Add subtitles to a video for free
Pick your video and the tool listens to the speech, splits it into short captions and shows them all for you to fix. Then download the SRT or VTT file, or generate an MP4 with the subtitles burned into the picture. The video never leaves your device.
SRT or burned-in subtitles: which to use
| SRT or VTT file | MP4 with burned-in subtitles | |
|---|---|---|
| Where to use it | YouTube, CapCut, Premiere and other editors | Reels, TikTok, Shorts and messaging apps |
| Can you change it later? | Yes, it's just text | No, it's part of the picture |
| Wait | Ready with the transcription | Rebuilds the video frame by frame, takes longer |
| Style | Set by the editor or the platform | One style: white, black outline, centered |
The MP4 comes out in one fixed style. Want your brand's font, color and animation? Download the SRT and import it into your editor. The MP4 limit is 10 minutes of video on a computer and 1 minute on a phone, because the process is heavy. Beyond that, stick with the SRT.
On vertical video, the subtitles sit at mid-screen height, above the strip that the platforms cover with buttons and the description. See the safe area notes in how to make Reels.
Where your file goes
Nowhere. The audio is read and transcribed inside your browser, by your device's processor or graphics card. The internet is only used to download the program and the model: the library comes from jsDelivr, parts of the video engine come from unpkg, the text fonts come from Google Fonts and the Whisper model comes from Hugging Face. None of those addresses receive your file, and no Tavea server takes part in the transcription. The site only logs the page visit, with nothing from the file. Want to check? Transcribe a file, turn off your internet and, in the same tab, transcribe another one: it works the same.
Limits, no sugarcoating
- The first run downloads the model. That's about 27 MB for the engine plus 80 MB for the accurate model or 44 MB for the fast one. Audio over 5 minutes, on a computer with a graphics card, uses a larger version of the model: 209 MB. Burning subtitles into an MP4, or opening a file over 250 MB or in a format the browser can't read, downloads another 32 MB for the video engine. All of it stays in your browser cache, so later runs skip the download. On a phone, use Wi-Fi.
- The model is small. It gets names, brands and technical terms wrong, and it does worse with noise, loud music or several people talking at once. Proofread before you publish.
- In stretches with no speech, it can make up a sentence. We filter out the most common ones, but check any silent or music-only parts.
- Phones: the limit here is 200 MB and 20 minutes of audio, so the tab doesn't crash from lack of memory. On a phone with little memory, even that can fail. On a computer the limit is 2 GB and 2 hours.
- Time: it depends on your device. In our test on a desktop computer, with the model already loaded, a 42 s video took 8 s on the processor, and 6 min of audio took 57 s on the graphics card. A weak device can take longer than the audio itself. Keep the tab open until it finishes.
How to add subtitles to a video
- Choose the video and check the spoken language.
- Pick short captions for vertical video or long ones for horizontal video.
- Click generate. The first time, your browser downloads the model.
- Watch the preview and fix the text and timing in the list.
- Download the SRT or VTT, or generate the MP4 with burned-in subtitles.
Frequently asked questions
Do the subtitles stay in the video or in a separate file?
You choose. SRT and VTT are separate files. The generate MP4 button burns the subtitles into the picture.
Can I edit the subtitles before downloading?
Yes. Text and timing stay open on screen, and the file comes out exactly as it appears there. The preview updates while you edit.
How do I add an SRT to YouTube?
In YouTube Studio, open the video, go to Subtitles, choose to upload a file and select the SRT.
Does Instagram accept SRT files?
For Reels, don't count on it. Use the MP4 with burned-in subtitles or import the SRT into an editor like CapCut.
Can I change the font and color?
Not in the MP4 made here. The style is fixed. To customize it, download the SRT and use it in your editor.
Do the subtitles stay in sync?
Timing comes per stretch of speech. When a stretch is split into short captions, the time is divided by text length, so there can be a small offset. You can adjust it in the list.
Keep reading
Subtitles are done. What about the hook?
People watching on mute read the first line before deciding to stay. After you publish, paste the link into Tavea to see the hook score and the second viewers tend to leave. Your first 2 analyses are free, no card needed.
See your hook scoreUpdated November 5, 2026.