Add Subtitles to Video
Spoken words are easy to miss in a noisy room, on a muted feed, or for viewers with hearing loss. Upload your video, generate subtitles from the speech, correct any line, and download the result.
How to Add Subtitles to a Video?
Upload your video file from your device.
Click the Add Subtitles button.
Review the subtitles in the editor.
Download the video with the subtitles added, or download the SRT file to upload it separately on platforms such as YouTube.
Why Use This Tool to Add Subtitles to Video?
Subtitles and Captions Defined
Subtitles are timed text that display the spoken words of a video on screen. Strictly, subtitles assume the viewer can hear the audio, while captions also describe meaningful sounds other than speech, such as music cues, laughter, and speaker changes, for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing. The two terms are often used interchangeably. This tool writes subtitles from the speech in the video, so if you need full captions, add the sound descriptions during review.
Who Watches With Subtitles
Subtitles serve more viewers than most creators expect. People watch on muted phones, in public spaces, and in noisy rooms, and many follow speech more easily when they can read it. A 2006 Ofcom study in the United Kingdom found that of 7.5 million viewers who used subtitles, only 1.5 million were deaf or hard of hearing.
Accessibility and Search Benefits
Subtitles are also an accessibility requirement in many settings, and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) list captions for prerecorded video as a Level A criterion, the minimum level of conformance.
Burned In Subtitles
Burned in subtitles, also called open or hardcoded subtitles, become part of the video image, so they appear on every platform and player and cannot be turned off. This suits short social clips and videos shared as files.
Soft Subtitles
Soft subtitles, also called closed subtitles, stay in a separate file such as SRT or WebVTT. Viewers can switch them on or off, platforms can offer translations, and you can fix a typo later without exporting the video again. This suits YouTube uploads, online courses, and company video libraries. You can download the subtitled video, the SRT file, or both.
Subtitle Readability Standards
The Netflix English style guide sets a maximum of 42 characters per line, two lines per subtitle, and a reading speed of about 20 characters per second for adult content. Each subtitle should stay on screen for at least five sixths of a second and no longer than seven seconds.
Reviewing Automatic Subtitles
Speech recognition performs best with one clear speaker, so review proper nouns, homophones, and accented speech, and check that the text has strong contrast and does not cover important visuals.
Transcripts and Summaries for the Same Video
If you need the full text of a video instead, the video transcription tool on VideoTranscribe.ai exports timestamped transcripts as TXT, SRT, or DOCX files, and the YouTube summarizer condenses a video into key points.
Who Needs to Add Subtitles to Video?
| Who needs it | Typical videos | Why subtitles matter |
|---|---|---|
| Content creators | Reels, Shorts, TikTok clips, vlogs | Many social feeds autoplay without sound, so on screen text keeps the message readable |
| Educators and course creators | Lectures, tutorials, online courses | Supports learners with hearing loss, learners who speak another language, and students who study without sound |
| Marketing teams | Product demos, ads, explainer videos | Keeps the message intact when viewers watch silently and makes the video easier to repurpose |
| Business and training teams | Onboarding videos, internal updates, recorded meetings | Helps staff in open offices, supports accessibility policies, and creates searchable text |
| Podcasters and interviewers | Video podcasts, interviews, panel discussions | Marks speaker changes and lets viewers follow fast conversation |
| Accessibility and compliance teams | Public sector, school, and corporate content | Helps meet caption requirements such as WCAG success criterion 1.2.2 |
FAQs
How to add subtitles to video online?
Upload the video, generate the subtitles with AI, review the text, and download the result. The process runs in a browser, so no editing software is required. Choose the subtitled video for sharing as a file, or the SRT file when the platform accepts separate subtitles.
What is the difference between subtitles and captions?
Subtitles show the spoken words of a video and assume the viewer can hear the audio. Captions show the spoken words and also describe meaningful sounds such as music, laughter, and speaker changes, which makes them suitable for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing. In the United Kingdom, the word subtitles often covers both.
Should I choose burned in or soft subtitles?
Choose burned in subtitles when the video will be posted as a file or on a platform that does not support subtitle tracks, because the text is part of the image and always displays. Choose an SRT file when the platform supports subtitle tracks, such as YouTube, Vimeo, or a learning management system, because viewers can turn the text on or off and you can correct it later.
What is an SRT file?
An SRT file is a plain text subtitle file. It lists numbered subtitle blocks, and each block holds a start time, an end time, and the text to display. Most video platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Vimeo, accept SRT uploads, and any text editor can open the file.
Can I add subtitles to a YouTube video?
Yes. Download the SRT file, open the video in YouTube Studio, go to Subtitles, add a language, and upload the file. Use the subtitled video file instead if you want the text permanently on screen.
How accurate are the automatic subtitles, and can I edit them?
Accuracy depends on audio quality, accents, the number of speakers, and subject vocabulary. Clear speech gives dependable results, while background noise and overlapping voices cause errors. Review each line in the editor, correct names and technical terms, and adjust line breaks before you download.
How many characters should a subtitle line have?
Keep each line to 42 characters or fewer and use no more than two lines per subtitle. This follows the Netflix English style guide and keeps text readable on phones and large screens. Break lines at natural phrases, such as before a conjunction or after a comma.
Which video formats and languages are supported?
The tool accepts MP4, MOV, and most other common video formats. The speech recognition supports multiple languages, and accuracy varies by language, accent, and audio quality.
Is the tool free, and are my videos safe?
The tool is free to use and does not require an account. Uploaded videos are used only to create the subtitles and are deleted automatically after processing.