Add text to your photo and keep it readable
Place captions on a photo, drag them where you want them, and add a tint, gradient or box so white text stays readable. Nothing is uploaded.
Local browser processing · No upload · No account required
Choose a photo to start. Text boxes and layers are drawn on your device.
How to add text to a photo
- Choose a JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF or HEIC photo up to 50 MB. A first text box appears, with a soft dark gradient along the bottom edge of the photo.
- Type your caption in the Caption field, then drag the dashed frame to the place you want. Drag the round handle at its corner to make the box wider or narrower. Touch works the same way on a phone.
- Choose a font, a size and a colour. Add an outline or a shadow if the letters need a clear edge, and press Add text box for a second caption.
- Read the contrast line under the photo. When it says Too low, raise the gradient, add a colour overlay or switch on the box behind the text.
- Press Save image. The file keeps the pixel size of your original, in JPEG, PNG or WebP.
Why my first caption vanished into the sky
I typed "Lake Jasna" in white bold letters at the top of my Lake Jasna photo, and I could barely find it. The sky behind the word is pale pink and white cloud, so white on white was never going to work. The tool put a number on it: 1.1 at the worst spot and 1.3 on average, where 4.5 is the usual bar for body text.
That number is the reason this tool exists. A caption that looks fine on the dark water at the bottom of a photo can be invisible on the sky, and on a small phone screen you only notice after you have posted it. Now I move the box, watch the number change, and stop when it is high enough.
One white caption on the Lake Jasna sky, four ways
| Layer behind the text | Contrast, worst / average |
|---|---|
| Nothing | 1.1 / 1.3 |
| Black colour overlay, 40 % | 3.1 / 3.7 |
| Gradient from the top, black 60 %, 45 % of the height | 5.6 / 6.6 |
| Box behind the text, black 60 % | 5.9 / 6.9 |
The caption is Manrope Bold at 7 % of the photo width, in the top left corner of the 960 × 1200 px photo. The overlay darkens the whole picture and still falls short. The gradient and the box both pass 4.5 on average, and the box also lifts the worst spot above 5.
Choosing the layer that keeps the photo looking like a photo
A gradient is my first choice for a caption near an edge. It darkens only the strip under the words and fades out, so the middle of the picture stays untouched. A colour overlay changes the whole photo evenly, which suits a quote on a background image. A box behind the text is the strongest fix and the most visible one; I use it when the letters sit across a busy area such as the white clouds in my sky.
The colour overlay, darken and tint pages open the same tool with that layer ready.
Fonts, size and edges
Four open-licence fonts come with the page, so nothing is fetched from another server: Manrope for a clean sans, Vollkorn for a book serif, Roboto Slab for a sturdy slab and Platypi for a display look. All four draw Slovene letters such as č, š and ž. Size is a percentage of the photo width, so a caption keeps its proportions when you save at full size.
An outline or a shadow gives each letter its own edge. They help the worst spots a little, but only a darker layer changes the average, so I use them after the layer, not instead of it.
Tips for readable captions
- Aim for an average contrast of 4.5 or more, and check the worst spot too; one bright cloud can hide a letter.
- Put captions on the calm part of a photo, such as water, sky or a wall, rather than across fine detail.
- Use the gradient from the edge nearest the text, so the rest of the photo keeps its brightness.
- Keep captions short. A phone shows the photo about a third of the size of a laptop screen.
- Save as JPEG for sharing and as PNG when you plan to edit the picture again.
Privacy
Your photo never leaves your device. Opening, drawing and saving all happen in your browser, and the fonts are served from this site. Nothing is uploaded and no account is needed.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add text to a photo online for free?
Choose the photo above, type your caption and drag it into place. Pick a font, size and colour, then press Save image. The tool is free, needs no account and adds no watermark to the file.
Does the saved photo have a watermark?
No. The saved file holds your photo and your text and nothing else. It also keeps the original pixel size, so a 960 × 1200 px photo comes out at exactly 960 × 1200 px.
How do I make text readable on a photo?
Darken the area behind the text. A gradient from the nearest edge, a colour overlay or a box behind the words all work, and the contrast line tells you when the average reaches 4.5 or more.
Can I add text to a photo on an iPhone?
Yes. Open this page in Safari, choose the photo from your library, drag the text box with a finger and press Save image. The finished file goes to your downloads, and nothing is uploaded.
Do I need to sign up to use it?
No. There is nothing to register and nothing to install. The photo is processed by your own browser, so the tool works as soon as the page has loaded.
Related tools and guides
- Lay a transparent colour over your photo: Cover a photo with one transparent colour. Choose the colour and how strong it is, add text if you want, and save the result at its original size.
- Darken a photo or lighten it: Make a whole photo darker, or lighter, with one slider. Add a caption on top and see at once whether it has become readable.
- Give a photo a colour tint: Wash a photo in one colour, from a hint of warmth to a strong blue. Choose the colour and the strength, then save the result on your device.
- Image Resizer: Resize images by pixels, percentage or longest side.
- Image Cropper: Crop images to exact ratios or popular preset sizes.
- Put your photos together in one image: Join photos side by side, stacked or in a grid, with adjustable gaps and borders.
- Lake Jasna, Slovenia: My Photography and Visitor Guide: Where I took the lake photo with the pale sky.
- I Built the Tools I Kept Looking For as a Photographer: Why these tools run in your browser and never upload a file.