Free Meme Generator
Add classic top and bottom text to your own image. No watermark, no template library you have to pick from, and nothing is uploaded.
What Makes Meme Text Readable
The classic look is not an accident. Every part of it exists to keep white text legible on top of an unpredictable photograph.
| Convention | Why it exists |
|---|---|
| Impact, or another very heavy sans | Thick strokes survive being scaled down and re-compressed by every app it passes through. |
| White fill, black outline | The only combination that stays readable on both a bright sky and a dark shadow. |
| All capitals | No descenders to collide with the outline, and an even block shape. |
| Top and bottom, never the middle | Keeps the subject's face clear, which is usually the point of the image. |
| Short lines | Text is read at thumbnail size while scrolling. More than about eight words fails. |
The white bar option is the other common style. Instead of overlaying text, it adds a white band above and below the picture. It is easier to read and does not cover any of the image, at the cost of changing the aspect ratio.
Doing It in GIMP
The outline is the only fiddly part, because GIMP has no live text stroke.
- Add your text with the Text tool, in white, at a heavy weight.
- Right click the text layer and choose Alpha to Selection. The letter shapes become a selection.
- Select > Grow by three or four pixels.
- Add a new layer below the text, set the foreground to black, and press Edit > Fill with FG Color.
- Deselect and flatten when you are happy.
The outlined text tutorial covers this with screenshots, and the font installation guide covers adding Impact if your system does not have it.
Common Questions
My text is not in Impact
Impact ships with Windows and macOS but not with most Linux distributions, and browsers cannot download a font that is not installed. The Arial Black or plain sans options are the fallback.
Can I move the text somewhere else?
This tool places text at the top and bottom, which covers the vast majority of memes. For text anywhere on the image, use the Text tool in GIMP, or the watermark maker, which lets you position text in nine places.
Do I own the meme I make?
You own what you added. You do not gain any rights to the underlying photograph. Using someone's copyrighted image can be a problem, especially commercially, so use your own pictures or properly licensed ones.
Why is the download bigger than the original?
The canvas re-encodes the whole image. Run it through the compressor if the size matters.