Guide
Full captions vs important captions: which should you use?
By the Samsaam team · Published · 4 min read
Use full captions when viewers need every word — tutorials, accessibility, sound-off viewing of dense speech. Use important captions when the message matters more than the transcript — talking heads, cinematic edits, B-roll heavy videos — and you want a few strong, animated statements instead of a constant stream of text.
What each mode shows
Full captions transcribe speech word for word and keep text on screen whenever someone is talking. Important captions read the whole transcript, pick the statements that carry the message and rewrite each as one short line — then hold it on screen while that idea is spoken.
In Samsaam both are generated from the same project and stored separately, so you can try one, switch to the other and switch back without losing edits.
Trade-offs
| Full captions | Important captions | |
|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | Complete | Partial — a summary, not a transcript |
| Screen clutter | Constant text | Occasional, designed text |
| Retention on short-form | Strong | Strong when statements are punchy |
| Editing effort | Proof-read every word | Review a handful of lines |
| Feels like | Subtitles | Titles / motion graphics |
A simple rule
- If a viewer with the sound off would miss information without every word → full captions.
- If the video is about one idea and the visuals matter → important captions.
- If accessibility is a requirement → full captions, always (you can still add important captions as styling on top in a separate export).
Learn more on the important captions page, or see styles in the template library.
Caption your next video with Samsaam
Animated captions in minutes, starting on the free plan.