How to add subtitles to a video
- Add your video.
- Choose your SRT or VTT file, then soft or burned in.
- Select Add Subtitles to Video and download the result.
Examples
An MP4 lecture with English subtitles in an SRT file. Choose Soft and set the language to English. The subtitles go in as a track marked English, and the picture and sound are copied as they are.
A clip for an app that doesn't show subtitle tracks. Choose Burned in, Large text and the dark box, and the words become part of the picture, so they show wherever the clip is shared.
A tall 9:16 phone video. Burned-in text is sized from the narrow side of the picture, so even Large subtitles fit across the screen.
A WebM or MKV video with a VTT file. Soft subtitles stay in the same format, as WebVTT in WebM and SRT in MKV. A format that can't hold switchable subtitles, such as AVI, comes back as MKV.
About this tool
Have a video and a subtitle file? Soft subtitles go in as a separate track, so the picture is copied with no quality loss and viewers can switch them on or off. Burned-in subtitles become part of the picture, so they show everywhere, even in players and apps that ignore subtitle tracks. For those, you choose the text size, the position and an optional dark box.
Common questions
What's the difference between soft and burned-in subtitles?
Soft subtitles are a separate track that viewers turn on or off, and the video isn't re-encoded. Burned-in subtitles are drawn into the picture, so they always show and can't be turned off, and the video is re-encoded to do that.
Why don't my soft subtitles show?
Many players leave subtitles off until you choose them, so look for a subtitles or CC button. The new track is marked as the default, which some players take as a sign to show it straight away.
Which subtitle files work?
SRT and VTT files up to 2 MB. UTF-8 files are read as they are, including Hindi, Marathi and other scripts, and so are UTF-16 files saved by Notepad. Other files are read as Western European text, and the result tells you when that happened.
What happens to subtitles that run past the end?
Lines that start after the video ends are left out, and a line that runs past the end stops at the end. The result says how many lines were left out.
Does burning in lower the quality?
The picture is re-encoded at a high quality setting, close to the original, and the sound is usually copied as it is. It takes longer than adding soft subtitles, which only copies the file.
Is it free to use?
Yes. You can use it without an account a few times a day, and a free account raises the daily limit. Nothing is added to your file unless you ask for it.
What happens to my files?
Your files are only used to run the tool you chose, and they're deleted automatically after about 24 hours.
Do I need to install anything?
No. It all works in your browser, on any computer or phone.