# CaptionSmith — AI Photo Captions Made Easy

> AI-powered photo caption and keyword generator with metadata embedding. (iPhone/iPad app by Arhaanth Reddy.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/captionsmith/id6756801350 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Arhaanth Reddy](https://appshunter.io/developer/1862486173)
- Category: Photo & Video, Social Networking
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 5.00/5 from 2 App Store ratings
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 17.0 · 22 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-01-08
- Data updated: 2026-08-08
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/captionsmith/id6756801350/reviews.md

## What is CaptionSmith?

CaptionSmith turns the tedious work of captioning and keywording into a few taps. Point it at your photos, pick a style, and let AI write professional titles, descriptions, and keywords — then embed them straight into your image metadata, ready for stock agencies or your own searchable library.

Built for stock photographers, and just as handy for everyday photos.

WHAT IT DOES
• AI captions & keywords — Claude, OpenAI (GPT), and Google Gemini analyze each photo and write accurate, natural descriptions plus 20–45 relevant keywords.
• Stock Photography Mode — agency presets for Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, and Getty/iStock with the right keyword counts, title lengths, and editorial formatting.
• Compare providers (new) — run one photo through Claude, GPT, and Gemini side by side and keep the caption and keywords you like best.
• 13 caption templates — Descriptive, Concise, Stock Commercial, Stock Editorial, Product, Real Estate, Food, Travel, Portrait, Event, Artistic, Social, and a new Family & Everyday style.
• People tagging — tag friends and family so their names appear in captions; on-device face detection helps you tag faster (no facial recognition, nothing stored).
• Batch processing — caption 100+ photos at once with live progress. Minutes instead of hours.
• Metadata embedding — writes to EXIF, IPTC, and XMP so captions are searchable everywhere and upload-ready; XMP sidecars for RAW/DNG.
• Compliance tools — agency compliance checks, one-tap auto-fix, and AI-content disclosure for editorial.
• GPS-aware captions — optional location context pulled from your photos.
• Export to Photos, share anywhere, or import photos straight from other apps.

TWO WAYS TO USE IT
• Subscription — no API key required, with a free trial so you can try before you subscribe.
• Bring your own key — power users can plug in their own Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google key.

SUPPORTED PHOTOS
JPEG, HEIC, PNG, and RAW/DNG (via XMP sidecar).

PERFECT FOR
• Stock contributors uploading to Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Getty, and iStock.
• Photographers who need consistent, agency-ready metadata in bulk.
• Anyone building a searchable, well-captioned photo library.

PRIVACY
• Photos are sent only to the AI provider that captions them.
• On-device face detection is used only to help you tag — there is no facial recognition, and no face data is ever stored or shared.
• API keys are stored securely in the iOS Keychain.

Requires iOS 17 or later. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled; manage them anytime in your Apple account settings.

Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

## Key features

- AI-powered caption generation
- 12 built-in caption templates
- Auto-generate smart keywords
- GPS-aware location captions
- Stock photography presets
- EXIF/IPTC metadata embedding
- iCloud sync across devices

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BYOK Annual | $99.99 | per year |
| 200 Captions | $6.99 | per month |
| 50 Captions | $2.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Plan | $19.99 | per month |
| 200 Captions | $69.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Captions | $199.99 | per year |

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited Captions | $74.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime - Mac | $74.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime - All Devices | $99.99 | one-time |



## Frequently asked questions about CaptionSmith

### How many captions can I generate for free with CaptionSmith?

CaptionSmith offers a free trial with 5 captions available without any payment required. This allows you to test the AI caption generation before committing to a subscription.

### What are the subscription options for CaptionSmith?

CaptionSmith offers several subscription tiers including Basic (50 captions/month), Pro (200 captions/month + Stock Mode), Unlimited (unlimited captions + Stock Mode), and Power User (using your own API keys for unlimited usage). Many plans include a free trial period.

### Does CaptionSmith have ads?

No, CaptionSmith does not contain advertisements. The app is free to download and offers in-app purchases for its caption generation services.

### What devices is CaptionSmith available on?

CaptionSmith is available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad, allowing for seamless use across your Apple ecosystem. iCloud Sync ensures your settings and templates are consistent across all devices.

### How often is CaptionSmith updated?

CaptionSmith was last updated on January 20, 2026, with its latest version being 2.3. This indicates a recent and active development cycle for the application.

### Can CaptionSmith embed captions directly into photo metadata?

Yes, CaptionSmith supports EXIF/IPTC embedding, allowing you to write generated captions and keywords directly into your photo's metadata. This is crucial for stock photographers and archivists.

### What is Stock Photography Mode in CaptionSmith?

Stock Photography Mode in CaptionSmith provides optimized presets specifically designed for major stock photography platforms like Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, and Getty Images. This mode is included in the Pro and Unlimited subscription plans.

### What is the age rating for CaptionSmith?

CaptionSmith has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users. The app focuses on photo captioning and does not contain inappropriate content.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.10 — 2026-08-04

SHARE THE PHOTO AND THE CAPTION — TOGETHER

• One action sends both. The new "Share Photo + Caption" button on the photo details screen puts the picture in the attachment and your caption in the message body. Text it or mail it and the caption arrives as words your reader actually sees — while staying embedded in the file's metadata, where agencies and photo apps read it.

FIXES
• Local (Ollama) stays local. Choosing Local (Ollama) on a Mac could sync to your iPhone, which would then send the photo to our servers and spend a credit — on the one provider whose whole promise is that nothing leaves your machine. iPhone now refuses Mac-only providers no matter where the setting came from.
• Errors you can actually read. A refusal that should have been a sentence showed a raw internal code instead. Messages from our servers now show their readable text, and a Settings row that did nothing has been removed.
• Truthful agency CSVs. The Category column was filled with CaptionSmith's own category names in exports for agencies that expect their own codes. It now carries a category only in our generic format, and stays blank for agency formats until each one has a proper mapping.

Built by an ICU doctor who shoots on the side. Tap Help & Support in Settings with any feedback.

### 2.9 — 2026-07-31

THE FREE ON-RAMP

• Try Stock Mode free — your trial now includes 3 Stock Mode previews: real agency titles, descriptions, and keyword sets, so you can see exactly what the paid tiers produce before deciding. Running out of previews never locks the rest of your trial.
• See a sample before you import — new here? Tap "See a sample" on the empty screen for agency-ready titles, descriptions, and keywords on three bundled photos. No API key, no credit spent, nothing sent anywhere.
• Better stock captions on subscription plans — stock runs now deliver the full Description plus a separate short Title, each written to the field agencies actually read.

ALSO
• Fixes and refinements across the trial flow, exports, and Settings.

Built by an ICU doctor who shoots on the side. Tap Help & Support in Settings with any feedback.

### 2.8 — 2026-07-27

Our biggest update yet — three releases of improvements in one.

FOR STOCK PHOTOGRAPHERS
• Separate Title & Description — Stock mode now generates a short, catchy Title AND a full Description, and writes each to the field agencies actually read (Adobe's Title, Shutterstock's Caption). Edit both side by side before export.
• Compare AI providers — Run one photo through Claude, OpenAI, and Gemini side by side, then keep the caption and keywords you like best.
• Image quality pre-screen — Catch blurry, poorly exposed, and duplicate photos before you spend credits on them.
• Smarter compliance — One-tap auto-fix for title, caption, and keyword issues, now with fewer false alarms (everyday words like "windows" aren't flagged, and title-length checks measure your actual title).
• Export presets — Save export setups as reusable presets with one-tap quick actions.

FOR PEOPLE & PERSONAL PHOTOS
• Family & Everyday template — Warm, natural captions that use the names of the people you've tagged.
• Swipe to tag — Swipe photo to photo while tagging people, jump to the next one that needs it, and see how many are left.

FASTER & MORE RELIABLE
• Reliable large batches — Big jobs pace themselves to your AI provider's rate limits and finish without stalling.
• Sharper blur detection — A sharp subject against a soft background is no longer flagged as blurry.
• Share your stats — Show your photography friends how much you've saved.
• Dozens of fixes across export, the upload queue, subscriptions, iCloud key sync, and Settings.

Built by an ICU doctor who shoots on the side. Tap Help & Support in Settings with any feedback.

### 2.5 — 2026-07-04

Personalized captions are here — tag the people in your photos and their names are woven right into the AI-generated captions.

  • Tag friends and family so captions read naturally, with names.
  • Tag BEFORE you generate captions, so names are included the first time — no re-processing and no wasted credits.
  • Step through your photos one by one to tag people as you go.
  • Built-in face detection helps you spot and tag who's in each shot.
  • Manage your list of people in Settings, synced across your devices.

  Also in this update:
  • Stronger security — API keys that sync via iCloud are now encrypted.
  • Smoother tagging, better reliability, and various bug fixes.

### 2.4 — 2026-06-27

New Features
- Pre-export compliance check — Before saving or sharing, CaptionSmith now validates your captions and keywords against stock-agency requirements and flags problems (empty title/caption, title too long, too few or too many keywords, missing keywords) so submissions don't get rejected.
- Compliance report view — A clear, adaptive summary screen showing exactly which photos have issues and what to fix.
- Compliance badges on the results grid — Color-coded status badges (red = critical, yellow = warning) right on your thumbnails for an at-a-glance review.

Improvements
- Smarter keyword generation — Multi-word/compound keywords are now preserved instead of being split apart, producing more accurate, agency-friendly keywords.
- Better keyword deduplication — Duplicate keywords are now removed case-insensitively and across plural/singular variants (e.g., "tree/trees," "city/cities"), giving you cleaner keyword lists.
- Upgraded AI models — Now using the latest Claude and Gemini models for higher-quality captions and keywords.
- Added a no-trademark rule to keyword generation to help keep submissions editorial-safe.

Bug Fixes
- Fixed a keyword deduplication bug that could let near-duplicate keywords slip through, including on the subscription path.
- Compliance validation now runs consistently before both "Save to Photos" and "Share" operations.

## Apps similar to CaptionSmith

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| --- | --- | --- | --- |
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| [PostKit AI: Content Studio](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/postkit-ai-content-studio/id6758730129) | — | Free | Photo & Video |
| [Captions AI Subtitle Generator](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/captions-ai-subtitle-generator/id6759797151) | — | Free | Photo & Video |
| [CC Captions & Subtitles](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cc-captions-and-subtitles/id6742792869) | 5.0 (2) | Free | Photo & Video |
| [Frame Grabber - Framera](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/frame-grabber-framera/id6741170141) | 4.3 (6) | Free | Photo & Video |
| [CaptionCraft(AI)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/captioncraftai/id6472384652) | — | Free | Photo & Video |

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-08.*
