Free tool
Add subtitles in DaVinci Resolve
You can add subtitles in DaVinci Resolve from a file: make an SRT from your timeline’s audio with the free generator below, choose Import Subtitle in the Media Pool, then insert it on the timeline using its timecode.
- Free
- For Resolve and Resolve Studio
- Nothing is stored
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 interviews and podcasts in Resolve? NoteOwl transcribes them on your Mac, unlimited, and saves SRT files that put each speaker’s name on their lines.
How it works
How do you make an SRT file from a DaVinci Resolve timeline?
Render the timeline, or only its audio, from the first frame and drop the file on the generator. Short pieces of the speech are transcribed and arranged into timed subtitles of one or two lines. Read down the list, then download the SRT or VTT.
- 1
Render from the Deliver page
A small, low-resolution render of the whole timeline does the job: only the sound is used.
- 2
Drop it here
Up to the first 30 minutes of a file are subtitled, and every subtitle appears with its times for checking.
- 3
Download
SRT is the usual choice for Resolve; the VTT download imports as well.
How do you import an SRT file into DaVinci Resolve?
Through the Media Pool. Right-click a bin in the Bin list, or empty space in the Media Pool browser, and choose Import Subtitle. Open the .srt and it becomes a subtitle clip; right-click that clip and choose Insert Selected Subtitles to Timeline Using Timecode.
- 1
Open the Media Pool
The subtitle file sits there next to your footage once it’s imported.
- 2
Import Subtitle
Right-click any bin, or the background of the Media Pool browser, choose Import Subtitle, select the .srt and click Open.
- 3
Place it by timecode
Right-click the new subtitle clip and choose Insert Selected Subtitles to Timeline Using Timecode.
- 4
Or drag it
Drop it on the unused gray area above your video tracks to make a subtitle track, or onto a subtitle track you already have.
Can the free version of DaVinci Resolve use subtitle files?
Blackmagic’s manual doesn’t mark importing a subtitle file as Studio only; the feature it does mark is Create Subtitles from Audio. On the free version, then, make the SRT here and import it: you get subtitles timed to the speech without Resolve’s own transcription.
How do these subtitles compare with Resolve’s subtitle limits?
Each subtitle track has its own Max Line Length, Min Duration and Max CPS, and Project Settings > Subtitles holds Characters Per Line, Minimum Caption Duration and Maximum Characters Per Second. The table shows what the generator writes, so you can set Resolve’s limits to match.
- Max Line Length
- The generator’s subtitlesUp to 42 characters a line, or 26 with Short lines for a vertical video ticked
- Min Duration
- The generator’s subtitlesAt least 1 s on screen unless the next subtitle starts sooner, and never more than 7 s
- Max CPS
- The generator’s subtitlesAbout 17 characters a second where the pause after a line leaves room; fast talkers can go over, because every word is kept
| Track setting | The generator’s subtitles |
|---|---|
| Max Line Length | Up to 42 characters a line, or 26 with Short lines for a vertical video ticked |
| Min Duration | At least 1 s on screen unless the next subtitle starts sooner, and never more than 7 s |
| Max CPS | About 17 characters a second where the pause after a line leaves room; fast talkers can go over, because every word is kept |
Can a Resolve timeline hold subtitles in more than one language?
Yes, as separate subtitle tracks, one for each language. Blackmagic’s manual notes that only one subtitle track can be visible at any given time, so the languages take turns on screen rather than stacking up.
This page writes subtitles in the language that’s spoken; it doesn’t translate. For a second language, put the SRT through the subtitle translator, then import the result as a track of its own.
How do you export subtitles from the Deliver page?
Tick the Export Subtitle box on the Deliver page and choose how they leave: As a separate file, Burn into video, or As embedded captions. To save just the subtitles without a render, File > Export Subtitle writes an .srt or .vtt.
Styling them first? Click the subtitle track’s header and use the Inspector’s Track panel for font, color, size, position, drop shadow, stroke and background.
- As a separate file
- What reaches the viewerA subtitle file delivered beside the video, which players that support it can switch on and off
- Burn into video
- What reaches the viewerText drawn into every frame, always visible
- As embedded captions
- What reaches the viewerCaptions carried inside the rendered file
| Choice | What reaches the viewer |
|---|---|
| As a separate file | A subtitle file delivered beside the video, which players that support it can switch on and off |
| Burn into video | Text drawn into every frame, always visible |
| As embedded captions | Captions carried inside the rendered file |
Can Resolve subtitles say which speaker is talking?
With NoteOwl they can. The Mac app transcribes recordings you import using on-device AI models, works out who speaks when and writes an SRT that puts each speaker’s name before their words, unlimited. It goes into the Media Pool like any other subtitle file.
FAQ
Questions about subtitles in DaVinci Resolve
Can DaVinci Resolve import a VTT file?
Yes. Blackmagic’s manual lists .srt, .srtx, .vtt, .xml and .ttml among the subtitle formats Resolve supports, and this page downloads both SRT and VTT.
Where is Import Subtitle in DaVinci Resolve?
In the Media Pool’s right-click menu. Right-click a bin in the Bin list, or an empty part of the Media Pool browser, and choose Import Subtitle.
How do I burn subtitles into a video in Resolve?
On the Deliver page, tick Export Subtitle and pick Burn into video before you render. Style the track first in the Inspector, because burned-in text is part of the picture and can’t be edited after the render.
Why are the subtitles out of sync with my timeline?
Insert Selected Subtitles to Timeline Using Timecode follows the times in the file, and those count from 0:00 of what you rendered. If your timeline’s timecode starts somewhere else, drag the subtitles into place or shift the SRT before importing it.
Does the SRT include speaker names?
No. The free generator keeps to the words and their timing. NoteOwl, a Mac app, writes SRT files in which each line starts with the speaker’s name.
Is my footage sent anywhere?
Only its sound, in short pieces. The page reads your render in the browser, a cloud AI transcription service transcribes each piece and discards it, and the subtitles are built in the page. NoteOwl stores neither the video nor the text.
What’s the longest timeline it can handle?
30 minutes per file, 3 files a day. Render a longer timeline in sections under that length and move each section’s subtitles to where it begins, or transcribe the full recording with NoteOwl, which sets no length cap.
Keep exploring
More subtitle generator tools
- Subtitle generatorA free AI subtitle generator: drop in a video or recording and download SRT or VTT subtitles timed to the speech, two short lines per cue; only the sound is sent, nothing is stored
- Subtitles for TikTokTikTok takes no subtitle files: make short-line subtitles here and put them in the video before you post, or use TikTok’s captions
- Subtitles for Instagram ReelsInstagram takes no subtitle files: make short-line subtitles here and put them in the Reel before you post, or use Instagram’s captions
- Subtitles for VimeoMake a WebVTT or SRT file and upload it to a Vimeo video under Languages
- Subtitles for LinkedInMake an SRT and attach it as the caption file when you post a video on LinkedIn from a computer
Related
- Subtitles for Premiere ProMake an SRT from your footage, import it into Premiere as a caption track, restyle it and export it burned in or as a file
- 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
- Subtitle generatorTurn a recording into an SRT subtitle file with timecodes and speaker names, on your Mac
Speaker-named subtitles, ready for the Media Pool
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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