About this tool
Add Subtitles to Video draws subtitles permanently into the picture, often called burned-in, hardcoded or open captions. They show on every player and every site, including Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp, where a separate subtitle file would be ignored. Load an SRT, WebVTT, ASS/SSA or SBV file, or type your own lines in the list editor; every line can be edited, retimed or deleted.
Style them to suit the video: 18 fonts, size, bold, text colour, an outline in any colour and thickness, and a box behind each line or one band behind the whole subtitle. Put them at the bottom or the top, set the distance from the edge and the longest line before wrapping. Italic, bold and underlined words from the file are kept. If the subtitles are early or late, shift them all by a few tenths of a second.
Drag the preview to any moment and the subtitle is drawn exactly as it will be saved. When you’re happy, the video is re-encoded with the subtitles on every frame, keeping the sound as it is. Nothing is uploaded: the whole job runs in your browser.
How to use Add Subtitles to Video
- Tap “Choose a video” or drop a video on the box.
- Press “Load SRT, VTT or ASS” to open a subtitle file, or play the preview to a moment and press “Add line here” to type your own.
- Fix any line in the list: its start and end times and its text. The eye button jumps the preview to that line.
- Under “Look and timing” pick the font, size, colours, outline, background and position. Use the timing shift if they’re out of step.
- Press “Burn in subtitles”, watch the result, then press “Download video”. “Save .srt” keeps a copy of the subtitle lines too.
A 2-minute interview with an English SRT that runs half a second late: load the video and the SRT, press “−0.5” on the timing shift, choose Montserrat at 6% with a black box at 60% opacity, and burn it in. The saved MP4 shows the same subtitles on any phone, with no subtitle file needed.
Features
- Reads SRT, WebVTT, ASS/SSA and SBV files saved as UTF-8, UTF-16 or older Windows (Western) text, keeping italic, bold and underline.
- A list editor to type, retime and delete lines, plus “Save .srt” to keep the lines as a file.
- 18 bundled fonts, size, bold, text colour, outline colour and thickness.
- Background: none, a rounded box behind each line, or one band behind the whole subtitle, with colour and opacity.
- Position at the bottom or top, distance from the edge, and the longest line before it wraps.
- Timing shift for subtitles that are early or late, in steps of a tenth of a second.
- A preview scrubber that shows the burned-in subtitle exactly as it will be saved, highlighting the lines showing.
- Keeps the original sound as it is when the new file can hold it; MP4 or WebM output with three quality levels.
Tips and good to know
- Text at 5–7% of the video’s height reads well on a phone. On a vertical video, keep the longest line at 80% or less.
- White text with a thick black outline works on almost any picture; a semi-transparent box helps over busy or bright scenes.
- Burning in is permanent. Keep your original video and use “Save .srt” so you can change the wording later.
- Social apps put buttons along the bottom of vertical videos. Raise the subtitles with “Distance from the edge” (about 15%) so nothing covers them.
- To translate or convert a subtitle file first, use Subtitle Converter, then load the result here.
Frequently asked questions
Are my video and subtitles uploaded?
No. The video, the subtitle file and the finished video stay on your device; your browser does all the work.
Is it free, and are there limits?
It’s free, with no watermark and no account. Every frame is re-encoded, which takes about as long as the video plays on a typical computer and longer on a phone. Very long or 4K videos may be too much for a phone’s memory.
What is the difference between burned-in and normal subtitles?
Normal (soft) subtitles are a separate track or file that viewers can switch off, and many apps ignore them. Burned-in subtitles are drawn into the picture, so they always show, everywhere, but can’t be turned off or edited afterwards.
Are ASS styles and positions kept?
The words, the timing and italic, bold and underline are kept. ASS colours, fonts and positions are replaced by the look you choose here, so every line is consistent.
My subtitles are out of sync. Can I fix that?
Yes. Use the timing shift: a negative number shows them earlier, a positive one later. For a single line, change its start and end times in the list.
Does it work on a phone, and offline?
Yes, in an up-to-date Chrome, Safari or Edge on phones, tablets and computers, and without the internet once the page has loaded. A computer is much quicker for long videos.
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