In short
Private by default
On Amara Community teams, any Amara user can see your videos and subtitles. In CaptionsHero, only your organization sees your videos.
Review before delivery
Assign an editor and a reviewer for each language. Reviewers comment on exact lines and approve.
Upload on every plan
On Amara, you upload videos on a paid team or on a pay-as-you-go account with a credit card. Every CaptionsHero plan can, including the free one. Your videos and subtitles stay private.
CaptionsHero vs Amara
| Feature | Amara | CaptionsHero |
|---|---|---|
| Team workflow | ||
| Assign an editor and a reviewer per language | Enterprise only. Not found on Plus | Yes |
| Comments on exact subtitle lines | Not found. Notes cover a whole subtitle set | Yes |
| Request changes and approve | Enterprise only. Plus has one optional review step | Yes |
| Progress across projects and languages | Team dashboard and reports on Plus and up | Yes |
| Edit history with rollback | Yes | No. The approved version is kept |
| Pricing and access | ||
| Team plan | $24/mo for 2 users, +$12 per user | $149/mo flat, 8 seats |
| Workflow with assign and approve | Enterprise, price on request | Team and Studio, published prices |
| AI minutes on the team plan | 60 a month, then from $0.35 per minute | 1,500 a month |
| Upload your own videos | Paid teams, or pay as you go with a card | Every plan |
| Private subtitles on the free plan | No free plan found. Personal orders start at $5 | Yes |
| Self-serve signup, no sales call | Not for Enterprise | Yes |
| Editor and AI | ||
| Waveform timeline | Plus and up | Yes |
| Netflix-style QC checks | Reading rate and line length warnings. Limits change on Enterprise and Integrated only | Yes |
| AI transcription and translation | Captions in 30+ languages. Translation found on Enterprise only | Translation in 82 languages |
| SRT and VTT import and export | Yes, and SBV, DFXP, SSA, TXT, and XML export | Yes |
Why teams move from Amara
The full workflow has a price you can see
Amara's assign, send-back, and approve steps are on Enterprise, and Amara gives that price only on request. CaptionsHero Team includes them for $149 a month.
AI minutes come with the plan
Amara Plus includes 60 AI caption minutes a month, then charges from $0.35 a minute. CaptionsHero Team includes 1,500 minutes for transcription and translation.
Comments sit on the line
Amara's notes cover a whole set of subtitles. In CaptionsHero, a reviewer comments on one line, at one point in the video.
No more final_v3_REVIEWED.srt.
Stop passing files around. Edit, review, and approve in one place.
English
Draft312 cues · Saved 2026.10.07 3:41 PM
Spanish
Translating…Needs editorTranslating…312 cues · Saved 2026.10.07 3:42 PM
Korean
Translating…Needs editorTranslating…312 cues · Saved 2026.10.07 3:42 PM
Spanish
Needs editorDraft312 cues · Saved 2026.10.07 3:42 PM
Editor
Reviewer
los rostros.
“Rostros” reads stiff here. Try “caras”.
Daniel Cho · 2026.10.07 4:10 PM
Spanish
In reviewApproved312 cues · Saved 2026.10.07 4:32 PM
What it costs: CaptionsHero vs Amara
Monthly list prices, paid monthly. Amara prices with AI minutes use its lowest AI caption rate, $0.35 a minute, after the 60 free minutes in Plus.
| Team size | Amara | CaptionsHero |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | Pay as you go from a $5 order (Personal), or $24 for 2 seats (Plus) | Free (private subtitles), or $29 with 500 AI minutes |
| Team of 8 | $96 (Plus), or from $600 with 1,500 AI minutes | $149 (Team) |
| Team of 20 | $240 (Plus), or from $1,969 with 5,000 AI minutes | $399 (Studio) |
Amara Plus is cheaper per seat. But it does not include an assign, review, and approve workflow. CaptionsHero includes it, with email notifications, AI minutes for transcription and translation, a REST API, and Cloudflare Stream and YouTube integration.
Amara or CaptionsHero?
Choose Amara if
- You run volunteer subtitlers on a public Community team, and the videos are public YouTube videos.
- You publish on YouTube, Vimeo, or Kaltura and want Amara to push the finished captions there.
- Your team subtitles by hand, uses no AI minutes, and one review step with no approval is enough. Then 8 Plus seats cost $96 a month.
- You also buy human captions, burned-in video, or SCC and ITT files from Amara On Demand.
- You need every save kept as a revision, with compare and rollback.
Choose CaptionsHero if
- You want assign, request changes, and approve at a published price: Team is $149 a month for 8 seats. On Amara those steps need Enterprise and a contact form.
- Your team uses more than 60 AI minutes a month. Team includes 1,500 minutes for transcription and translation, where Amara Plus adds $0.35 a minute after 60.
- Reviewers must comment on the exact subtitle line, not on the whole subtitle set.
- You add people without a per-seat charge: Team covers 8 seats and Studio 20, at one flat price.
- You want to start private work free, with no card and no $5 minimum order.
- You want Netflix-style QC and frame-accurate timing on every plan, including the free one.
Common questions
Is CaptionsHero cheaper than Amara?
Per seat, no. Amara Plus costs $96 a month for 8 people and $240 for 20. CaptionsHero Team costs $149 and Studio costs $399. For one person, Amara Personal is pay as you go from a $5 order, and Plus is $24 for 2 seats. CaptionsHero is free, or $29 with 500 AI minutes. With AI captions, the order changes. Amara charges from $0.35 a minute after 60 free minutes, so 8 people who use 1,500 minutes pay from $600, against $149 on CaptionsHero Team. 20 people who use 5,000 minutes pay from $1,969, against $399 on Studio.
Is Amara still free?
Not for private work. Amara closed its free Public Workspace on 2026.04.30. Volunteers can still join volunteer teams with a free account. Private work starts with Personal, from a $5 order, or Plus at $24 a month. CaptionsHero Solo is free for one person, with private projects and 20 AI minutes once.
How much does Amara cost?
Plus costs $24 a month for 2 users and $12 for each extra user. It includes 60 AI caption minutes a month, and more start at $0.35 a minute. Personal has no subscription, and orders start at $5. Enterprise and Integrated prices are on request.
What is Amara good for?
Volunteer and nonprofit subtitling, sync with YouTube, Vimeo, and Kaltura, and human captions from the same vendor. A nonprofit, the Participatory Culture Foundation, runs Amara. It exports 7 subtitle formats and keeps every revision.
Does Amara have review and approval?
On Enterprise, yes. A manager assigns a subtitler, a reviewer, and an approver, and reviewers can send work back. Enterprise prices are on request. Plus has one optional review step, and then the reviewer publishes. We found no comments on single subtitle lines. CaptionsHero Team and Studio include assign, review, request changes, and approve.
Can I move my Amara subtitles to CaptionsHero?
Yes. Download your subtitles from Amara as SRT or VTT, then import them into CaptionsHero.
Ready to move on from Amara?
Bring your SRT files, invite your team, and start today.
Free forever plan. No card required. No sales call.
- Every language gets a translator and a reviewer
- Feedback on the exact line, not in an email thread
- Only the approved version ships
- See who's holding up which language
- AI drafts in 82 languages, or bring your SRT
- Private, in the browser, nothing to install
Sources
- Amara pricing, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
- Amara On Demand services and prices, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
- Amara AI captions, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
- Amara Enterprise, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
- Amara Enterprise Pay-Per-Seat, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
- Amara Personal Orders Workspace, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
- Amara Public Workspace closing notice, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
- Amara help: teams, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
- Amara help: Plus teams, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
- Amara help: Community teams, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
- Amara help: Orders Workspace, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
- Amara help: syncing subtitles, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
- Amara help: warning messages in the editor, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
- Amara help: subtitles and videos, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
- Amara help: subtitle versions, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
- Amara help: welcome to Amara.org, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
- Amara API documentation, checked 2026.10.13 (archived)
Product names and logos belong to their owners. Prices change: check each vendor's site before you buy.