Generate SRT and VTT subtitles
Upload a video and download subtitle files for YouTube, Vimeo or your video editor. You decide how long each caption can be, so lines fit the screen. You get a file; nothing is burned into the picture.
Transcribe a recording
Launching November 2026
Auto captions you can correct before anyone sees them
Auto caption tools built into video sites leave you fixing names one tiny caption box at a time. Here you get the whole transcript in an editor first. Fix a brand name everywhere with find and replace, click a doubtful line to hear it, then export captions that already say the right thing.
Closed captions and subtitles use the same files. Upload the SRT or VTT as a caption track, and viewers can turn it on or off.
SRT or VTT: which file to download
| Detail | SRT | VTT |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Video editors and most upload forms | Web players and HTML5 video |
| Time format | 00:01:02,500, with a comma before the milliseconds | 00:01:02.500, with a period before the milliseconds |
| First line | The caption number | The word WEBVTT |
When in doubt, download SRT. Nearly every editor and video site takes it. Grab VTT when a web developer or an HTML video player asks for it.
Set caption length before you export
Long captions cover the picture and are hard to read on a phone. When you export SRT or VTT, set the maximum characters per caption and per line. The default is 42 characters a line, and the words wrap to fit whatever you choose.
Go shorter for vertical video. Speaker names can lead each caption, and every fix from the editor carries over.
Captions people can actually read
- Keep each caption to one or two lines. Two short lines read better than one long one.
- Drop “um” and “you know” before you export, unless the exact wording matters.
- Check numbers and names on screen. Viewers notice a misspelled guest name.
- Watch once with captions on before you publish. Timing that looked fine in a file can feel early or late on screen.
Captions serve viewers with the sound off, viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing, and anyone following in a second language.
Adding the file in YouTube, Vimeo, Premiere and CapCut
YouTube
Open the video in YouTube Studio, go to its subtitles section, and upload the SRT or VTT as a file with timing.
Vimeo
In the video’s settings, find captions or subtitles and upload the file. Set its language.
Premiere Pro
Import the SRT like any file, then drag it onto the timeline above your video.
CapCut
Import a caption file, pick your SRT, and check the styling once it loads.
Menus move between versions. If a label doesn’t match what you see, search that app’s help pages for “upload subtitles”.
From video to subtitle file
Upload the video or just its audio
Either works, since captions come from the soundtrack. Free takes files up to 60 minutes.
Clean up the words
Fix names and jargon, and cut filler you’d rather not show on screen.
Export captions
Choose SRT or VTT, set the caption length, and download.
Captions come out in the spoken language, one of 100 we transcribe. For a full transcript, see video to text; for episodes, podcast transcripts. Limits are on the pricing page.
Subtitle and caption questions
Does Textspert burn captions into my video?
No. You get an SRT or VTT file. Your video platform shows it as a caption track, or your editor can burn it in if you want open captions.
Is this the same as auto captions on YouTube?
Both start from speech recognition. Here you review the full transcript before the captions exist, so each fix happens once.
Can I control how long each caption is?
Yes. Pick a character limit per caption and per line in the export options.
Can I make subtitles from an audio file?
Yes. Upload MP3, M4A or WAV and export SRT or VTT, handy for podcast clips you’ll cut into video later.
Can I add speaker names to captions?
Yes. Switch on speaker names in the export options and each caption opens with one.
Can I change captions after I export them?
Yes. Fix the transcript and export again. An SRT also opens in any plain text editor.
Are subtitle files included on Free?
Yes. SRT and VTT are on every plan, Free included, for files up to 60 minutes.
Tools that pair with subtitles
- Video to textGet a transcript or SRT and VTT subtitles from MP4, MOV, MKV and other video files.
- Podcast transcriptEpisode transcripts with hosts and guests labeled, plus draft chapters for show notes and YouTube.
- Lecture transcriptionTurn class recordings into searchable text, with chapters you can use as an outline.
- Sermon transcriptionTurn a sermon into a blog post, a study guide and captions for the service video.
- LanguagesThe 100 transcription languages and how detection works.
Compare plans on the pricing page, or read our short privacy promises.
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