For agents · 2026

Best caption APIs and MCP servers for AI agents

What an agent can call today to put styled, burned-in captions on a video. We make Awesome Video Editor, so it is listed first; every other entry links to its own page.

Checked November 3, 2026.

1. Awesome Video Editor: hosted MCP and REST

  • —MCP server at https://api.awesomevideoeditor.com/mcp, with an OAuth 2.1 variant for Claude and ChatGPT.
  • —One call, caption_video: transcribe, optionally translate, burn; returns MP4, SRT, VTT and a JSON transcript.
  • —34 built-in animated presets and custom presets; server output matches the web editor.
  • —Agents create their own key; new keys can claim a small free trial while it runs.
  • —$0.05 per captioned minute with the $5 pack, down to $0.028 on the Scale plan.

Copy-paste recipes

2. Other hosted caption APIs

ZapCap API

Usage-based API credits for rendered video.

$0.10/min

zapcap.ai

caption.sh

Prepaid balance, rounded up to the minute, videos up to 10 minutes.

$0.10/min

caption.sh

VEED Subtitles API (fal.ai)

Billed through fal.ai; 2× for dynamic styles and 2× above 1080p.

$0.10–$0.40/min

fal.ai

Submagic API

Monthly minute packs on top of a paid plan from $19 per member per month.

$0.10–$0.23/min

submagic.co

Prices from each provider's page, basic styles at 1080p or lower. Full table: caption API comparison.

3. Self-hosted FFmpeg MCP servers

Open source. You run FFmpeg yourself and bring your own subtitle file.

ffmpeg-mcp-lite

FFmpeg tools over MCP, including burning SRT, ASS or VTT subtitles with outline, shadow, background or glow styles.

github.com

dubnium0/ffmpeg-mcp

40+ FFmpeg tools over MCP, including burn_subtitles and soft subtitle tracks.

github.com

Questions

Which caption API has an MCP server for AI agents?

Awesome Video Editor has a hosted MCP server at https://api.awesomevideoeditor.com/mcp with caption_video, 34 built-in animated presets, and keys an agent can create itself. Open-source FFmpeg MCP servers can also burn subtitle files if you host them.

How do these prices compare?

Awesome Video Editor costs $0.05 per captioned minute with the $5 pack, transcription included. The hosted APIs listed here start at $0.10 per minute on their own pricing pages, checked November 3, 2026.

Do I need FFmpeg or a GPU?

Not with a hosted API: send a public video URL or upload a file, and get back the captioned MP4 and subtitle files.

Facts · Pricing · Agents

Third-party names belong to their owners. Details come from their public pages on the date above.