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How to add text to a photo collage on iPhone

Tap Text in the editor toolbar, type your words in the Edit Text sheet, set the Font, Style, Size and Color, tap Done, then drag the words where you want them. The text is drawn into the saved image, so it stays on the collage once it is in Photos.

3 min read · Updated 2026-09-11

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The sheet, control by control

Text adds a white, bold, 28 pt word reading "Text" in the middle of the collage and opens Edit Text straight away. A preview strip at the top shows your words as you type.

  • Font: 24 of them in a sideways scroll, from SF Rounded to Zapfino, each name set in its own typeface.
  • Style: Plain, Bold, Italic, Outlined, Shadow, Neon.
  • Size: slider from 12 to 80 pt in steps of 1. Letter Spacing: from -4 to +12.
  • Color: 16 round swatches. Background: a slider from 0 to full opacity that puts a rounded box behind the words, with 8 box colours once it is above 0.

Tap Done to keep it. Cancel only closes the sheet — it does not undo anything already changed: font, size and colour changes apply to the collage as you make them and are not rolled back; only the typed words wait for Done. Use Undo in the toolbar if you change your mind.

Moving it afterwards

On the canvas, one finger drags the text, two fingers pinch it between 0.3x and 5x and twist it. Touch and hold for a menu with Edit Text, Duplicate and Delete. Duplicate it to put the same caption on every photo of a multi-photo collage without retyping.

How big will it be in the saved image?

Size is not in pixels. The app measures it against a 400 pt reference and scales it to the long side of the exported image, so a 48 pt font size is 12% of the long side at every quality. Same look, more pixels:

Font size in pixels in the exported image at pinch scale 1x
Size sliderHD (1,080 px)2K (2,048 px)4K (4,096 px, Pro)
28 pt (default)75.6 px143.4 px286.7 px
48 pt129.6 px245.8 px491.5 px
80 pt (maximum)216 px409.6 px819.2 px

Because it is drawn at export size, not stretched, the letters stay crisp at 2K. Words wrap at 80% of the image width in the export, so on a 9:16 collage at HD (about 608 px wide) a line breaks at 486 px. Open the preview in the export sheet and look at where lines break before you save.

Where the text tool falls short

No alignment control; text is centred and that is that. There is also no colour wheel, only the 16 swatches, so you cannot match a brand colour. And the default white is invisible on pale photos.

All of this is free, ads aside. Pro does not touch text. It only adds 4K and Poster export, print sizes and background removal.

Questions and answers

How do I make a photo collage with text?
Make the collage first from any layout under Templates, then tap Text. You can add as many text items as you like and move each one separately.
How do you add text to a photo on iPhone for free?
Here, Text is free with all fonts and styles, and HD and 2K saves have no watermark. The Photos app can also add text to a single picture through its Markup tool, but it has no collage layouts.
Can I use any colour for the text?
Only the 16 swatches in Color, and 8 for the Background box. There is no custom colour picker.
Does the text get blurry at higher export quality?
No. It is drawn at the final export size, so 2K text is sharper than HD text, not a stretched copy.

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