Easiest OBS Caption Setup in 2026 — One URL, 60 Seconds

TL;DR

If you have set up OBS scenes before, you have already done 90% of the work. Pasting a StreamTranslate URL into OBS is identical to adding a Twitch chat overlay or alerts widget. 60 seconds. 6-hour free trial.

The 60-second setup

0:00 — Sign up. Open streamtranslate.live/control. Enter email or sign in with Twitch/Google. 6-hour free trial, no card.
0:15 — Pick languages. Source language (what you speak) and target language (what viewers see). Press Generate.
0:30 — Copy URL. Your unique OBS browser source URL appears. Copy it.
0:45 — Add to OBS. Open OBS. Sources panel → + → Browser. Paste URL. Set width 1920, height 1080. Click OK.
0:60 — Go live. Hit Start Streaming. Captions appear on stream as you speak.

Compare to other caption tools

Tool	Setup steps	Time
StreamTranslate	Sign up → Copy URL → Paste in OBS	60 seconds
LocalVocal	Download installer → Install plugin → Restart OBS → Download Whisper model (1.5GB) → Configure audio routing → Configure source	15-30 minutes
OBS Closed Captioning Plugin	Install plugin → Sign up Google Cloud → Enable Speech API → Generate API key → Add billing → Paste key → Configure	30-45 minutes
Caption.Ninja (free path)	Choose source/target → Configure URL params → Paste as Browser Source → Test (may fail in Chrome) → Switch to Edge → Test again	5-15 minutes when working
Caption.Ninja (premium path)	All above + Sign up Google Cloud + Enable Translation API + Generate key + Paste key in URL + Configure billing	30+ minutes

Why it is this simple

Three design decisions:

OBS browser source as the only integration. No plugin to install or compile. No DLLs. No platform-specific binaries. Just a URL.
Managed speech recognition. No model to download. No GPU to configure. No API keys. We run Deepgram on our infrastructure.
Managed translation. No Google Cloud or OpenAI account to set up. We run DeepL + Google + Azure in parallel and pick the fastest result.

Want even faster? Stream Pass

For one-off events (charity stream, special collab, multi-language tournament), skip the subscription entirely. The $9.99 Stream Pass is one-time, gives you 12 hours of streaming, no recurring charge. Pay once, use it.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to install anything on my computer?

No. No plugin, no app, no driver. Just paste a URL into OBS.

Does this work with Streamlabs / Meld Studio / XSplit?

Yes. Any streaming software that supports Browser Sources works the same way.

What if I have never set up an OBS browser source before?

Open OBS → Sources panel → click the + button → choose Browser → paste URL → set 1920x1080 → OK. That is it.

Do I need to download a translation model?

No. Translation happens on our servers. No model downloads required.

Will it work if I close my dashboard tab?

No, you need to keep your control tab open during streaming (this is where the mic audio is captured). Your OBS browser source connects to the same room.

Free 6-hour trial

No credit card. One URL pasted into OBS. Live in 60 seconds.

Launch StreamTranslate →

Caption.Ninja Not Working? Web Captioner Shutdown vs LocalVocal All Alternatives