SRT vs VTT: Subtitle Files Explained

Subtitle files are small text files that sit next to a video and tell the player which words to show when. Unlike captions burned into the picture, viewers can turn them on and off, platforms can translate or search them, and you can fix a typo without exporting the video again. The two formats you’ll meet most are SRT and VTT. They are close cousins, and choosing between them is mostly about where the video is going.

What an SRT file looks like

SRT (SubRip Text) is the older and simpler format. Each subtitle has three parts: a number, a time range, and one or two lines of text, followed by a blank line:

1
00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:03,400
Hey everyone, welcome back.

2
00:00:03,900 --> 00:00:06,100
Today I want to show you something new.

Times are written as hours:minutes:seconds,milliseconds, with a comma before the milliseconds. There is no styling, no positioning and no header: just numbered text and times. That simplicity is why almost everything supports SRT.

What a VTT file looks like

WebVTT (Web Video Text Tracks) was designed for video players on the web. A VTT file starts with the line WEBVTT, and its times use a dot instead of a comma:

WEBVTT

00:00:01.200 --> 00:00:03.400
Hey everyone, welcome back.

00:00:03.900 --> 00:00:06.100
Today I want to show you something new.

Cue numbers are optional. VTT can also carry extras that SRT can’t: positioning on screen, basic styling such as bold and italics, notes, and chapter or speaker information. Most people never use those extras, which is why the two formats usually carry exactly the same subtitles.

The differences at a glance

• Header: VTT must start with WEBVTT; SRT has no header.
• Timestamps: SRT uses a comma before milliseconds; VTT uses a dot.
• Numbering: required in SRT, optional in VTT.
• Extras: VTT supports positioning, styling and metadata; SRT is plain text.
• Support: SRT works almost everywhere, especially in editing software; VTT is the standard for web video players.

Which one each platform wants

• YouTube: accepts both SRT and VTT in YouTube Studio’s subtitles section. Uploaded files replace the automatic captions for that language.
• Vimeo: accepts both for captions and subtitles.
• Facebook: uses SRT files for uploaded captions.
• Your own website: the HTML video player reads VTT through the <track> element, so use VTT there.
• Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro: can import SRT as a caption track that you can restyle and edit.
• Course platforms and video hosts: most accept SRT; many also accept VTT. Check the upload screen.
• TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts: they don’t take subtitle files for short videos. Burn the captions into the picture instead, or use each app’s own captions. Our guide to captions for TikTok, Reels and Shorts covers both.

When in doubt, make both: they cost nothing and some platforms only take one.

How to make a subtitle file

You can type one by hand in any text editor, following the examples above, but timing every line by hand is slow. Automatic tools do the heavy lifting:

1. Open the SRT Generator and add your video or audio file. It works with MP3, M4A and WAV too, so podcasts are fine.
2. The tool transcribes the speech in your browser and times every word.
3. Read through and fix any mistakes: click a word to edit it, use Find & replace for names, and split or join lines so each one reads naturally.
4. Download SRT, VTT, or a plain-text transcript. All three contain your edits.

Your recording is processed on your own device, so it isn’t uploaded to a transcription service.

Good subtitles, whichever format

• Keep lines short: about 32 to 42 characters per line and at most two lines on screen at once.
• Give people time to read: each subtitle should stay up long enough to read comfortably, but not linger over silence.
• Break at natural points: end a subtitle at a comma or the end of a phrase, not in the middle of a name.
• Save as UTF-8: this keeps accents, curly quotes and emoji from turning into strange symbols. Good tools do this for you.
• Avoid overlaps: two subtitles shouldn’t be on screen at the same time unless the format and player support it.

Converting between SRT and VTT

Because the formats are so similar, converting is simple: add the WEBVTT line, change the commas in the times to dots, and you have a VTT file. Going the other way, remove the header, change dots to commas and number the subtitles. Tools that export both, like the SRT Generator and Auto Captions, save you the bother.

Subtitle file or burned-in captions?

Use a subtitle file for long videos, YouTube, courses and anything where viewers may want to turn captions off or read them in another language. Burn captions in for short-form social video, where the app won’t take a file and the caption style is part of the look. Many creators do both from the same transcript.