Free tool
Online subtitle editor
Open an SRT or VTT file in this subtitle editor to fix typos, change start and end times, add or delete captions and find the ones that overlap or flash by too fast, then download the corrected file.
- Free
- No sign-up
- Nothing is uploaded
Nothing is uploaded: your browser reads the file.
Correcting a transcript of your own recording? NoteOwl transcribes audio and video on your Mac, unlimited, and exports SRT subtitles with every speaker labelled.
How it works
How do you edit an SRT file online?
Drop the .srt file here and each caption appears as a row: its start, its end and its text. Click into any of them to change it, add or delete rows, and fix what the checks flag. Then download the file as SRT or VTT.
- 1
Open the file
Drop an .srt, .vtt, .sbv, .ass or .ssa file, choose one, paste it, or start a new file from scratch.
- 2
Edit the captions
Type into the times and text. Rows with a problem are shaded, and the problem is named under the text.
- 3
Download it
Save it as .srt or .vtt. Empty captions are left out, and the captions are numbered from 1.
What does the subtitle editor check?
Each caption’s timing and length, as you type. It flags captions that end before they start, overlap the one before, flash by or linger, or ask for a faster reading speed than viewers manage, using the limits in Netflix’s English subtitle guidelines.
- Ends before it starts
- Why it mattersThe caption would never show
- LimitEnd later than start
- Overlaps the caption before
- Why it mattersTwo captions on screen at once, stacked
- LimitStarts after the last one ends
- On screen under 5/6 of a second
- Why it mattersGone before it can be read
- LimitAt least 5/6 of a second
- On screen over 7 seconds
- Why it mattersStays up long after the line is said
- LimitAt most 7 seconds
- Over 20 characters a second
- Why it mattersToo much text for the time it’s up
- LimitUp to 20 characters a second
- A line over 42 characters
- Why it mattersRuns too wide, or wraps badly
- LimitUp to 42 characters a line
- No text
- Why it mattersAn empty caption
- LimitLeft out of the download
| Flag | Why it matters | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Ends before it starts | The caption would never show | End later than start |
| Overlaps the caption before | Two captions on screen at once, stacked | Starts after the last one ends |
| On screen under 5/6 of a second | Gone before it can be read | At least 5/6 of a second |
| On screen over 7 seconds | Stays up long after the line is said | At most 7 seconds |
| Over 20 characters a second | Too much text for the time it’s up | Up to 20 characters a second |
| A line over 42 characters | Runs too wide, or wraps badly | Up to 42 characters a line |
| No text | An empty caption | Left out of the download |
How do you change when a caption appears?
Type the new time into its start or end box. Full SRT times such as 00:01:02,450 work, and so do short forms like 1:02.45, or 62.45 for seconds. Leave the box and the time is written out in full.
When captions are out of order after editing, press Sort by time. When they overlap, Fix overlaps ends each one as the next begins. To move the whole file by the same amount, the subtitle shifter is quicker and changes nothing else.
Which subtitle files can you open?
SRT, WebVTT, SBV, ASS and SSA. Each caption’s times, text and line breaks come in, with italics and bold, and you save the result as SRT or VTT. Positions and styles from VTT or ASS files aren’t kept, so to retime those files alone, use the shifter.
Need SBV or ASS at the end? Download the SRT, then turn it into any format with the subtitle converter. Have only plain text? The TXT to SRT converter times it into captions you can then edit here.
What makes a caption easy to read?
Short lines and enough time. Keep to two lines of about 42 characters, give each caption at least 5/6 of a second and no more than 7, and break lines where the sentence naturally pauses, not between words that belong together.
How do you start with a transcript that’s already timed?
Transcribe the recording on your Mac. NoteOwl imports audio and video files, transcribes them with on-device AI models and exports SRT subtitles with every line timed from the speech, so editing is just correcting the words.
FAQ
Questions about editing subtitles
Can I edit a VTT file as well as SRT?
Yes. The SRT editor opens .vtt files too: edit the captions the same way, then download it as VTT again or as SRT. Positions and styling in the original VTT aren’t carried over, only times, text and line breaks.
How do I change the time of a subtitle?
Click its start or end box and type the new time, such as 00:01:02,450, 1:02.45 or 62.45 for seconds. When you leave the box it is written out in full, and the checks update straight away.
How do I fix overlapping subtitles?
Press Fix overlaps. Each caption that runs into the next one is ended at the moment the next one starts, and the captions are put in time order. Check the rows it changed, then download.
Can I add a new subtitle between two others?
Yes. Press Add after on the caption before the gap. A new caption appears that starts when that one ends and lasts up to two seconds, ready for its text.
Is my work saved if I close the page?
No. The editor keeps your captions only in the open page and stores nothing, so download the file before you close the tab or open another file.
Is the subtitle file uploaded?
No. The editor runs in your browser, so the file you open, every change you make and the download all stay on your device.
Can NoteOwl write the subtitles for me?
Yes. NoteOwl transcribes audio and video files on your Mac with on-device AI models and saves the transcript as SRT subtitles, timed from the speech, which you can then fine-tune here.
Keep exploring
More subtitle tools
- Subtitle mergerMerge two subtitle files in your browser: two languages stacked into bilingual captions, or two parts joined one after the other; SRT, VTT, SBV, ASS
- YouTube transcript to textPaste the transcript YouTube shows under a video and get clean paragraphs, with or without timestamps, as text, Word or SRT; nothing is fetched from YouTube
- Subtitle converterConvert subtitles between SRT, VTT, SBV and ASS, or to plain text, in your browser; SSA scripts and meeting transcripts work too
- SRT to VTT converterConvert SRT to VTT, VTT to SRT, or either to clean text with each speaker’s lines merged, in your browser; Zoom and Teams transcripts work
Related
- Subtitle shifterMove every caption in an SRT, VTT, SBV or ASS file earlier or later, or re-sync it from two points; only the times change
- TXT to SRT converterTurn plain text into a timed SRT file: captions cut to fit the screen and timed at a speaking pace or across your video’s length
- Subtitle generatorTurn a recording into an SRT subtitle file with timecodes and speaker names, on your Mac
- What is an SRT fileWhat an SRT file is, what SRT stands for, the format of each cue with an example, and how to make one from a recording
Timed transcripts, made on your Mac
Free to download. Runs entirely on your Mac.
macOS 26 or later · Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) · 16 GB memory minimum, 24 GB recommended
About NoteOwl
NoteOwl is private AI meeting notes and memory for the Mac. It captures meetings without a bot joining the call, labels every speaker, writes summaries and action items, and builds a memory of every conversation that you can chat with — fully offline, because the speech recognition and the AI run on the Mac itself. Dictation into any app is free; Pro is a one-time purchase.
NoteOwl pricing: what’s free and what Pro adds
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