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How to Add Animated Subtitles in DaVinci Resolve (3 Ways)

Plain white subtitles are easy to skip. Animated ones keep people watching. Here are the three real options inside DaVinci Resolve, from free and basic to one click and fully styled.

Updated September 30, 2026 · by The Bigger Studio

Quick answer

• Simple animation, no extra cost: use a subtitle track with one of Resolve's animated caption presets (Way 1).
• Full control over every word: build it by hand with Text+ in Fusion (Way 2). Beautiful, but slow.
• Styled, word-by-word captions in about a minute: use a caption plugin such as Bigger Subs (Way 3).

Way 1: Subtitle track + animated caption presets

Recent versions of DaVinci Resolve (version 20 and later) can animate a regular subtitle track with a few built-in presets.

1. Add your subtitles: import an .srt file (File › Import › Subtitle) or type them on a subtitle track. Depending on your version and edition, you may also find Timeline › Create Subtitles from Audio.
2. Open the Effects library, go to Titles and scroll to the Animated section. You'll see presets like Word Highlight, Slide In and Statement.
3. Drag the preset you like onto the subtitle track header (not onto a single clip).
4. Select the track header and use the Inspector to change the font, size, colors and animation speed.

Good for: quick jobs where one consistent style is enough. Limits: the look is the same for every line, emphasis on specific words is manual, and there are no sound effects.

Way 2: Text+ in Fusion, by hand

This is how motion designers make the flashy captions you see on big channels.

1. Add a Text+ title above your clip and open it in the Fusion page.
2. Type the first group of words, style it, and keyframe the entrance (scale, position or opacity).
3. Duplicate it for the next group of words and line it up with the voice. Repeat for the whole video.
4. For an emphasized word, split it into its own Text+ with a bigger size, a different color or a highlight box.

Good for: one-off hero videos where every frame matters. Limits: a one-minute video can take an hour or more, and changing the style later means redoing it.

Way 3: One click with Bigger Subs

Bigger Subs is a desktop app for Mac and Windows that works with DaVinci Resolve Free and Studio. It listens to your timeline, writes the subtitles word by word on your own computer, and places the finished animated captions on your timeline as a transparent clip.

1. Open your project in DaVinci Resolve and open Bigger Subs.
2. Pick a style (there are 45) and how many words should appear at a time.
3. Click the main button. The captions land on a new track above your video, already in sync.

What you get on top of plain animation:

• Emphasis on the words that matter: big impact words, highlights and level changes, suggested automatically from how you say them.
• 600+ sound effects synced to the words, mixed low so they never fight the voice.
• 29 custom effects (fire, ice, neon, glitch and more) and animations you can tune.
• A real clip, not a template: transparent ProRes 4444 you can move, trim and color like any other clip.

Which one should you use?

FAQ

Does this work in the free version of DaVinci Resolve?

Animated caption presets are part of recent Resolve versions. Bigger Subs works with both DaVinci Resolve Free and Studio on Mac and Windows.

Is my footage uploaded anywhere?

No. Bigger Subs writes the subtitles on your own computer, so your footage never leaves it.

Can I edit the captions after they're placed?

Yes. You can fix any word, change the style or re-generate before placing, and the clip on your timeline can be trimmed and moved like any other.

More guides: Word-by-word (TikTok-style) captions in DaVinci Resolve · Auto subtitles in DaVinci Resolve