Subtitle converter: SRT, VTT, ASS and SBV

Q: How do I convert SRT to VTT?

Drop the .srt file here, leave Convert to on VTT and press Convert. The times are rewritten with a dot instead of a comma, the WEBVTT header is added, and characters that break a web player (a stray “&” or “<”) are escaped. It takes a fraction of a second, and VTT to SRT works the same way in reverse.

Q: What is the difference between SRT and VTT?

SRT is the simplest subtitle format and the most widely supported: VLC, TVs, media players and editing software all read it. VTT (WebVTT) is the web’s version — the HTML5 video player’s `` element only accepts VTT — and it can also carry positions, colors and speaker names. Use VTT for a website, SRT for almost everything else.

Q: Can I get just the text, without times?

Yes. Choose Text only and you get a transcript: one line per caption, with no numbers or times, and repeated lines from roll-up captions merged.

Turn SRT into VTT for a web player, VTT into SRT for a TV or VLC, or either into ASS or YouTube’s SBV — and fix subtitles that show up too early, too late or drifting.

Choose subtitle files or drop them here SRT, VTT, ASS, SSA, SBV Any number of files at once. They are text, so it takes a moment.

Settings appear once you add a subtitle file.

Convert to

Shift every line by

Positive shows the lines later, negative earlier. 0 leaves the timing alone.

Frame-rate fix

For subtitles that start right and drift further out as the film goes on.

Advanced 1

Remove styling (italics, colors, positions) Plain text only, for players that print the tags instead of using them.

Done on your device No upload, no queue, no sign-up.

Bytes sent anywhere: 0 B Bytes of your files sent anywhere: 0 B · nothing leaves this tab

How to use it

Your subtitle file goes into this browser tab, is rewritten in the new format on your device, and comes back with the timings intact or shifted as you set. 0 bytes uploaded

Add your files

Drop one subtitle file or a whole season’s worth — SRT, VTT, ASS, SSA or SBV.
Check the settings

Choose the format you need. If the words appear early or late, enter the difference in seconds.
Save the result

Save the new files, all in UTF-8, so accents and non-Latin scripts show up correctly everywhere.

Why it doesn’t upload

Subtitles are the script of whatever they belong to: an unreleased cut, an interview, a family video. Converting them is a few milliseconds of text processing, so there is nothing to gain by sending them to a server — they are read and rewritten in this tab.

How to check for yourself

Worth knowing

Styling travels only where both formats have it. Italic, bold and underline survive between SRT, VTT and ASS; ASS positions, fonts and colors are dropped when going to SRT or VTT, because those formats describe them differently or not at all.
DVD and Blu-ray subtitles (.sub/.idx, .sup) are pictures of text, not text. They need OCR first and this tool does not read them.
The shift moves every line by the same amount. If the gap grows through the film, that is a frame-rate mismatch — use the frame-rate fix instead, or as well.
Files are always saved as UTF-8. SRT uses Windows line endings, which older TVs and set-top boxes expect.

SRT or VTT: which to use

Choose VTT when the subtitles are going onto a website. The HTML <track> element that browsers use for captions only reads WebVTT, and most online video platforms and course builders prefer it.

Choose SRT for everything else: VLC, a smart TV, a USB stick in a set-top box, Premiere, DaVinci Resolve or a phone player. It is older and plainer, which is exactly why nearly everything reads it.

The two are close cousins. Apart from the header, the main visible difference is the comma in an SRT time (00:01:02,500) where VTT has a dot (00:01:02.500) — which is why renaming the file is not enough, and a player rejects it.

Questions

How do I convert SRT to VTT?

Drop the .srt file here, leave Convert to on VTT and press Convert. The times are rewritten with a dot instead of a comma, the WEBVTT header is added, and characters that break a web player (a stray “&” or “<”) are escaped. It takes a fraction of a second, and VTT to SRT works the same way in reverse.

What is the difference between SRT and VTT?

SRT is the simplest subtitle format and the most widely supported: VLC, TVs, media players and editing software all read it. VTT (WebVTT) is the web’s version — the HTML5 video player’s <track> element only accepts VTT — and it can also carry positions, colors and speaker names. Use VTT for a website, SRT for almost everything else.

How do I fix subtitles that are out of sync?

Find one line and note how far off it is. If the words come before you hear them, enter a positive shift (say 2.5); if they come after, a negative one (−2.5). If the first lines are right but later ones are further and further off, the subtitles were timed for a different frame rate: pick the matching frame-rate fix.

The file was saved in an older Windows encoding and the player is reading it as UTF-8. This tool detects that, reads it correctly and saves UTF-8, which every modern player and website understands. The result line says when it had to do this.

Which subtitle format does YouTube accept?

YouTube Studio takes SRT, VTT and its own SBV, so any of the three works. SRT is the safe choice. If you downloaded captions from YouTube as SBV, convert them to SRT to use them in a video editor or player.

Can I get just the text, without times?

Yes. Choose Text only and you get a transcript: one line per caption, with no numbers or times, and repeated lines from roll-up captions merged.