SRT vs VTT: Subtitle Formats Compared

SRT vs VTT is a choice between two plain-text subtitle formats that hold the same thing: numbered lines of text with the times they appear. SRT is the older, simpler format that almost every video player, editor and upload page accepts. VTT (WebVTT) is the format web browsers use, with extra options for position and styling. Our subtitle generator makes either one from your video's speech, so you can pick the one your destination needs.

What each file looks like

Both are text files you can open in Notepad or TextEdit. Here's the same caption in each.

SRT (.srt):

1
00:00:03,500 --> 00:00:06,200
Thanks for watching.
Let's get started.

VTT (.vtt):

WEBVTT

00:00:03.500 --> 00:00:06.200
Thanks for watching.
Let's get started.

The differences you can see:

• A header. A VTT file must start with the line WEBVTT. SRT has no header.
• Cue numbers. SRT numbers every caption (1, 2, 3...). In VTT, numbers or names for each caption are optional.
• The decimal mark. SRT separates seconds from milliseconds with a comma (06,200); VTT uses a full stop (06.200). Mixing them up is the most common reason a file is rejected.
• Hours. SRT always writes hours (00:00:03,500). VTT lets you leave them out for short videos (00:03.500).

Side by side

	SRT	VTT
Full name	SubRip Subtitle	Web Video Text Tracks
Header line	None	WEBVTT required
Time format	00:01:02,500	00:01:02.500 (hours optional)
Positioning (top of screen, left or right)	No standard way	Yes, with cue settings
Styling	Basic tags such as italics in some players; often ignored	Italics, bold, underline, plus CSS styling on websites
Speaker labels	Typed into the text	Can be tagged as voices
Comments in the file	No	Yes (NOTE blocks)
HTML video players	Not supported directly	The native format
Desktop players (VLC and others)	Yes	Usually yes
Video editors	Very widely supported	Supported by some
YouTube	Accepted (basic, plain UTF-8, no styling)	Accepted (positioning and limited styling)

The YouTube details come from YouTube's own list of supported caption files, which also notes that SRT files must be plain UTF-8 text and that SRT styling is ignored.

When to choose SRT

• Uploading to YouTube or another video platform. SRT is the safe default; it's accepted almost everywhere.
• Video editors. Most editors import SRT into a captions track, where you can restyle the text or burn it into the picture.
• Playing a downloaded video. Put movie.srt next to movie.mp4 and most players load it automatically.
• Sending to someone else to check or translate. It's the format subtitle tools and translators expect.

When to choose VTT

• Your own website. The HTML <track> element, which adds captions to a web video, uses VTT. Many website builders and course platforms ask for VTT too.
• You need captions placed somewhere specific, for example at the top of the screen while a name appears at the bottom.
• Web players for courses and company videos, which are usually built on the browser's own video player.

If you're not sure, choose SRT. You can turn it into VTT later in a minute.

Make the file

1. Open the subtitle generator and choose your file.
2. Under Format, pick SRT (works with most video players and editors) or VTT (for websites and web video players).
3. Under Choose a file, pick your video or just its audio (up to 500 MB and 60 minutes).
4. Press Start, then Download result. The file is kept for 1 hour.

The language spoken is detected automatically, and lines are split between words at about 42 characters so they fit on screen. You get timed text with no styling, which suits both formats.

It's free for videos up to 2 minutes, and longer files, up to 60 minutes, need Pro. Your file is uploaded, deleted as soon as the subtitles are made, and the subtitle file is deleted after 1 hour. If your video is long but you only need captions for one clip, cut it first with trim video.

For uploading the file to YouTube, a player or an editor, see how to add subtitles to a video.

Converting SRT to VTT by hand

Because both are plain text, you can switch formats yourself:

1. Open the .srt file in a plain text editor.
2. Add WEBVTT as the very first line, followed by an empty line.
3. Use find and replace to change the comma in each time to a full stop: , becomes . in lines containing -->. Be careful not to change commas in the caption text.
4. Save as filename.vtt with UTF-8 encoding.

The cue numbers can stay; VTT treats them as optional labels. Going the other way (VTT to SRT), remove the header and any NOTE or STYLE blocks, add numbers, and change the full stops back to commas. If the VTT uses positioning, that's lost in SRT.

For a long file, it's often easier to generate the subtitles again in the other format.

Mistakes that break subtitle files

• Saving in the wrong encoding. Hindi, accented or other non-English text turns into gibberish unless the file is saved as UTF-8.
• Word processors. Editing in Word can add hidden formatting or "smart" quotes. Use Notepad, TextEdit in plain-text mode, or a code editor.
• Deleting the blank lines between captions. Each caption block must be separated by an empty line.
• Overlapping times, where one caption ends after the next one starts. Players handle this differently, so fix it.

Generate your subtitles

Pick SRT or VTT and get timed captions from the subtitle generator. Videos up to 2 minutes are free.