TikTok how-to
How to do a voiceover on TikTok (record, effects, mix)
Short answer
From the editing screen, tap Voice on the side panel, tap Record at the bottom and press the record button to record your voiceover while the video plays. Tap Done to save it; you can then choose a voice effect and tap Save. Balance it against the clip's original sound and any music in Volume, or use text-to-speech if you'd rather not record your own voice.
Checked against: TikTok app for iPhone and Android, October 2026.
Method 1: Record a voiceover
Open Voice
From the editing screen, tap Voice on the side panel.
Record
Tap Record at the bottom, then tap the Record button and speak.
Save it
Tap Done to save the voiceover audio.
Add a voice effect (optional)
Select an effect to change how the voice sounds, then tap Save at the top.
Balance the sound
Open Volume and lower the original sound or music so the voice is clear.
Method 2: Finish the audio
Change the voice without re-recording
Tap Voice on the side panel, select a voice effect (tap one to preview it) and tap Save; it applies to the voice in your video.
Add sound effects
Tap Sound at the bottom, choose Sound effect, preview and tap Use. Tap the Favorites button to keep effects you reuse.
Caption your narration
Tap Captions on the side panel to transcribe the voiceover into text you can edit, then tap Save.
Voice tools in the TikTok editor
| Tool | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Voiceover | Voice > Record | Records your voice over the video |
| Voice effect | Voice > choose effect | Changes how a voice sounds |
| Text-to-speech | Text > tap text > Text-to-speech | Reads typed text in a synthetic voice |
| Sound effect | Sound > Sound effect | Adds short effects over the video |
If it doesn't work
| What you see | Fix |
|---|---|
| Recording is silent | TikTok has no microphone access. Allow it in your phone's settings. |
| Original sound drowns the voice | Lower the original sound (and any added sound) in Volume until the voice is clearly on top. |
| Need to redo part of it | Undo the last segment, or record again over that section. |
Questions people ask
Can I add a voiceover to a video I uploaded?
Yes. Upload the video, go to the editing screen and use Voice.
How do I change my voice on TikTok?
After recording, pick a voice effect and save.
Voiceover or text-to-speech?
Your own voice builds trust; text-to-speech is quicker and keeps you off-mic. Both can be combined with on-screen text.
More TikTok guides
Sources and how we checked
- TikTok Help: Editing TikTok videos and photos (checked 2026-10-05)
- TikTok Help: Accessibility for your videos (text-to-speech, captions) (checked 2026-10-05)
Balancing levels in Volume follows the current TikTok editor as described by several current guides; the recording steps are from TikTok's help centre.
Reviewed October 5, 2026 by the Koldflux team. Each step is compared with TikTok's own documentation (linked above) and with the top search results for this task; where they disagree, the maker's documentation wins. Steps without a source link follow the menu names that several current guides agree on.