Subtitle Editor: edit SRT and VTT files
Open a subtitle file, fix its text and timing against your video, and download it as SRT or VTT. It converts SRT to VTT and VTT to SRT, and works without a video too.
- No upload — runs in your browser
- Free, no account
- Opens and saves SRT and VTT
- Subtitle files up to 5 MB
- Works with or without a video
Drop a subtitle file (SRT, VTT), a video, or both here, or click to browse
Reads SubRip (.srt) and WebVTT (.vtt) files up to 5 MB.
Add a video to preview the subtitles on it: MP4, MOV, M4V, WebM, and MKV, when this browser can play them.
Your files stay in this browser and are never uploaded.
A destination adds what its subtitle help says to the checks before you download, and sets the downloads to match. You can change it at any time.
How to edit a subtitle file
Open your files
Drop an SRT or VTT file of up to 5 MB, a video to preview it on, or both. No file yet? Start from scratch with an empty list.
Edit the cues
Fix the text, set start and end times while the video plays, add, split, merge or delete cues, and shift the timing. The checks list anything to fix before you download.
Download SRT or VTT
Download the subtitles as SRT, VTT or both. Anything a format can't keep is listed before you download.
Subtitle files by destination
What each destination covered here states about subtitle files, as of the date shown. Platforms change their pages, so the linked page has the final word. Use a row to set that destination in the tool.
| Destination | Subtitle file | What its subtitle help says | Sources | Set as the destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube Shorts | YouTube's help describes uploading a subtitle file. YouTube's subtitle help is written for all videos on YouTube. |
| Subtitle rules as of November 2, 2026 |
YouTube Shorts
- Subtitle file
YouTube's help describes uploading a subtitle file.
YouTube's subtitle help is written for all videos on YouTube.
- What its subtitle help says
- YouTube lists SubRip (.srt) and WebVTT (.vtt) among the subtitle files it takes.stated requirement
- YouTube says an SRT file must be plain UTF-8.stated requirement
- YouTube says no style markup is recognized in SRT files.how it reads the file
- YouTube says styling in VTT files is limited to <b>, <i>, and <u>, and that positioning is supported.how it reads the file
- YouTube says viewers can set the font, colour and size of captions in its player.how it reads the file
- Sources
Subtitle rules as of November 2, 2026
Editing and converting subtitle files
Subtitles let people follow a product video with the sound off. This editor opens the subtitle file you already have, lets you fix its text and timing while the video plays beside it, and saves it as SRT or VTT. Cutting the clip too? Do that first with Trim and join, then time the subtitles to the cut.
SRT (SubRip) is the plain, widely read format: a number, a start and end time, and the text of each cue. VTT (WebVTT) is the web's format, and can also hold cue identifiers, position settings and a header. Opening one and downloading the other converts it, and anything SRT can't hold is listed before the download.
Bold, italic and underline are kept: type <b>, <i> or <u> in a cue to start them. To show one of these tags as text, type a backslash before it, as in \<b>. SRT has no way to mark tag-shaped text as text, so the SRT download writes it as typed and many players show it as formatting or hide it; the VTT download keeps it as text. Other markup, such as fonts, is removed when a file is opened, and the editor says how much. A font colour that every cue shares becomes the text colour when it is one of the colours offered.
Choose where each cue shows, at the bottom or the top, and one text colour and size for all cues. The VTT download keeps all three: the position in each cue's settings, and the colour and size in a style block, which some players ignore. The SRT download keeps the position and the colour as markup, but not the size, and keeps neither while “Strip formatting from the SRT” is on.
Older SRT files are often not UTF-8. The editor detects the character set, says which one it used, and can read the file again in another one if letters look wrong. Every download is UTF-8; a byte-order mark is optional under Advanced settings.
Type a time as hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds, nudge it with the arrow keys, or set it from the player's position. Shift times moves every cue, or one cue and the ones after it, by the same amount, and refuses a shift that would move a cue before 0:00.
The checks also give our guidance, from common subtitling practice rather than any platform's rule: at most 2 lines of up to 42 characters, no more than 20 characters a second, and cues between 0.8 and 7 seconds long. Guidance never holds a download back. A cue with no text, an end that isn't after its start, or text that would break the file does.
Limits worth knowing
- Opens SubRip (.srt) and WebVTT (.vtt) files and downloads both. Previews the subtitles on a video in MP4, MOV, M4V, WebM, and MKV, when this browser can play it.
- Subtitle files of up to 5 MB and 5,000 cues. The video is only played, never read, so it has no size limit here.
- Editing and downloads work in any current browser. The preview needs a video this browser can play; without one, everything else still works.
- The preview shows the subtitles the way this browser shows them, not the way a platform will. It shows the top position and the colour and size you chose; other cue positions and style blocks from the opened file are kept in the VTT download but not shown.
Subtitle editor FAQ
Are my subtitles or my video uploaded?
No. The subtitle file is read and edited in your browser and downloaded from it, and the video is only played in it. Neither is sent anywhere.
How do I convert SRT to VTT, or VTT to SRT?
Open the file and download it in the other format; you can fix it first. SRT has no place for VTT cue identifiers, the header, the text size, or position settings other than a top position, so the editor says how many it leaves out before you download the SRT. A VTT made from an SRT keeps everything the editor holds; formatting and positions the editor can't hold are removed when the SRT is opened, and the editor says how many.
Which files can it open?
SubRip (.srt) and WebVTT (.vtt) subtitle files of up to 5 MB and 5,000 cues, and a video in MP4, MOV, M4V, WebM, and MKV to preview them on, when this browser can play it. Other subtitle formats aren't supported.
Why do some letters look wrong after opening a file?
The file was probably saved in an older character set. The editor shows which character set it read the file in; choose another under Read as and it reads the file again. Every download is UTF-8.
How do I shift all subtitles earlier or later?
Under Shift times, enter the amount, with a minus sign to move the cues earlier, and choose all cues or this cue and the ones after it. A shift that would move a cue before 0:00 is refused rather than cut short, and Undo takes any shift back.
Can I use the subtitles on YouTube Shorts?
YouTube lists SubRip (.srt) and WebVTT (.vtt) among the subtitle files it takes. YouTube says an SRT file must be plain UTF-8. YouTube says no style markup is recognized in SRT files. YouTube says styling in VTT files is limited to <b>, <i>, and <u>, and that positioning is supported. YouTube says viewers can set the font, colour and size of captions in its player. YouTube's subtitle help is written for all videos on YouTube. Choose YouTube Shorts as the destination and the checks before you download show these statements with their sources, and formatting is left out of the SRT download.
Can I change where subtitles show, their colour or their size?
Yes: put each cue at the bottom or the top, and choose one text colour and size for all cues. A VTT file keeps all three; an SRT file keeps the position and colour, unless “Strip formatting from the SRT” is on, but not the size. How much of it shows is up to each player: some ignore a VTT file's colour and size, and some let viewers choose their own subtitle style. Putting styled subtitles into the picture itself would need burn-in, which this tool doesn't do.
Can it burn the subtitles into the video?
No. This tool edits and saves subtitle files only; it doesn't change or export the video. Upload the subtitle file next to your video wherever subtitle files are accepted.
Can it write the subtitles for me from the audio?
No. This tool doesn't listen to the video or write subtitles for you. Type the cues yourself, or open a file made elsewhere and fix it here.
Will the subtitles look like the preview on every platform?
Not necessarily. The preview is how this browser shows them, with the position, colour and size you chose. Each platform and player draws subtitles in its own way, may let viewers change their style, and may not show bold, italic, underline, colour or size.
Related video tools
Fix your subtitles now
Open an SRT or VTT file, edit it beside your video and download it, all in your browser.