Twinsubs
Twinsubs vs CapCut, MacWhisper and online subtitle tools
This page only states facts that could be checked on official pages, each with its source. Verified 2026-10-11 (MacWhisper: 2026-10-10). Prices and features change, so check the vendor's own site before you buy. Anything we could not find is marked “not verified”, not guessed.
One table
| Twinsubs | CapCut | MacWhisper | Immersive Translate (online) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form | Mac app, coming soon to the Mac App Store | Video editor (desktop, mobile, web) | Mac app, bought on its website | Browser extension and web |
| Where it processes | On your Mac | Not verified | Its site says it uses local AI models, works offline, and data stays on the Mac | Runs in the browser; the page does not say whether anything is uploaded |
| Price | Free for the first 10 minutes of each video and 10 minutes per day of live translation; one-time purchase, price shown on the App Store at launch | Pricing page lists Free $0, Pro $19.99/month, Ultra $79/month, Teams $12.49/seat/month; it does not say which tier includes auto captions | Free €0; Pro €64, paid once, includes lifetime updates | AI subtitles for videos without subtitles need a Pro membership; see their site for prices |
| SRT export | Yes: bilingual .target-source.srt (such as .en-zh.srt) and target-only .target.srt (such as .en.srt) | Not verified | Its site lists .srt and .vtt export | Its site says it can export bilingual SRT or ASS files |
| Translation | macOS on-device translation; source detected, target of your choice (pairs depend on Apple's on-device translation) | Not verified | Its site lists “translate transcripts”; which features are Free or Pro follows its price table | Yes, the core feature |
| Live translation: local or cloud, billed by time or not | Yes. Processed on your Mac, with no server involved, and it works offline; free for 10 minutes per day, and the one-time purchase is not billed by time | Not verified | Its site (read 2026-10-12) lists system-wide dictation, meeting recording and transcribing audio from any app; no live translation is described | Its video subtitles page describes showing bilingual subtitles in the browser; whether it is live and whether it runs locally or in the cloud is not stated there |
| Account or key needed | No | Not verified | Not for the basic features; AI service features can use your own API key | Not verified |
“Not verified” means we did not see a clear statement on the official pages. It does not mean the feature is absent.
Each one in turn
CapCut
- Price: CapCut's pricing page (source, read 2026-10-11) lists Free at $0, Pro at $19.99 per month, Ultra at $79 per month and Teams at $12.49 per seat per month. It names “Access to AI features” and “All premium Pro features” for Pro but does not say which tier includes auto captions or translation.
- Whether caption recognition needs a paid plan, how much quota it has and whether it processes online: we found no official statement, so we draw no conclusion. If you already pay for CapCut, using its built-in captions is the least effort.
MacWhisper
- Its site (macwhisper.com, read 2026-10-10) states: Free costs €0; Pro costs €64, paid once, with lifetime updates.
- It lists support for 100 languages, export to .srt and .vtt, offline processing with local AI models, and the option to use your own API key to connect AI services such as OpenAI.
- Its focus is transcription and its feature set is wider than Twinsubs': recording meetings, speaker recognition, batch transcription, system dictation and more. If you need those, choose it.
Immersive Translate (one example of an online subtitle tool)
- Its video subtitle page (source, read 2026-10-11) describes bilingual subtitles shown side by side, AI subtitle generation for videos without subtitles that is currently available for YouTube videos through the Pro membership, export of bilingual files as SRT or ASS, and a subtitle editor.
- It suits watching online video in a browser and needing a subtitle file now and then.
Twinsubs' trade-offs
- What it does: drop in a local video, recognize and translate on your Mac, and output standard bilingual SRT (target language of your choice); live translation for whatever is playing on your computer; a one-time purchase; no account or key.
- What it does not do: burning subtitles into video, a subtitle editor, speaker separation, ASS.
- Limits: it needs macOS 26 or later and Apple silicon, and it is not yet released, so it cannot be downloaded before launch.
How to choose
- You already pay for CapCut and make captions in it: no need to switch.
- Mainly transcribing meetings and interviews, with speaker separation: MacWhisper.
- Watching YouTube in a browser and wanting bilingual subtitles: an extension such as Immersive Translate.
- You have a local video file and want a bilingual SRT you can import into an editor, with no subscription and no upload: Twinsubs.
Quick pick by situation
| Your situation | Better choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You have a local video file and want a bilingual SRT you can import into an editor, with no subscription and no upload | Twinsubs | Processed on your Mac, standard bilingual SRT output, a one-time purchase, no account or key |
| You already pay for CapCut and make captions in it | CapCut | Using the plan you already have is the least effort; no need to switch |
| Transcribing meetings or interviews, with speaker separation or batch work | MacWhisper | Its site lists these features; Twinsubs does not separate speakers |
| Watching YouTube in a browser and wanting bilingual subtitles | A browser extension such as Immersive Translate | Its site describes showing bilingual subtitles inside the browser |
| A live meeting where you want translation and original together | Twinsubs' live translation, or the meeting app's own translated captions | The first does not depend on the meeting app's plan; the second depends on each vendor's conditions, see the meetings page |
| You need subtitles burned into the picture, or a built-in subtitle editor | An editing app, or an online tool with an editor | Twinsubs only writes SRT files; it does not burn them in and has no built-in editor |
How to verify for yourself, without trusting any one page
- Read the vendor's own pricing pagePrices, plan benefits and free allowances change; on the day you buy, the vendor's page is the authority.
- Try a clip of your ownTwinsubs' free version processes the first 10 minutes of each video; for other tools, see whether there is a free trial. Running the same clip, with accents and proper nouns, through each tool tells you more than a feature list.
- Check the export formatConfirm it can export SRT and that the file imports into your usual editor without errors.
- Check where the data goesRead the vendor's privacy policy to see whether the video or audio is uploaded. Twinsubs' is in the Privacy Policy.
When Twinsubs is not for you
- Your computer is an Intel Mac, or runs a system older than macOS 26.
- You need burned-in subtitles, a built-in subtitle editor, speaker separation or ASS output.
- You already pay for an editor whose captions are enough for your workflow, so there is no reason to switch.
Sources (verified 2026-10-11)
- MacWhisper website (2026-10-10): https://macwhisper.com
- Immersive Translate, video subtitles page: https://immersivetranslate.com/en/video/auto-translate-subtitles/
- CapCut pricing page: https://www.capcut.com/pricing
If you find a mistake, write to twinsub@gatheon.com and we will verify and correct it.
FAQ
How do I choose between Twinsubs and MacWhisper?
It depends on what you need. MacWhisper centers on transcription and has a wider feature set; its site lists meeting recording, speaker recognition and batch transcription among others. Twinsubs does one thing: it turns a local video into a standard bilingual SRT (target language of your choice), and adds live translation. The prices are in different currencies and tiers and the features are not equivalent, so check each vendor's own site before buying.
I already pay for CapCut. Do I still need Twinsubs?
Not necessarily. If the captions are done inside CapCut and your plan covers it, there is no need to switch. Twinsubs suits people who want a standard SRT made on their own Mac first, not tied to one editor and without a subscription. Whether CapCut's caption recognition runs online, and what its quota is, we did not find in its official pages, so we draw no conclusion.
How often is the pricing and feature information on this page updated?
The page states its verification dates (2026-10-10 and 2026-10-11) and every fact carries a source. Prices and features change, so check the vendor's own site before buying; if you spot a mistake, write to twinsub@gatheon.com and we will verify and correct it.
When is Twinsubs not a fit for me?
If you need an Intel Mac or a system older than macOS 26, or burned-in subtitles, a built-in subtitle editor, speaker separation or ASS output. Twinsubs does none of these for now.
Updated 2026-10-12. Back to the Twinsubs home page