MP4 to SRT: subtitles for your video
Upload an MP4 or MOV, or paste the link of a public video, and download what's said in it as an SRT file whose captions start at the right second of the video. The picture isn't touched: the file goes on YouTube, into your editor or next to the video in a player.
Convert a video to SRT
Free: 30 min a month, no card. Your file stays in this browser until you sign up. Compare plans
- About an hour of video in about two minutes
- SRT and VTT exports on Free too
The SRT a video gets
The speech of NASA's Apollo 11 landing, transcribed by PrismaScribe and exported as SRT: each caption numbered, with the moment it appears and disappears, the speaker's name opening their paragraph. A video's sound track comes out exactly this way, and the same transcript also gives the VTT and the Word file.
Apollo 11 landing.srt
- 100:00:00,500 to 00:00:05,980Neil Armstrong: Houston, uh, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
- 200:00:06,640 to 00:00:08,478CAPCOM, Charlie Duke: Roger, Twang...
- 300:00:08,478 to 00:00:12,494Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue.
- 400:00:12,494 to 00:00:14,720We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. [beeping]
Apollo 11 landing.vtt
WEBVTT
- 100:00:00.500 to 00:00:05.980Neil Armstrong: Houston, uh, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
- 200:00:06.640 to 00:00:11.301CAPCOM, Charlie Duke: Roger, Twang... Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys
- 300:00:11.301 to 00:00:14.720CAPCOM, Charlie Duke: about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. [beeping]
Apollo 11 landing
Neil Armstrong
[0:00] Houston, uh, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
CAPCOM, Charlie Duke
[0:06] Roger, Twang... Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. [beeping]
Captions sized for the screen you film for
A phone screen holds fewer words per line than a laptop. Choose the caption length, the time it may stay up and whether speakers are named, then export. Here is one transcript exported both ways.
- From 40 to 200 characters a caption, on one line, 84 by default. The shortest setting suits vertical video.
- From 3 to 15 seconds, 7 by default, decide where a long paragraph is split; the split falls on its characters. A short paragraph said slowly stays a single caption.
- Names: the SRT puts [Neil Armstrong] on a speaker's first caption in a paragraph; the VTT puts <v Neil Armstrong> on each one. Or leave names out.
- These settings live in the web app. The iPhone app exports subtitles at 84 characters and 7 seconds.
The default, with names
- Characters per caption
- 84
- Seconds per caption
- 7
- Speaker names
- On
Apollo 11 landing.srt
- 100:00:00,500 to 00:00:05,980Neil Armstrong: Houston, uh, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
- 200:00:06,640 to 00:00:08,478CAPCOM, Charlie Duke: Roger, Twang...
- 300:00:08,478 to 00:00:12,494Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue.
- 400:00:12,494 to 00:00:14,720We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. [beeping]
Shortest, for a phone screen
- Characters per caption
- 40
- Seconds per caption
- 3
- Speaker names
- Off
Apollo 11 landing.srt
- 100:00:00,500 to 00:00:03,925Houston, uh, Tranquility Base here.
- 200:00:03,925 to 00:00:05,980The Eagle has landed.
- 300:00:06,640 to 00:00:08,688Roger, Twang... Tranquility. We copy
- 400:00:08,688 to 00:00:09,712you on the ground.
- 500:00:09,712 to 00:00:11,818You got a bunch of guys about to turn
- 600:00:11,818 to 00:00:13,923blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a
- 700:00:13,923 to 00:00:14,720lot. [beeping]
Putting the SRT on your video
The converter makes the subtitle file; the place the video plays shows it.
- Uploading to YouTube or Vimeo. Add the SRT in the video's subtitle settings. Both sites accept SRT and VTT and let viewers switch the captions on.
- Finishing the cut in an editor. Import the SRT as a caption track in Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut Pro, then set its look there.
- Watching in a player. Save the SRT beside the MP4 with the same file name, and VLC and many players load it with the video.
- Embedding on a site. Take the VTT for a video on your own page or in a course; web players read it.
- If you trim the video afterwards. Caption times count from the first second of the file you uploaded. Cut the start off later and the captions run early, so export subtitles from the final cut.
- The words as text too. The same transcript downloads as TXT or Word. MP4 to text covers that.
How to convert MP4 to SRT
Video in, subtitle file out, in three steps after you sign in.
1 Add the video
Upload the MP4 or MOV, or paste the link if the video is public on YouTube, Vimeo or another site we import from. Choose its language, or leave it on detect.
2 Correct the captions' words
Click a word to hear the video at that point and fix it. Name each speaker once and every caption uses the name.
3 Export the SRT
Choose SRT, or VTT for the web, set the caption length and seconds and whether names show, and download. Your fixes are in the file.
30 min of free transcription a month, no card.
Subtitles for viewers in another language
Translate
Translate the video's transcript into any of 99+ languages and export the translation as a second SRT or VTT. Upload both to the video and viewers pick their language.
- Each translated line becomes one caption, shown at the original line's times.
- A translated file carries no names or caption settings, and exports as TXT, SRT or VTT only.
More
Copy all
Export
- TXT
- SRT, selected
- VTT
Apollo 11 landing_es.srt
- 100:00:00,500 to 00:00:05,980Houston, eh, aquí Base Tranquilidad. El Águila ha aterrizado.
- 200:00:06,640 to 00:00:14,720Recibido, Tranq... Tranquilidad. Los copiamos en tierra. Tenían a un montón de tipos a punto de ponerse azules. Volvemos a respirar. Muchas gracias. [pitidos]
MP4 in, SRT out
What the converter takes from a video, and what the SRT holds.
MP4 or MOV, the video you bring
An MP4 or a MOV is a container: picture, sound and details in one file. The converter listens to the sound track only, so a talking-head video, a screen recording and a phone clip all work the same. Video is heavy for its length: an HD phone clip reaches a plan's file size before its time limit.
- One minute of HD phone video
- About 60 MB at 1080p and 30 fps
- 15 min of it
- Roughly 900 MB, beyond Free's 500 MB
- HD video in one file
- About 30 min on Starter and Premium (2 GB), 1 hr 25 min on Pro (5 GB)
- Also video to SRT
- AVI, MKV, WEBM, WMV, FLV, 3GP and MPEG
The size a minute is iPhone's own estimate under Settings › Camera › Record Video for 1080p HD at 30 fps. 4K is about three times larger; other cameras differ.
SRT, the subtitle file
An SRT is a text file of numbered captions, each with the time it appears and disappears and one line of words. It doesn't change the MP4; the player lays it over the picture. The same export can be a VTT, the web's version.
- Timing
- Start and end of every caption, to the millisecond
- A caption
- One line, 40 to 200 characters
- Speaker names
- On or off, as you choose
- Plays on
- YouTube, Vimeo, video editors, VLC and other players
SubRip (.srt) and WebVTT (.vtt) are both on YouTube's and Vimeo's lists of caption files they accept.
What it doesn't do
Worth knowing before the video goes up.
- No subtitles burned into the MP4. You get a separate SRT or VTT, and the video file stays exactly as it was.
- No words read off the screen. On-screen titles, slides and subtitles already in the video aren't picked up. Only spoken words are.
- No private or sign-in videos by link. Members-only and private videos can't be fetched. Upload the file itself.
- No restyling. Font, colour and position are set in the player or editor.
- No SRT in, no other subtitle formats out. An SRT you already have can't be opened here, and there's no SBV, SCC, TTML or ASS export.
Good to know
- On a paid plan you can add custom vocabulary and remove background noise. Custom vocabulary counts as 1.25× the minutes, noise removal as 2×.
- Free covers 30 min a month, no more than 15 min in a day, one video at a time.
- On Free, only the first 15 min of a longer uploaded video is transcribed; a linked video has to be cut to 15 min with a start and end time.
- Top-up hours remove Free's daily and per-file time limits, but the 500 MB cap on file size stays.
Plans
Monthly and yearly prices for every plan. The full comparison is on the pricing page.
30 min a month, files up to 15 min
- Monthly
- $0
- Yearly
- $0
5 hr a month, files up to 5 hr
- Monthly
- $7 a month
- Yearly
- $52 a year, Save 38%$4.33 a month, billed once a year
20 hr a month, files up to 5 hr
- Monthly
- $20 a month
- Yearly
- $150 a year, Save 38%$12.50 a month, billed once a year
40 hr a month, files up to 8 hr 20 min
- Monthly
- $40 a month
- Yearly
- $300 a year, Save 38%$25 a month, billed once a year
Your videos stay yours
- Encrypted while uploading and in storage, opened only by you and whoever you share with.
- Not used to train AI models, ever.
- Kept until you choose to delete them.
MP4 to SRT FAQ
Can't find your answer? Write to hello@prismascribe.ai.
How do I convert an MP4 to SRT?
Create a free account, then upload the MP4 or paste its link if it's a public video. Leave the language on detect or pick it, and start. Once the transcript is ready, fix any word, open the export window, choose SRT, set the caption length and seconds, and download. You can leave the page meanwhile; an email lets you know when the transcript is waiting in your dashboard.
Is the MP4 to SRT converter free?
Yes, on Free, with no card: 30 min a month, up to 15 min a day, for videos up to 15 min and 500 MB, one at a time. The SRT and VTT exports and their caption settings are included, with nothing locked behind a payment. For longer videos, compare the plans or buy top-up hours that never expire.
My video is too large for the free plan. What now?
HD phone footage runs at about 60 MB a minute, so 15 min of it comes to around 900 MB, more than Free's 500 MB. If the video is on YouTube, Vimeo or another site we import from, paste the link: only the sound is downloaded, so the video's size doesn't count. Or export a lighter copy, 720p or audio only, from your editor; the captions still line up because the timing is the same.
Does it convert MOV and other video to SRT?
Yes. MOV to SRT, the format iPhones film in, works exactly like MP4, and so do AVI, MKV, WEBM, WMV, FLV, 3GP and MPEG. Any of them comes back as SRT or VTT. For an audio file instead, see MP3 to SRT, and for any recording, the subtitle generator.
Can I use a YouTube link instead of the MP4 file?
Yes, on the website: one public video per link from YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, X, Instagram, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Loom, Dailymotion or SoundCloud. Private, members-only and sign-in videos can't be fetched. Set a start and an end to subtitle only part of the video, and remember the captions then count from that start.
Will the captions line up with my video?
Yes, when you add them to the video you uploaded. Every caption's time is measured from the first second of that file, to the millisecond. If you trim the start of the video afterwards, the captions will appear early; export the subtitles from the final version instead.
Does it burn the subtitles into the MP4?
No. You download a separate SRT or VTT file, and the MP4 stays as it was. YouTube, Vimeo, your editor or a player shows the file as captions over the picture.
Does it read text shown in the video?
No. Only speech in the sound track becomes captions. Titles, slides, signs and subtitles already on screen are ignored, and a video with music but no talking gives no captions.
Can the SRT show who is talking, and how long each caption is?
Both. Up to 32 speakers are told apart on every plan; name them once and, with names on, the SRT shows the name in square brackets where each speaker's paragraph starts. On the web, set 40 to 200 characters and 3 to 15 seconds per caption. How speaker identification works.
Can I make SRT subtitles in another language?
Yes. Translate the transcript into any of 99+ languages and export the translation as SRT, VTT or TXT: one caption per translated line, on that line's times, without names or caption settings. Free includes 20,000 characters of translation a month. Translate video.
More from a video, and other subtitle pages
The same MP4 as another file, SRT from other recordings, and every format.
Other files from an MP4
SRT from other files
Every format
Give your next MP4 its SRT.
30 min of free transcription a month, no card.
One recording in.
Everything you need out.