Free tool
Subtitle generator
This free subtitle generator turns the speech in a video into subtitles: drop the video in, check each subtitle with its times, then download an SRT or VTT file that lines up with your video.
- Free
- SRT and VTT
- The video stays on your device
Drop your video or audio file here, or Choose your video or audio file
MP4, MOV, MKV or WebM video, or MP3, M4A or WAV audio. Up to 30 minutes of each file, 3 free files a day. The language is detected automatically.
Subtitling videos every week? NoteOwl transcribes recordings on your Mac with unlimited transcription and saves SRT subtitles with each speaker’s name. Nothing is uploaded.
How it works
How do you generate subtitles for a video?
Drop the video on this AI subtitle generator. Your browser takes out its sound, which is transcribed in short pieces; then the words are laid out as subtitles that follow the speech. Check them and download SRT or VTT.
- 1
Drop in the video
An MP4, MOV, MKV or WebM video, or the audio of one. On a phone, pick it from your files or photos.
- 2
Watch the subtitles appear
Each subtitle gets its number, its start and end time and one or two lines. Up to 30 minutes of each video are subtitled.
- 3
Download SRT or VTT
SRT for YouTube and video editors, VTT for web players. The file is named after your video.
What makes the subtitles easy to read?
They follow the rules broadcasters and streaming services use: no more than 2 short lines at a time, each subtitle on screen for 1 to 7 seconds, and breaks where the speaker pauses or a sentence ends, never in the middle of a word.
- Lines on screen
- The generator’s setting2 at most
- WhyViewers read a subtitle at a glance without it covering the picture
- Line length
- The generator’s setting42 characters (16 in Chinese, Japanese and Korean)
- WhyShort enough to read without moving your eyes far
- Time on screen
- The generator’s setting1 to 7 seconds
- WhyLong enough to read, never long enough to lag behind the speaker
- Reading time
- The generator’s settingEnough for 17 characters a second, where the speaker pauses
- WhyA subtitle stays up a moment after its words are spoken
- Where they break
- The generator’s settingAt sentence ends, commas and pauses
- WhyNever in the middle of a word
| Rule | The generator’s setting | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lines on screen | 2 at most | Viewers read a subtitle at a glance without it covering the picture |
| Line length | 42 characters (16 in Chinese, Japanese and Korean) | Short enough to read without moving your eyes far |
| Time on screen | 1 to 7 seconds | Long enough to read, never long enough to lag behind the speaker |
| Reading time | Enough for 17 characters a second, where the speaker pauses | A subtitle stays up a moment after its words are spoken |
| Where they break | At sentence ends, commas and pauses | Never in the middle of a word |
SRT or VTT: which should you download?
SRT for almost anything: YouTube, social video and every video editor read it. VTT for a video on your own website or course platform, where the player expects WebVTT. Both hold the same subtitles with the same times.
- SRT
- What’s in itNumbered cues, times written 00:01:02,500
- Where it goesYouTube, Vimeo, LinkedIn, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, VLC
- VTT (WebVTT)
- What’s in itStarts with WEBVTT, times written 00:01:02.500
- Where it goesWeb video players, HTML5 <track>, course platforms
- TXT
- What’s in itThe words as paragraphs, with times
- Where it goesA transcript to read, quote or edit
| File | What’s in it | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| SRT | Numbered cues, times written 00:01:02,500 | YouTube, Vimeo, LinkedIn, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, VLC |
| VTT (WebVTT) | Starts with WEBVTT, times written 00:01:02.500 | Web video players, HTML5 <track>, course platforms |
| TXT | The words as paragraphs, with times | A transcript to read, quote or edit |
How do you put generated subtitles on a video?
Upload the SRT or VTT file next to the video, rather than changing the video itself. Video sites take it as the video’s subtitles, and video editors import it as a caption track you can restyle.
- 1
On a video site
Open the video’s subtitles or captions settings and upload the SRT file as the language that is spoken.
- 2
In a video editor
Import the SRT file and drop it on the timeline above the video. It starts at 0:00, like the video.
- 3
On your own website
Add the VTT file to the video player as a track of subtitles.
Step by step for your app: YouTube, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, CapCut, Final Cut Pro, VLC.
Can you check the subtitles before downloading?
Yes. Every subtitle appears in the preview with its number, start and end time, and its lines, exactly as they will be saved. Names and specialist words are the likeliest to need a fix: correct them in the downloaded file, which any text editor opens.
Is there a page for your subtitle format or language?
Yes: each page below is this same generator. A format page leads with that download; an app page sets the file up for that app and shows how to add it there; a language page skips the guess and writes the subtitles in the language you pick.
By subtitle format
By app
By language
Want subtitles with speaker names, made on your Mac?
Use NoteOwl. It imports recordings of any length on your Mac, transcribes them there with unlimited transcription, labels each speaker and saves the subtitles as an SRT file with every speaker’s name. To convert subtitles you already have, use the SRT to VTT converter.
FAQ
Questions about making subtitles for a video
Is this subtitle generator free?
Yes. Make subtitles for 3 videos a day, up to 30 minutes of each, with no account and no watermark. SRT, VTT and text downloads are all included.
Is my video uploaded?
No. Your browser reads the video on your device and takes out its sound. Short pieces of that sound go over a secure connection to a cloud AI transcription service, which transcribes each piece and discards it. The picture is never sent, and NoteOwl stores nothing.
Can it burn the subtitles into the video?
No. It makes a subtitle file, which you add to the video wherever you publish or edit it. That keeps the subtitles editable and lets viewers turn them off; a video editor can burn them in when it exports the video.
Can I edit the subtitles?
Yes. SRT and VTT are plain text files: open one in any text editor to fix a word, or import it into your video editor and edit the captions there. Keep the numbers and times as they are.
Which languages can it subtitle?
Most widely spoken languages. It detects the language of the speech by itself and shows it with the result. For a video in one known language, a language page such as Spanish subtitles sets the language for you.
Does it translate the subtitles?
No. The subtitles are in the language that is spoken in the video. To show them in another language, run the SRT file through the free subtitle translator, which keeps every subtitle’s number and times.
Do the subtitles say who is speaking?
No. The web generator writes the words without speaker names. NoteOwl on a Mac labels each speaker and puts the name at the start of each subtitle in the SRT files it saves.
Keep exploring
More free tools
- Meeting recording to textMeeting transcription free in your browser: drop in a Zoom, Teams, Google Meet or Webex recording and get a transcript with times; only the sound is sent, nothing is stored
- Audio translatorA free audio translator: drop in a recording and get what was said in another language, as a translated transcript with times, Word, SRT or VTT, with the original beside it; nothing is stored
- Video translatorA free video translator: drop in a video and download subtitles in another language, timed to the speech, as SRT or VTT; only the sound is sent, nothing is stored
- Subtitle translatorA free subtitle translator: drop in an SRT or VTT file and download it in another language, every subtitle keeping its number and times; SRT, VTT or bilingual SRT; nothing is stored
Related
- Subtitle generatorTurn a recording into an SRT subtitle file with timecodes and speaker names, on your Mac
- 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
- 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
- Video to textTurn video to text free: drop in an MP4, MOV, M4V, MKV or WebM video and get an AI transcript with times, as text, SRT, VTT or Word; only the sound is sent, nothing is stored
- Add subtitles to videoBurn an SRT, VTT or ASS file into a video, or add it as a subtitle track, in your browser; long lines, two-line captions, any script, right to left
Subtitles from every recording, 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
Last updated