Convert SRT to VTT, or VTT to SRT
Change a subtitle file between SRT and WebVTT on this device. The format changes; the words and timing stay.
- Nothing is uploaded
- Works offline after first visit
- Open source
- No watermark, no sign-up. Subtitle files are plain text and convert in an instant
Converts a subtitle file from SRT to WebVTT, or from WebVTT to SRT, and keeps every caption’s words and timing. It is free, needs no sign-up and adds no watermark, and your file is not uploaded: it is a plain text file, read and rewritten by code in this tab. It changes the format only. It does not translate the captions.
Done
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Open the network tab. Your files never appear in it.
Add files and run the tool to see every request this tab makes.
Your files are processed on this device and never sent to a server. Reload the page to clear everything from memory.
Worked example: SRT to VTT for a web page
You have lecture.srt, made for a video editor, and now you want the same captions on a web page, where the track element wants WebVTT. This is the start of it:
1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:03,500 Welcome to the course. 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,200 Today we start with the basics.
Drop it here and press Convert. You get lecture.vtt:
WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.500 Welcome to the course. 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:07.200 Today we start with the basics.
Three things changed: a WEBVTT line at the top, a full stop where SRT had a comma before the milliseconds, and the caption numbers are gone. The words and the times are as they were. Going from VTT to SRT reverses that: the header goes, the numbers are written from 1, and the full stop becomes a comma.
No subtitle file yet?
If you only have the video, Video to subtitles writes an SRT or WebVTT file from the speech, on your device, with the speech model running in your browser. Bring the result back here if you need it in the other format.
If you want the words drawn into the picture, so they show everywhere the video plays, Burn subtitles into video takes an SRT or VTT file you already have, and Add subtitles to video can also write the captions from the speech first.
How it works
- Drop one or more .srt or .vtt files, or tap to pick them.
- Press Convert. An .srt file becomes a .vtt file, and a .vtt file becomes an .srt file.
- Download the converted file, or a zip if you dropped several.
In your browser, not on a server
The page reads the text of your file with the browser’s file reader and finds each caption: the line with the two times, and the words under it. Numbers, the WEBVTT header, notes, style blocks, cue names, position settings and tags inside the words are dropped. The captions are then written out again in time order, as SRT with a comma before the milliseconds and numbers from 1, or as WebVTT with a full stop and a WEBVTT line, or as plain text. No library is used, and the file is never uploaded.
Compared with upload-based tools: Online converters ask you to upload the subtitle file, which can be the transcript of a private meeting. Here the file is read and rewritten by code in this tab, and the new file is made in your device’s memory.
Verify it yourself. Give the page a short while after one visit to save itself for offline use, then turn off Wi-Fi or switch to airplane mode and run the tool again. Or open your browser's developer tools (F12, or Cmd-Option-I on a Mac), pick the Network tab, and watch it while you convert. The panel above does the same count for you.
Questions
How do I convert SRT to VTT?
Drop the .srt file on this page and press Convert. The result is a .vtt file with a WEBVTT line at the top and full stops in the times. Load it in a track element on your page, or in any player that wants WebVTT.
How do I convert VTT to SRT?
Drop the .vtt file and press Convert. The WEBVTT header is removed, each caption is numbered from 1 and the times use commas. The same page does both directions, and it picks the one that fits the file you drop.
Does it translate the subtitles?
No. It changes the file format and nothing else, so the words stay in the language they are in. For a translation you need a translator, then convert the result here if the format is wrong. The speech tools are a different job: Video to subtitles can write English captions from foreign-language speech, and it works on the audio, not on a subtitle file.
What is lost when I convert VTT to SRT?
The words and the timing carry over. SRT has nowhere to keep a WebVTT caption’s position and alignment settings, or its notes, style blocks and caption names, so those are left out. If a VTT file places captions at the top of the frame, the SRT will not. Italics and bold inside a caption are not carried over.
Why do I need to convert subtitles at all?
The two formats are read by different programs. SRT is the one that video editors and most desktop players take. WebVTT is the one web pages use with the track element. A file made for one will not load in the other until it is converted.
Does my subtitle file stay on my computer?
Yes. The page opens your file with the browser’s file reader, rewrites the text in memory and offers the new file back to you. Subtitles can be a transcript of a private meeting, so it matters that no part of one goes to a server. Open the network tab while you convert, and your file is not among the requests.
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