Is Web Captioner shut down?

Yes. Web Captioner has been unmaintained since October 31, 2023. Its creator Curt Grimes publicly recommended exploring alternatives and noted that the underlying Web Speech API has become unreliable as Chrome moves to on-device SODA models.

What's the best Web Captioner alternative for live streaming?

StreamTranslate is a cloud-based alternative built specifically for streamers. Uses advanced AI server-side speech recognition (no Web Speech API dependency), supports 65 languages including translation, integrates with OBS via browser source URL, Free Plan with 3 hours every month.

Web Captioner Shutdown — What to Use Instead (2026 Guide)

Q: Why did Web Captioner shut down?

Two reasons. First, Web Captioner depended on the Chrome Web Speech API which Google is deprecating, causing increasing reliability issues. Second, the creator stopped maintaining the project. The combination meant users were on a dying platform.

Q: Can I still use Web Captioner?

The site still loads but the underlying speech recognition is increasingly broken as Chrome deprecates the API it depends on. The creator recommends switching.

TL;DR

Web Captioner is dead. It relied on the Chrome Web Speech API which Google is deprecating, AND its creator stopped maintaining it in October 2023. Speech recognition increasingly fails. StreamTranslate is built for the same use case (live captions + translation) but uses advanced AI server-side speech recognition that doesn't depend on Chrome. Works in any browser. 65 languages with translation. Free Plan with 3 hours every month.

What happened to Web Captioner?

Web Captioner was a popular free, browser-based live captioning tool. Type into your mic, captions appear on screen. Worked great for several years for live streams, classrooms, conferences, and accessibility.

Two structural problems killed it:

Browser dependency. Web Captioner used the Chrome Web Speech API (browser-native, free). When Google started deprecating that API in favor of on-device SODA models, Web Captioner became unreliable.
Maintainer burnout. Web Captioner was maintained by one person (Curt Grimes). When Chrome's API got flaky, fixing it would have required migrating to a paid speech-to-text service — a major rewrite. The maintainer chose to archive the project instead.

Both problems are common to free, browser-native captioning tools. Caption.Ninja is facing the same issues right now — its docs already recommend switching to Edge as a workaround (which doesn't fully fix the problem).

What to use instead

For live streaming specifically, you need a tool that:

Doesn't depend on browser-native speech recognition (which is getting deprecated)
Has a managed speech recognition backend (advanced AI, AssemblyAI, etc) — not free Web Speech API
Integrates with OBS / Streamlabs / Meld as a browser source
Supports translation for international audiences
Is actively maintained

StreamTranslate hits all five. We use advanced AI for speech recognition (server-side, professional-grade), support 65 languages with translation, integrate with any OBS-compatible streaming software via browser source URL, and we're actively maintained.

Migration: Web Captioner → StreamTranslate

Sign up free at streamtranslate.live/control — card required for the Free Plan; no payment unless you upgrade.
Pick your spoken language (English, Spanish, etc) and your target language (or just transcription if no translation needed).
Copy your browser source URL.
In OBS: Sources → + → Browser → paste URL → 1920×1080. Same workflow as Web Captioner.
Go live. Captions appear on stream within 500ms of you speaking.

The OBS integration is identical to Web Captioner's. The difference is what's behind it.

StreamTranslate vs Web Captioner — feature comparison

Feature	StreamTranslate	Web Captioner
Status	Actively maintained	Unmaintained since Oct 2023
Speech recognition	advanced AI (paid, reliable)	Chrome Web Speech API (free, breaking)
Translation	Built-in, 65 languages	No (transcription only)
Browser support	Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge	Chrome/Edge only
OBS browser source	Yes	Yes (when API works)
Cost	From $9.99 once	Free (but breaking)
Support	Active email/chat	Archived GitHub

Frequently asked questions

Is Web Captioner permanently shut down?

The site still loads but it has been unmaintained since October 31, 2023. The creator publicly archived the repository and recommended alternatives. As Chrome's Web Speech API gets less reliable, Web Captioner becomes less usable.

Why did Web Captioner shut down?

Two reasons. Web Captioner depended on the Chrome Web Speech API which Google is deprecating. AND the project's maintainer chose to archive the project rather than rewrite it to use a paid speech-to-text backend.

Can I still use Web Captioner for now?

Technically yes — the site loads. Practically, the speech recognition is unreliable and getting worse. For live streams where reliability matters, switch.

Does StreamTranslate work the same way as Web Captioner?

Yes for the OBS integration — a browser source URL you paste into OBS. Differs in: speech recognition (we use advanced AI, not Web Speech API), translation (we have it, they didn't), uptime (we're maintained).

What if I just need captions in English, no translation?

StreamTranslate handles that too. Set source language to English, target language to English. You get clean English captions on your stream.

Free Plan with 3 hours every month

If you were using Web Captioner and need a replacement: sign up free, paste one URL into OBS, you're live in 60 seconds.

Launch StreamTranslate →

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Web Captioner Is Shut Down — Here's What to Use Instead