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Add Subtitles to a Video

Put captions into the picture so no player can turn them off.

Add subtitles to a video by burning an SRT or VTT file into the picture, so captions show everywhere. Choose size, colour and position. Free, no upload.

What Add Subtitles to a Video is for

For captions that cannot be switched off: social platforms that ignore subtitle tracks, players that never learned to show them, and the majority of people who watch with the sound off.

Worth knowing

Burned-in captions survive re-uploads and platforms that ignore subtitle tracks, because they are part of the image rather than a separate stream.

Hardcoded versus soft subtitles

Soft subtitles are a separate track the viewer can turn on or off, but many apps ignore them: Instagram, WhatsApp and most social feeds never show them. Burning them in writes the words into the picture, so they appear everywhere, always.

Readable captions

Keep the text large enough for a phone, and use the box behind the text over busy footage. For vertical video, place captions a little above the bottom, where apps put their own buttons.

How to use it

  1. Add your files. Drop them on the page or choose them. They stay on your device.
  2. Set the output format and quality. The defaults suit most files.
  3. Press convert and save the results, individually or as one ZIP.

Questions

What is the difference between burned-in and separate subtitles?

A separate track can be switched off, restyled and translated, but only if the player supports it. Burned-in captions are part of the picture, so they always appear and can never be removed.

Which subtitle files can I use?

SRT and WebVTT, which is what almost every subtitle tool produces, along with ASS and SSA for styled captions.

My subtitles appear at the wrong time. Can I fix that?

Yes, but before burning them in. The subtitle converter shifts every cue by the same amount, which is the usual fix for a file made for a different release of the same video.

Can I change how the captions look?

Size, colour, position and an optional panel behind the text. Keep the outline on: it is what makes white text readable over a bright scene.