How to Use CapCut: First Project, Captions and a Clean Export

To use CapCut, sign in with one login method on every device, import your clips, cut and layer them on the timeline, add auto captions, then export after removing anything marked Pro. That is the whole loop. The editor runs on CapCut Mobile (iOS 13+ or Android 8.0+), CapCut Desktop for Windows and macOS, and CapCut Online in Chrome, Edge or Safari. A first project costs nothing: a video built from free assets in the standard editor exports without a watermark. The two traps are accounts and Pro assets. Each login method is a separate account, and one Pro-marked effect locks the whole export. Captions add a third rule: keep each recognition pass near 15 minutes.

Choose a surface and sign in once

Pick the surface by the job. Desktop gives the deepest control: Auto Cut, keyframes, custom bitrates and, with Pro, 4K export at up to 60 fps. The web editor needs no install but asks for at least 5 Mbps (10 Mbps for template exports), renders exports in the cloud and shows only an approximate preview. Mobile is the only place for the Teleprompter, TikTok linking and posting, and the full template gallery with search. One account can stay signed in on up to five devices at once, so many people shoot on the phone and finish on a laptop.

The login method decides the account. CapCut treats Google, email, TikTok, Facebook, Apple ID and US phone-number sign-ins as separate accounts, even when the email address is identical ^[1]. That is a common reason a paid plan seems missing, next to region blocks, an outdated app and sync delays. Choose Google, TikTok or Facebook if you plan to use all three surfaces, because the web editor offers no Apple ID or phone sign-in and Desktop offers no phone sign-in. Simpler still, sign in on your phone first, then scan the QR code shown on Desktop or Web with the Scan function on the mobile app's Me page.

Start a project and bring in your footage

Check formats before you import. On iOS, CapCut reads BMP, JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIF, 3GP, MP4, MOV and m4v; Android adds AVI, MKV and FLV. Renaming a file extension does not change its real encoding, so convert an unsupported file with another tool first. Image batches have limits too: up to 100 images of 100 MB each on mobile, 20 images under 50 MB each on the web, and no hard count on Desktop at up to 200 MB per image.

Resolution is set early. On mobile, the timeline takes the resolution of the first clip you import and does not upscale later clips, so open the project with your best footage. On CapCut Online, 2K and 4K export options appear only if you chose that resolution when creating the project, through a Custom aspect ratio, and presets such as YouTube 16:9 may lock export to 1080p. CapCut cannot open project files from third-party editors, or one CapCut project inside another; bring that work in as rendered video, which then behaves as a single clip.

Cut, layer and animate on the timeline

The timeline is multi-track on every surface. Your main footage sits on one track, while text, stickers and picture-in-picture clips sit on their own tracks above it, and layer order matters: text placed behind a picture-in-picture clip or a sticker, or set to zero opacity, simply disappears from the preview. Transitions only work between two adjacent clips, and very short clips, locked tracks or overlapping effects can block them.

Keyframes handle motion. On Desktop they animate position, scale and opacity, and the option appears only once a clip is selected. CapCut lists advanced keyframes among the Pro features you lose without a plan, so keep free projects to simple moves. Basic crop and zoom stay free, while Auto Reframe, which uses cloud-based AI object tracking, has been Pro-only since 3 Apr 2026. Auto Cut trims clips to music beats, speech pauses or a text prompt on Mobile and Desktop only, and is still rolling out by region, so it may not appear yet. On mobile it needs version 12.0 or later, sits under Templates, then AI Creation, and works on projects started from your own clips, not downloaded templates.

For green-screen footage, chroma key is on all three surfaces. On mobile it sits under Edit, Remove BG, Chroma Key, with intensity and shadow controls; in the online editor it is under Smart tools, Remove background, next to Auto removal, and you tune tolerance and edge softness until the edges stop flickering. Automatic removal may not be free. CapCut lists Smart Cutout among the features that spend AI credits and says AI background removal is meant for active members, so plan on chroma key for free projects.

Add auto captions and a voice

Auto captions run on Mobile, Desktop and Web. On mobile, open Text, then Auto captions; on the web and Desktop, open Captions, then Auto captions, and pick the spoken language before you generate. CapCut lists 20+ caption languages, and bilingual captions translate the speech into a second language you choose in the same pass. Auto captions are free to start on CapCut Web, but some caption features may need Pro. CapCut states no fixed accuracy rate, since results vary with language, accent, clarity, recording quality and noise, so read every line before export.

Length is the limit that bites. CapCut recommends about 15 minutes per recognition on the web, and on mobile longer videos often time out ^[2]. Split long recordings into parts of 10 minutes or less; by our arithmetic, a 40-minute interview becomes four passes. Fixing is quicker in batches. Auto-generated captions can be corrected, restyled or translated many lines at once on all three surfaces, while manually typed text has to be edited one layer at a time. On Desktop, Ctrl or Cmd selects separate lines, Shift selects a range, and Ctrl+B or Cmd+B splits a caption that runs too long.

Captions also travel. Only auto-recognized captions export as a file, in SRT or TXT. Importing a subtitle file works on Desktop (.srt or .txt with timecodes) and on the web (.srt only), not in the mobile app. For songs, Auto Lyrics handles mostly sung audio, but only on mobile. Text to speech works only on text layers and runs in the cloud: select a caption or title, choose a voice, then adjust speech rate, pitch and volume. CapCut says it offers 200+ AI voices, and premium voiceovers draw on AI credits.

Export without a watermark or a Pro lock

In the standard editor, a project built from free assets exports without a watermark. Marks and locks come from a few predictable places, and a two-minute check before you press Export catches them:

• Template outro. Templates add a CapCut ending clip, sometimes with a logo layer; delete it from the end of the timeline.
• Pro icons. Premium effects, filters, transitions, stickers, templates and BCD Studio music carry a Pro icon, and even one locks or watermarks the export ^[3].
• The cover. If the cover used Pro material, reselect it after removing the Pro items.
• Length on mobile. Exports longer than 15 minutes trigger the Pro prompt; the free limit varies by region.
• Resolution. CapCut lists 4K and 60 fps among Pro features, and Desktop locks them for free users.

Formats are MP4 and MOV. Desktop exports render locally ^[4], so low RAM, old GPU drivers or a full disk can block them. If the file looks different from the preview, turn off Proxy under Settings, Performance, so the preview matches the export. If an export stalls, drop to 1080p or a lower frame rate, or disable hardware acceleration on PC. You can export only part of the timeline by setting In and Out markers with the I and O keys. Heavy stabilization on many or long clips greatly increases export time, so apply it only where the shake shows. On the web, free 4K exports may carry a watermark or bitrate limits.

Save your work and know what you pay for

Drafts upload to CapCut Cloud with no guaranteed time, anywhere from seconds to several minutes, and new cloud spaces created since 25 Mar 2026 get 0 GB of free storage, so free users should treat the device as the real copy. Don't uninstall CapCut Desktop during an update, because unsynced local projects can be lost. Licensed tracks in the CapCut audio library can be removed when licenses expire, and they then vanish from saved projects too. Export finished videos promptly and keep your own audio files for long projects.

The editor itself is free. CapCut's US pricing page lists Pro at $19.99 a month billed monthly, with 1,200 monthly AI credits and 1 TB of storage. Those figures are for reference only, and your final price, taxes and any offer appear after sign-in and can differ by region, device and account, as our CapCut pricing guide explains. If Pro lapses, drafts that use paid materials stay editable but won't export until you renew or swap those elements for free ones. Commercial use is a separate question, covered only for templates and materials labelled Commercial Use; our CapCut templates guide shows how to find them.

The bottom line

CapCut rewards a little setup. Sign in with the same method everywhere, start each project at the resolution you want to deliver, caption in chunks of 10 minutes or less, and clear template outros and Pro icons before you export. Do that and the free editor gives you a clean 1080p video on any surface (on mobile, keep free exports under 15 minutes), with Desktop the most reliable place for 4K at 60 fps once you pay for Pro. Pay only when a Pro icon blocks something your video genuinely needs.