SRT to VTT, converted on your own machine

An .srt and a .vtt are the same captions in different clothing, so converting one to the other is a read and a rewrite — no model, no upload, no waiting. Drop the file in and the download is ready before you have moved the mouse. It goes the other way too, and both come out as plain text if that is what you wanted.

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Or open the full editor to restyle these subtitles and burn them into the video.

How to convert an SRT to a VTT

This one needs no video and no speech model — an .srt and a .vtt hold the same cues in almost the same text format, so the conversion is a reformat rather than a re-transcription. The converter on this page does it instantly.

  1. Drop your .srt onto the converter above. Press the file button or drag the file in. It is read on your device and never uploaded — which for a subtitle file matters as much as for a video, since the transcript is the part that carries what was actually said.

  2. Let it parse the cues. Every cue is read with its start time, end time and text. If a file comes back unreadable it is usually not really an .srt — the common case is a plain .txt transcript with no timings in it, which has nothing to convert.

  3. Download the .vtt. Press Download .vtt. You can also take it back out as .srt, or as plain .txt if what you wanted was the words without the timings.

  4. Know what actually changed. VTT adds a WEBVTT header, uses a full stop rather than a comma before the milliseconds, and drops the cue numbers. That is essentially the whole difference, which is why the conversion is lossless and takes no time.

What actually differs between the two

A VTT file starts with the word WEBVTT, uses a full stop before the milliseconds, and allows cue settings for position and styling. An SRT numbers each caption, uses a comma before the milliseconds, and has no styling at all.

That is the whole of it for ordinary subtitles, which is why the conversion is instant and lossless in the direction people usually need it. Going VTT to SRT drops cue positioning if any was set, because SRT has nowhere to put it.

Why it matters that the file stays here

A subtitle file is a full transcript. For an unreleased film, a client interview or a court recording, it is often the most sensitive artefact in the project — plain text, searchable, trivially readable by anything that receives it.

This converter never sends it anywhere. The file is read in the page, converted in the page, and written back to your downloads folder. Turn the internet off first if you would rather be sure than be told.

Malformed files

The parser is deliberately forgiving: it ignores NOTE blocks and cue settings, accepts stamps with the hours left off, takes a comma or a full stop before the milliseconds, and strips inline tags. Files exported by editors that bend the spec usually still come through.

If nothing is read at all, the file is probably not subtitles — a .txt transcript with no timings cannot become an .srt, because there is nothing to build the timings from.

Questions

Is the conversion lossless?

SRT to VTT, yes — every caption and every timing survives. VTT to SRT drops cue positioning and styling if the file had any, because the SRT format has nowhere to keep it. The text and the timings are untouched either way.

Can I convert several files at once?

One at a time on this page. Each takes about a second, so a handful is quick; a hundred is a job for a script rather than a web page.

Does it work offline?

Yes. Once the page has loaded there is nothing left to fetch — the conversion is arithmetic on text.

What if I need the subtitles burned into the video?

That is a render rather than a conversion. Open the editor, import the subtitle file, restyle it if you like, and export an MP4 with the captions burned in — also on your own device.

Why does my VTT file not work in the browser?

Two usual causes: the file is missing the WEBVTT line at the top, or it is being served with the wrong content type — a <track> element needs text/vtt. Files converted here always start with WEBVTT; the serving side is your web server’s setting.

Can I convert a VTT back to SRT?

Yes, this page does both directions. Drop the .vtt in and download the .srt. Cue positioning and styling are dropped in that direction because SRT has nowhere to keep them; the text and timings are untouched.

Is an SRT the same as a transcript?

No. A transcript is the words; an .srt is the words with timings attached, split into caption-sized lines. You can get the plain text out of one — this page offers it — but you cannot turn a transcript into a subtitle file without timing it against the audio again.

Related free tools

Try it on your own video

Nothing to install, no account, and your video never leaves your device. Unlimited free exports, and a one-off payment when you want the watermark gone.

Caption my video — free