Free tool
SRT generator
This free SRT generator makes an SRT subtitle file from the speech in a video or recording: every subtitle numbered, timed to the moment it’s said and kept to two short lines, ready for YouTube or your video editor.
- Free
- Two-line, timed cues
- 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.
Making SRT files every week? NoteOwl transcribes recordings on your Mac with unlimited transcription and saves SRT files with each speaker’s name in every cue.
How it works
How do you create an SRT file from a video?
Drop the video on the generator. Its sound is transcribed in short pieces, then laid out as numbered subtitles timed to the speech. Read them through in the preview, then press Download SRT; the file takes your video’s name.
- 1
Drop in the video
An MP4, MOV, MKV or WebM video, or an audio file such as an MP3 or M4A of the same recording.
- 2
Check the cues
Each one shows its number, start and end time and its lines. Up to 30 minutes of each file are subtitled.
- 3
Download SRT
One click saves the .srt file. VTT and plain text are a click away too.
What does an SRT file look like?
Plain text in blocks, one per subtitle: a number, a line with the start and end time, then one or two lines of words, then a blank line. Any text editor opens it, and almost every video app reads it.
The format’s history and its rules are in the glossary: what an SRT file is.
- Number
- In the file1
- What it doesCounts up from 1, with no gaps
- Times
- In the file00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:04,460
- What it doesHours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds, after a comma
- Text
- In the fileHowever, due to the slow / communication channels,
- What it doesUp to two lines, shown together
- Blank line
- In the file(empty)
- What it doesEnds the subtitle
| Part | In the file | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Number | 1 | Counts up from 1, with no gaps |
| Times | 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:04,460 | Hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds, after a comma |
| Text | However, due to the slow / communication channels, | Up to two lines, shown together |
| Blank line | (empty) | Ends the subtitle |
How long does each subtitle stay on screen?
Between 1 and 7 seconds. A subtitle appears when its first word is spoken and stays until the next one, or a moment after its last word when the speaker pauses, long enough to read about 17 characters a second.
Cues end at sentence ends, commas and pauses rather than at a fixed length, so a new subtitle starts where a listener would hear a break. In a 6-minute 44-second test talk, the generator made about 90 cues, none longer than two lines or the line limit.
Where can you use an SRT file?
Almost anywhere video goes. YouTube, Vimeo and LinkedIn accept it as a video’s subtitles; Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro import it as captions; VLC plays it next to the video.
Video sites
Upload the SRT in the video’s subtitles or captions settings, as the spoken language.
Video editors
Import it as a caption track to restyle it, or burn it into the picture on export.
Players
Give the SRT the same name as the video and keep them in one folder; most players load it.
Will the SRT line up with the video?
Yes, as long as you make it from the finished video. The times count from the first second of the file you drop in, so trimming the start of the video afterwards would leave every subtitle late by the same amount.
To switch a finished SRT to VTT, or turn it into plain text, use the SRT to VTT converter.
Want SRT files with speaker names, made on your Mac?
NoteOwl saves SRT subtitles from recordings it transcribes on your Mac, unlimited, with each cue starting with the speaker’s name, using on-device AI models. Nothing is uploaded.
FAQ
Questions about making SRT files
Is the SRT generator free?
Yes. Make SRT files for 3 videos a day, up to 30 minutes of each, with no account and no watermark. VTT and text downloads are included.
Can I make an SRT file from an audio file?
Yes. An MP3, M4A or WAV of the same recording gives the same subtitles as the video, because only the sound is used. Line the SRT up with the video that has that sound.
Can I edit the SRT before uploading it?
Yes. Open it in any text editor, fix a word, and save it as plain text with UTF-8 encoding. Leave the numbers, the times and the blank lines between subtitles exactly as they are.
Is my video uploaded to make the SRT?
No. Your browser reads the video on your device and takes out its sound. Short pieces of it go over a secure connection to a cloud AI transcription service, which transcribes each one and discards it. The SRT is written in the page, and NoteOwl stores nothing.
Does the SRT include speaker names?
No. Each subtitle holds the words only. NoteOwl on a Mac writes SRT files with each speaker’s name at the start of their subtitles.
Which languages can the SRT be in?
The language spoken in the video. The generator detects it and writes the subtitles in that language and its script, including Chinese and Japanese, whose lines are kept shorter.
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
- VTT generatorMake a WebVTT caption file from a video or recording free in your browser, for web players and course platforms; nothing is stored
The same in other tools
Related
- 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
- 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
SRT subtitles from your recordings, 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