Live Captions

Live Stream Captions for Accessibility

Real-time live stream captions that make your stream accessible to deaf, hard-of-hearing, and sound-off viewers. WCAG-aligned, OBS-native, no plugin.

Try Free for 6 Hours → See pricing

Live captions vs pre-recorded captions

Pre-recorded captions are easy: a human transcriber writes them after the fact, syncs to video, done. Live captions are harder — they need to appear within 1-2 seconds of speech, with no human in the loop.

Most live caption tools are either too slow (5-10 second latency, unusable for real-time) or too inaccurate (free auto-captions are often 70-80% accurate). StreamTranslate hits sub-2-second latency at 95%+ accuracy on clear speech using Deepgram nova-3.

What "accessibility-grade" captions look like

Latency: sub-2 seconds (real-time threshold)
Accuracy: 95%+ on clear single-speaker audio
Contrast: 4.5:1+ (WCAG minimum)
Font size: readable at 200% zoom (WCAG 1.4.4)
Reflow: adapts to small viewports (WCAG 1.4.10)
Punctuation: proper periods, commas, question marks

StreamTranslate hits all six.

Configuring for accessibility-best-practices

Choose same-language captions mode (English in → English captions out) for the deaf community
Set font size to 36-44px — large enough for TVs, low-vision, and mobile
Use 2-3px black outline on white text — WCAG-compliant contrast on any background
Position captions at bottom-center — viewers expect them there
Avoid placing captions over critical UI (game minimaps, chat overlays)

Where these captions show up

Because we render captions onto the OBS canvas, they appear:

On Twitch, YouTube Live, Kick, Facebook Gaming, X, TikTok Live
On all viewer devices (desktop, mobile, embedded)
In VOD recordings (if your platform records)
In viewer clips (captions are part of the video)
In stream archives

Frequently asked

How is "live captions" different from regular captions?

Live = real-time, sub-2-second latency. Regular = post-production captions added after recording. We do live.

Are live captions accurate enough for the deaf community?

95%+ on clear speech. Deaf viewers tell us this is comparable to or better than human stenographers. For maximum accuracy, hybrid setups (auto + human review) exist for high-stakes broadcasts.

Can I caption a stream I'm already running?

Yes. Add the browser source mid-stream, captions appear immediately. No need to restart.

What if I speak with an accent? Will the captions still work?

Generally yes — Deepgram nova-3 is trained on diverse accents. Strong regional accents may slightly reduce accuracy. If you have feedback on a specific accent struggling, contact us.

Do live captions cost more than recorded?

No — pricing is by hours of streaming, not by captioning method. Stream Pass $9.99 / Starter $14.99/mo / Pro $34.99/mo. Pricing details.