LLM cost on top, which this doesn't include.
Is this a good result? What to do next
Captioning is essentially a transcription bill — cheap and predictable per minute. The number scales with total minutes; translation and heavy manual review are the extras to budget separately.
Typical planning ranges
- Cost
- ≈ minutes × STT rate
- Transcription
- ~$0.003–$0.006/min
- Translation
- separate LLM cost
Ranges are typical planning figures to sanity-check your result, not authoritative benchmarks. Your numbers will vary with use case, volume, and vendor.
How to improve this number
- Use the mini transcription model where accuracy allows.
- Caption only published videos, not every draft.
- Batch a library in one run.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting translated captions add LLM cost.
- Skipping review for names/jargon on noisy audio.
When to use a different approach
To rank transcription models, use the transcription cost comparison. For meetings, use the AI meeting notes cost calculator.
Worked example (defaults)
With the default inputs above, here is the result:
- STT rate
- $0.006/min
- Per video
- $0.3600
- Per month
- $36.00
Sources & references
Frequently asked questions
Is captioning just transcription?+
Largely yes — the audio is transcribed with timestamps. Translating captions adds LLM cost on top.
How accurate are AI captions?+
Very good for clear speech; review for names, jargon and noisy audio before publishing.