How to choose a caption style for Reels and Shorts
Short answer
Pick a caption style by the feel of the video: bold, uppercase captions with a coloured key word for punchy tips and sales, clean sentence-case text for calm explainers, and boxed or labelled lines over busy backgrounds. Vireeli has 40 caption styles, all free on every plan, and you can switch styles at any time without paying again.
On this page
How to choose the right style
| Your video | Look for | Try |
|---|---|---|
| Fast tips, hot takes, sales | Big uppercase words, 1 to 3 at a time, a bright highlight on the key word | Hormozi 1, Hormozi 2, Beast, Dan |
| Explainers and tutorials | Clean sentence-case text, a few more words per line, soft shadow | Matt, Karl, Daniel |
| Stories and personal videos | Serif or softer type, gentle animation | Sara, Maya |
| Busy or bright backgrounds | Text on a box, card or label so it stays readable | Adrian, Kendrick, Dan 2 |
Whatever you choose, readability comes first. Viewers get about a second per caption, often on a small phone screen with the sound off. High contrast, a thick outline or a box, and a few words at a time beat a pretty font that's hard to read.
Pick a style, then switch any time
- 1Choose a Caption style on the New reel form before you click Make my reel.
- 2To try others later, open the short and go to the Style tab. Every style plays on your own video, and the preview uses the same renderer as the export.
- 3Filter the gallery by New, Animated, Trend, Speakers or Emoji, or open My styles for the ones you saved.
- 4Click a style to apply it. Switching is free, and your caption text and cuts stay as they are.
You can also preview every style without an account on the caption styles page.
All 40 caption styles
In the order the gallery shows them. "Words" is how many words each style shows at a time before you change it. Hormozi 1 is the default.
| Style | What it looks like | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Adrian | Black text on cream boxes that slide in line by line; the spoken word turns red and keywords pop out on their own red card. | 4 |
| Nora | Airy white serif. Keywords turn italic, and every eighth caption scatters its words across the frame. | 3 |
| Benie | Tight bold lines that spring up with a tilt, first line in red. Keywords float on their own, typed in. | 3 |
| Matt | Clean white Arial with a soft drop. Keywords grow and turn blue. | 3 |
| Kendrick | Each line on its own label: white on black, then black on a tilted green strip. | 4 |
| Hormozi 5 | Condensed white text in a dark haze. Keywords go extra bold. | 3 |
| Ella | Heavy white caps with a white glow over a deep shadow. Keywords glow green, red or yellow. | 3 |
| Mark | Tall Anton caps with a thin edge and a soft glow. Keywords light up in colour. | 2 |
| Karl | Wide lines of white caps; each word slides up as it is spoken. | 6 |
| Dan 2 | Dark Anton caps on a bright yellow card. | 3 |
| Dan | Italic condensed caps with a thick outline; lines flash yellow, green or red. | 3 |
| Kelly 2 | Bold white Arial under a dark haze. Keywords grow large, some in an elegant serif. | 4 |
| Devin | Glowing white caps with a thick outline; the spoken line lights up and the caption tilts. | 3 |
| Hormozi 4 | Big golden Anton caps with a shaded base and a warm glow. | 2 |
| Maya | Gold display serif with a warm glow; letters breathe in and out. | 2 |
| Tracy | Chunky white caps in a dark halo; words fade in one by one and keywords glow white. | 4 |
| Beast | Comic-book caps with a heavy black outline; letters bounce apart and snap back. | 2 |
| Daniel | Bold white Arial in a black glow, slowly zooming. Keywords grow large. | 3 |
| Luke | Tight white caps with an outline; keywords glow pink, red or cyan. | 3 |
| Sara | Old-style serif with a soft white glow; long lines, keywords set large. | 6 |
| Laura | Serif text on a white card; a lime marker sits behind the spoken word. | 3 |
| Michael | Tight white caps with a white halo; each word flashes in. | 4 |
| Doug | Anton caps in a dense black glow; the spoken line grows and its word lights up. | 4 |
| Jess | Italic orange caps with a burnt edge and a deep shadow; words slide up. | 2 |
| Bob | Big playful rounded letters, two words at a time. Keywords turn red. | 2 |
| Lewis | One heavy word at a time with an outline; keywords glow cyan or green. | 1 |
| Noah | Slanted condensed caps with a crisp drop shadow; keywords in yellow, green or red. | 4 |
| Leon | White caps with an outline; an orange tag sits behind the spoken word. | 3 |
| Claire | Friendly white sans in a dark halo; captions slide or type in, keywords set large. | 4 |
| Hormozi 2 | Heavy white caps with a black outline and a wide dark glow. | 3 |
| Hormozi 1 | Heavy white caps in a huge soft black halo; keywords in green, yellow or red. | 3 |
| Jack | Bold white Arial with a white glow and a smoky shadow; keywords glow in colour. | 2 |
| Iman | Thin white Montserrat; the spoken line turns bold. | 3 |
| Nick | Bold white Arial on a smoky translucent card. | 2 |
| Caleb | White Saira on a black card wrapped in a soft black glow. | 3 |
| Carlos | Black-weight caps with a thick outline; the spoken word pops in orange. | 3 |
| Hormozi 3 | White caps with a crisp outline; the spoken line grows and turns yellow, green or red. | 3 |
| Ali | Dark Poppins on a soft grey card; words brighten as they are spoken. | 3 |
| Molly | Black text on white paper strips, one strip per line. | 4 |
| William | Roboto Black caps that whip in from the sides; every fifth caption types onto a yellow label. | 3 |
Make a style your own
Every style is a starting point. Change the font, size, colours, outline, shadow, position, the number of words per caption and the animation, then click Save to My styles to reuse the look on your next video. See how to customise captions.
Caption readability checklist
- Contrast: light text with a dark outline, shadow or box reads on any background.
- Size: big enough to read on a phone at arm's length, but no more than two lines at once.
- Words per caption: 1 to 3 for fast, punchy videos; 4 to 6 for calmer ones.
- Position: keep captions out of the top and bottom edges, where app buttons and descriptions sit. See safe zones.
- Highlights: colour one key word per line, not every word, so the eye knows where to look.
Questions and answers
What are Hormozi-style captions?
Big, bold, mostly uppercase words shown a few at a time, with key words highlighted in a bright colour. The look is named after the business creator Alex Hormozi, whose videos made it popular. Vireeli's Hormozi 1 to Hormozi 5 styles are variations on it; see how to make Hormozi-style captions.
What are karaoke-style captions?
Captions where each word changes colour at the moment it's spoken, like lyrics on a karaoke screen. Vireeli times captions to every word, so styles can do this; Adrian, for example, turns the spoken word red. You can also change highlight colours in Customize.
Are some styles paid?
No. Some styles carry a Premium badge in the gallery, but every style works on every plan, including Free.
Does changing the style cost credits?
No. Switching styles, editing and exporting again are all free once the video is made.
Can I use a style in Hindi or other languages?
Yes. Every style works with every language, including Hindi in Devanagari; see Hindi subtitles.
Try it on your next video
Upload a clip and get captions, cut pauses, zooms and a hook back in one pass. Plans from $12 a month.