For businesses and organisations publishing video content online, accessibility compliance has moved from a best practice to a legal obligation in many jurisdictions. The ADA and WCAG both establish clear expectations around video accessibility — and the consequences of non-compliance have become increasingly significant as accessibility litigation has expanded.
What the ADA requires for video
Under the ADA, businesses covered by Title II (state and local governments) and Title III (places of public accommodation, which courts have increasingly interpreted to include websites) must make their digital content accessible to people with disabilities. For video, this means providing accurate captions for all pre-recorded content that contains audio. The key word is accurate — error-riddled auto-generated captions do not satisfy accessibility requirements and have been cited in complaints.
What WCAG 2.1 requires
WCAG 2.1 requires captions for all pre-recorded audio in synchronised media at Level A — the minimum compliance level. At Level AA, the standard referenced by most accessibility legislation globally (including the European Accessibility Act), captions must also be provided for live audio. For most businesses, the practical requirement is accurate captions on all video content published to their website, social channels, and any other digital platform.
How to get compliant affordably
Professional captioning services charge $1–$3 per minute of audio — costs that add up quickly for businesses with substantial video libraries. Capllio provides an entirely free alternative with no length limit, generating accurate SRT files that can be uploaded directly to any platform. For a small business publishing product demos, training videos, or customer testimonials, Capllio can eliminate captioning costs entirely while producing output that genuinely meets accessibility standards.
Download your SRT file, upload it to your platform as a manual caption track, and your content is compliant in under two minutes.