With approximately 1 in 8 people in the United States having partial or total hearing loss, now has never been a more important time to discuss open captions and closed captioning.
Keep reading to learn more about open captions vs closed captioning, including their definitions, key differences between the two, benefits of using captions, and an overview of tools and services provided by Accessibly which improves accessibility and supports compliance efforts with ADA and WCAG, enhancing participation for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Open Captions (OC) and Closed Captions (CC)
Within accessibility, the two types of captioning are open captions and closed captions (subtitles). Both play a crucial role in making content more accessible, regardless of an individual’s hearing ability or personal preferences.
Educational videos in classrooms or workplaces can use “always-on” open captions, allowing deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to rely on written text rather than audio to understand the content.
In contrast, closed captioning provides greater flexibility by allowing users to toggle captions on or off through compatible media players. It transcribes nearly everything on screen—including dialogue, sound effects (e.g., explosions), and background music—into text.
Key Differences Between Open Captions and Closed Captions
When it comes to open captions and closed captions, differences between each lie in their technical capabilities, user experience implications w/subtitles, and usage scenarios for each type.
Technical Differences
The main difference between open captioning and closed captioning lies in how they interact with media content.
For starters, open captions, such as subtitles, are embedded directly into video files, meaning users cannot turn them on or off since they’re permanently displayed, independent of the video player.
In contrast, closed captions are encoded within the media file, allowing users to toggle them on or off through compatible media players. Many platforms, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+, offer multi-language support and customizable captions, enabling users—particularly those with disabilities—to adjust font size, style, text/background colors, and more to enhance readability.
Additionally, closed captioning is more versatile because it offers user control, while open captions provide greater consistency across devices. Open captions appear the same on all screens, whereas closed captions may vary in appearance depending on the viewing platform.
Usage Scenarios for Each Type
Beyond the technical aspects, open and closed captions are best suited for different situations.
Open captions are particularly popular in public broadcasts, where captions or subtitles must always be visible. In contrast, closed captioning is more common in streaming services and TV broadcasts, as it accommodates user preferences by allowing captions to be turned on or off.
It’s important to note that not all individuals with hearing impairments or language barriers have the same needs. Some may require full captioning, while others benefit from partial captioning options.
Additionally, closed captioning better aligns with ADA and WCAG guidelines, as these standards emphasize user customization—something closed captions allow through adjustable fonts, colors, and sizes.
By understanding the technical differences and ideal use cases for open and closed captions, accessibility experts, business owners, educators, and others can provide more inclusive content for individuals with disabilities.
File Sizes
Sometimes, accessibility upgrades depend on the storage requirements of media content.
Open captions are more likely to increase file size, which may be a concern for website owners with limited storage capacity. On the other hand, closed captions don’t affect video file size since they’re stored separately. This allows for better storage optimization, freeing up space for additional accessibility features that don’t rely on website accessibility overlays like Accessibly.
Editing Ability
A key limitation of open captions is that they’re hardcoded into videos, making them impossible to edit after distribution. This can be problematic if changes are needed after the content has been released.
In contrast, closed captions are typically stored as separate subtitle files, making them easy to edit and reintroduce to the video without modifying the original content. This greater flexibility makes closed captions a more adaptable option for ongoing updates.
Benefits of Using Captions
Here are three of our favorite benefits of using captions:
Boost to the Hard-of-Hearing
Arguably, the number one benefit of using open captions and closed captioning is improved accessibility for the deaf and hard of hearing. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), businesses and organizations must make full-fledged efforts to make all content and digital services accessible.
This means providing this group with both options: open versus closed. That way, one can rely on the written word rather than spoken dialogue and on-screen sound effects like explosions and water running.
Remember the difference between open captions and closed captioning: open captioning is always visible, whereas closed captioning can be turned on or off.
Meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
According to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, 1.2.2, “captions are provided for all pre-recorded audio content in synchronized media, except when the media is a media alternative for text and is clearly labeled as such.” This also applies to live content. Captions must be provided for all live audio content (at least closed captioning, as open captioning can occasionally disrupt the viewing experience).
Helps Non-Native Speakers
Another often-overlooked benefit of open captions and closed captioning is improved access for non-native speakers. By translating spoken dialogue to written text, non-native speakers can “better go along with the content,” allowing those with limited fluency to understand what’s being said better, no matter how proficient they are in the English language.
Note that open captions and closed captioning can also apply to other languages. It’s not uncommon for Netflix and Amazon Prime titles to have captions in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and French.
In short, the three main benefits of open captions and closed captioning are assisting the deaf and hard of hearing, meeting web content accessibility guidelines, and helping non-native speakers. By converting spoken dialogue to written text, content extends its reach to a large swath of the population for even greater inclusivity.
Flexibility for Content Creators
Many content creators choose to add captions as a separate caption file or burn captions into the video itself, ensuring important audio information is always available to viewers. The closed caption feature on streaming platforms allows users to turn captions on and off, while special devices called decoders are sometimes required to display captions in certain environments.
For platforms that support closed captioning, captions can be uploaded as closed caption files or integrated as a transcript file. However, accessibility issues can arise when a separate file is missing or not properly synced with the video stream. Digital accessibility best practices recommend making content accessible by including both open and closed captions, expanding the content’s reach to a broader audience, including those who watch videos without sound or require text descriptions in different languages.
Social media platforms, where users often watch videos on mute, benefit from captions burned into the video, ensuring key information is never lost. Content creators who need to update captions may need to re-upload their video or adjust the video track manually. Whether on YouTube, Vimeo, or other streaming platforms, properly formatted captions not only enhance accessibility but also improve watch time and engagement, making it easier for all viewers to enjoy and understand the content.
Future Trends in Captioning
When it comes to open and closed captions, there are plenty of advancements to look forward to, particularly within the area of AI-powered real-time translations. A report by 121Captions mentions that natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning will enhance automated transcriptions and real-time captioning even further.
There have also been conversations about captioning in new media, such as augmented reality and virtual reality. During CES 2025, Captify introduced a new set of smart glasses for the deaf and hard of hearing. These glasses use dual beamforming microphones to transcribe speech from the person in front of you and present their words with a frontal projection in green text.
As of now, this innovative product has been extensively covered by Tom’s Guide, PC Mag, The Hearing Review, and other respected publications. It’s a promising piece of technology that will allow the deaf and hard of hearing to better interact with the world around them, “experiencing life without barriers,” as stated on the Captify website.
All in all, future trends with open and closed captions look very promising, and there are plenty of innovations to expect along the way.
How Accessibly Helps in Captioning
As one of the leading website accessibility overlay widgets on the web, Accessibly provides several features that help websites increase their compliance with WCAG 2.1, ADA, Section 508, and EN 301549.
For starters, more than 5,000 active clients and counting have benefited from its accessibility features, such as enlarged cursors, adjusted colors, text-to-voice capability, readable fonts, highlighted links, and dozens of other visual and cognitive enhancements designed to improve navigation for individuals with disabilities.
Furthermore, it supports a variety of platforms, including but not limited to Shopify, WordPress, SquareSpace, and Magento, either as native integrations or integrated into any website using custom code. One of its latest features is an analytics dashboard that allows you to see how users are engaging with the app, tracking widget opens, usage trends over time, and other data that helps you make data-driven decisions for site improvements.
Today, there are two versions: Accessibly Premium (best for websites with up to 50,000 monthly visitors) and Accessinly Enterprise (ideal for websites with over 50,000 monthly visitors). Both are full-featured, offering advanced customization and integration options for the latter, along with dedicated support for large teams. Sign up for Accessibly today and improve usability and inclusivity for all website visitors, allowing full and equal participation in your content.
Try Out Accessibly For Free Today!
Accessibly is now offering a free 7-day trial, during which you can test-drive all features before committing to a monthly subscription. Let’s make your website fully accessible with open and closed captions, along with multi-language support, subtitles, context for sound effects, and similar features so that those with partial or full hearing loss can benefit from the power of audio.
