Guide

How to add figure captions in Google Docs

Word has Insert Caption: "Figure 1" under an image, numbered for you, renumbered when figures move, and collected into a list of figures. Google Docs has none of that. Here are three ways to caption figures and tables in Docs, and what each one costs you when the document changes.

Updated October 2026

What Google Docs gives you

An image in Docs can have alt text (right-click → Alt text), which screen readers read out. It isn't a caption: nobody else sees it, and it isn't numbered. Docs has no caption style, no figure numbering and no list of figures. A caption is just a line of text you put under the image yourself.

Method 1: type the captions yourself

Put the image on its own line. Click just after it and press Enter.
Type the caption: Figure 1: Survey sites along the coast. Many style guides put the label in bold, and most put table captions above the table rather than below.
Centre the caption with the image if you like (Format → Align & indent → Center).

To keep an image and its caption together when text wraps around them, some people put both in a one-column, two-row table and hide the borders (Format → Table → Table properties, border width 0 pt). Another way is Insert → Drawing → New, paste the image into the drawing and add a text box under it, though text in a drawing can't be searched or linked to.

Things to know:

Every number is yours to keep right. Add a figure near the start and every later caption is one out, along with every "see Figure 4" in your text.
There's no list of figures. Google's table of contents only lists headings. Styling captions as a heading puts them in it, but mixed in with your sections.
For a few figures that won't move, this is all you need.

Method 2: an Apps Script to renumber them

Type captions as "Figure 1:", or "Figure #:" for a new one, and let this script put the numbers in document order. Run it again after moving figures.

In the document, choose Extensions → Apps Script, paste this and save:

// Renumbers captions that start "Figure 3:" or "Figure #:" in document order.
// Change LABEL to 'Table' and run it again for tables.
const LABEL = 'Figure';

function renumberCaptions() {
  let n = 0;
  DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getBody().getParagraphs().forEach((p) => {
    const m = p.getText().match(new RegExp('^' + LABEL + ' (\\d+|#)(?=[:.])'));
    if (!m) return;
    n++;
    const text = p.editAsText();
    const at = LABEL.length + 1; // where the number starts
    text.deleteText(at, at + m[1].length - 1);
    text.insertText(at, String(n));
  });
}

Choose renumberCaptions in the function menu, press Run and allow access.

Things to know:

References in your text don't change. "As Figure 4 shows" still says 4 after the figure becomes Figure 5.
No list of figures, and no chapter numbering such as Figure 2.3.
Only the first tab. In a document with tabs, getBody() only sees the first one.
It needs a colon or full stop straight after the number, so a sentence like "Figure 3 shows…" is left alone.

Method 3: Heading Numbering & Table of Contents, no code

Heading Numbering & Table of Contents is an add-on for numbered headings that also does captions the way Word does. Captions are free for up to 20 per document.

Install it from the Google Workspace Marketplace.
In your document, choose Extensions → Heading Numbering & Table of Contents → Open and go to the Captions tab.
Click an image or a table in the document, choose Figure, Table, Chart, Equation or your own label, type the caption and press Insert caption.
After moving or adding figures, press Renumber captions.

Image captions go under the image, lined up with it. Table captions go above the table, or below if you prefer. Captions you've already typed as "Figure 3:" or "Table 2." are picked up and renumbered with the rest, and each label counts on its own. The sidebar lists every caption and flags any whose number is about to change.

Pro, at $4 a month or $29 a year, adds the parts a thesis or report needs: a linked list of figures (and of tables) that refreshes when you renumber, "see Figure 3" references that change when the figure's number does, chapter numbering such as Figure 2.3 taken from your numbered headings, and unlimited captions. It also covers legal and custom heading styles and cross-references to sections.

The Captions tab in the sidebar next to a Google Docs report with a list of figures, a numbered figure caption and a figure reference

Get Heading Numbering & Table of Contents

Common questions

Does Google Docs have an Insert Caption option like Word?

No. Docs has alt text for images, which readers don't see, but no caption feature, figure numbering or list of figures. Captions are lines of text you add, by hand or with a script or add-on.

How do I make a list of figures in Google Docs?

Google's table of contents only lists headings. You can type a list and keep it up to date by hand, or use an add-on that builds a linked list from your captions and refreshes it, as Method 3 does.

How do I refer to a figure so the number updates?

Docs can link text to a heading or bookmark, but the text of the link doesn't change when a caption's number does. An add-on that tracks the reference, like Method 3, rewrites "Figure 4" to "Figure 5" when you renumber.

Should table captions go above or below the table?

Most styles put the table number and title above the table. Figures vary: IEEE and many journals put the caption below the figure, while APA 7 puts the figure number and title above it. Check your institution's or publisher's guide.

Numbering your headings too?

See how to number headings in Google Docs, for 1, 1.1, 1.1.1 headings that renumber safely.

Google Docs™ and Google Apps Script™ are trademarks of Google LLC. This add-on is not made or endorsed by Google.