How to Add a Typewriter Effect to Your Video
3 min read
A typewriter effect shows your text one letter at a time, as if someone is typing it on screen. It works for titles, quotes, captions and anything you want people to read slowly.
The quickest way to add one is to import a template that already has the cursor and the look. Here's how, plus which sound to put under it and how to build it yourself.
1. Use a typewriter template
Templates come with the blinking cursor, the glow and the screen style already set up, so all you change is the text.
There are templates for After Effects, Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve.
- Download a template for your editor.
- Import it into your timeline. Open the After Effects project, install the
.mogrtin Premiere Pro from Graphics and Titles > Install Motion Graphics Template, or double-click the.drfxfor Resolve. Then drag it above your footage. - Edit it right there with simple controls: your words, letter or word typing, the speed and the cursor.
2. Add a typing sound
Typing on screen feels empty without the sound of keys. Put a typewriter sound under the reveal, trim it to the same length, and add a ding when the line ends.
Try one of these:
Find more in interface clicks and notifications and bells.
Make it yourself
All three editors can do a plain typewriter effect with built-in tools.
| After Effects | Premiere Pro | DaVinci Resolve |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Type your line with the Type tool (Ctrl+T, Mac: Cmd+T). | 1. Type your line with the Type tool (T). | 1. Drag a Text+ title from Effects > Toolbox > Titles onto the track above your footage, and type your line in the Inspector. |
| 2. In Effects & Presets, open Animation Presets > Text > Animate In and double-click Typewriter. | 2. Premiere Pro 25.5 and newer: search the Effects panel for "typewriter" and drag Typewriter Impacts onto the start of the text clip. | 2. In the Inspector, find Write On. Leave Start at 0, set End to 0 and click its keyframe diamond. |
| 3. Press U to show the two keyframes, and drag the second one to change the speed. | 3. Drag the end of the transition to set how long the typing takes. | 3. Move ahead about two seconds and set End to 1. The gap between the keyframes is your typing speed. |
| 4. For word by word typing, open Range Selector > Advanced and set Based On to Words. The preset has no cursor. | 4. Select the transition and open Effect Controls for the cursor and blink options. | 4. Write On has no cursor. Add a second Text+ with a "|" and keyframe its Opacity on and off for one. |
Questions people ask
Is there a free typewriter effect?
Yes. The built-in tools in Premiere Pro 25.5 and later, DaVinci Resolve (including the free version) and After Effects cost nothing extra. The styled templates on MotionVault need a plan.
Why does the typewriter effect stop working in Premiere Pro?
Typewriter Impacts is a transition, and Premiere applies transitions after effects. A drop shadow or glow on the same clip can break it. Nest the text clip with the transition on it, then add the effect to the nest.
How do I add a typewriter effect in CapCut?
Select your text, open Animation, and pick a typewriter style under In. Drag the duration slider to set how long the typing takes, then add a typing sound on the track below.
See all typewriter animations for After Effects, Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve.