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TikTok Live Captions — Adding Real-Time Subtitles

TikTok Live has no built-in captions for streamers. With StreamTranslate and OBS RTMP streaming to TikTok, you can add live captions and real-time translation in 125+ languages to every TikTok LIVE broadcast.

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How to Add Captions — Step by Step

  1. Set up OBS to stream to TikTok Live via RTMP (requires TikTok LIVE access).
  2. Sign up for StreamTranslate and get your browser source URL.
  3. Add StreamTranslate as a Browser Source in your OBS scene.
  4. Position the caption bar at the bottom of your TikTok LIVE scene.
  5. Choose your target translation languages in the StreamTranslate dashboard.
  6. Start your TikTok LIVE — captions appear in the video feed for all viewers.

Why Streamers Use StreamTranslate

TikTok Global Audience

TikTok Live reaches viewers globally. Real-time translation into Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, and more grows your audience fast.

Burned-In Captions

StreamTranslate captions appear in your video stream — visible whether viewers are watching on TikTok app, web, or TV.

Engagement Boost

Captioned live streams consistently see higher watch time and comment rates on TikTok — the algorithm rewards it.

Gaming Vocabulary AI

our industry-leading speech AI handles gaming language, fast commentary, and streamer vocabulary that TikTok LIVE's limited auto-caption can not match.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you add captions to TikTok Live?

TikTok does not support external OBS browser source overlays directly on TikTok Live. However, you can stream to TikTok via OBS using RTMP, and StreamTranslate captions will appear in the video feed.

Does TikTok Live have auto-captions?

TikTok has auto-captions for recorded videos but not for TikTok LIVE broadcasts. For live captioning, you need a third-party solution like StreamTranslate.

How do streamers add subtitles to TikTok Live?

Stream to TikTok Live via OBS RTMP with StreamTranslate as a browser source overlay — captions appear burned into your live video feed for all TikTok viewers.

What languages can I translate to on TikTok Live?

StreamTranslate supports 125+ languages. For TikTok Live, this is particularly valuable for reaching Spanish, Portuguese, and Southeast Asian language audiences.

Is there a free way to caption TikTok Live streams?

StreamTranslate has a free tier that lets you test live captioning before committing to a plan. It is the most practical path to TikTok Live captions.