Subtitle Generator — Auto-Generate Subtitles from Video or Audio (Free)
Upload any video or audio file. Get accurate subtitles in 100+ languages with word-level timestamps. Download as SRT, VTT, or TXT — or burn in with custom styling. 30 minutes free, no credit card.
30 min free · SRT / VTT / TXT / burn-in · 100+ languages · Whisper Large-v3
TL;DR
VexaScribe's subtitle generator turns any audio or video into SRT, VTT, TXT, or burned-in subtitles using Whisper Large-v3 in 100+ languages. 30 minutes free, no credit card. Paid plans from $2/mo (200 min) to $20/mo (6,000 min) — roughly $0.60 to $0.20 per hour of media.
Subtitle vs caption — which do you actually want?
Most tools use the terms interchangeably. The technical difference matters for accessibility compliance.
| Format | What it contains | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| Subtitles | Dialogue only — for viewers who can hear the audio | Language translation, sound-off social feeds |
| Closed captions | Dialogue + [music], [applause], speaker labels | ADA / WCAG accessibility compliance |
For the full breakdown of ADA, WCAG 2.1 SC 1.2.2/1.2.4, and DOJ Title II 2024, see What is closed captioning?
How the subtitle generator works
Upload
Drag-and-drop MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, MP4, MOV, MKV, or WebM. Files up to 5GB.
Generate
Whisper Large-v3 transcribes and produces word-level timestamps in 100+ languages. Processing takes 20–40% of the media duration.
Download or burn in
Export SRT, VTT, or TXT — or burn subtitles into the video with your font, size, color, and position.
Which format do I need for my platform?
Every platform accepts subtitles differently. Instagram and YouTube Shorts don't support sidecar SRT on native uploads — you have to burn in. Long-form and desktop platforms prefer SRT.
| Platform | Delivery | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube long-form | SRT | Upload in YouTube Studio → Subtitles. VTT also accepted. |
| YouTube Shorts | Burn-in | Sidecar SRTs are cropped by the vertical UI — burn in for reliability. |
| Instagram Reels | Burn-in | Instagram does not accept SRT upload on Reels (help.instagram.com). Burn in only. |
| TikTok | Burn-in OR SRT base | TikTok caption editor accepts an SRT base; most creators burn in for style control. |
| LinkedIn native video | SRT | Upload SRT in the LinkedIn video composer. |
| Facebook video | SRT | Upload via Creator Studio → Captions. |
| Vimeo | SRT or VTT | Vimeo player supports both; SRT is simplest. |
| Podcast platforms | TXT | Use TXT for show notes and episode transcripts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify). |
| Corporate LMS | SRT or VTT | Most LMS platforms (Cornerstone, Docebo, Canvas) accept both. VTT if you need positioning. |
For a deeper dive on the SRT format, see what is an SRT file? For YouTube specifically, YouTube Studio SRT upload is documented at support.google.com/youtube. Already have an SRT and just need to translate it to another language? Use the dedicated subtitle translator — timestamps preserved, 133 target languages.
Customizing burned-in subtitle style
When you burn subtitles into the video, you control every visual attribute. Common presets for short-form:
- • Font: Inter, Roboto, Montserrat, or Impact (broadcast-style). Custom fonts by upload.
- • Size: 24–48pt on a 1080×1920 vertical frame; 32–60pt for aggressive social styles.
- • Color: White text with a black outline, or brand-color solid fill with drop shadow.
- • Position: Bottom third (default), centered, or upper-third to avoid TikTok/Reels UI overlays.
- • Karaoke / word-highlight: Highlight the active word as it's spoken — matches CapCut and VEED style presets.
- • Background: Transparent, solid, or semi-transparent pill behind each cue.
Language coverage and accuracy
We use OpenAI Whisper Large-v3, which covers 100+ languages. Accuracy varies by language and audio quality. The table below shows word error rate (WER) on the model's benchmark set — lower is better.
| Language | Whisper Large-v3 WER |
|---|---|
| English | ~4.2% |
| Spanish | ~4% |
| French | ~4% |
| Italian | ~5% |
| German | ~5% |
| Portuguese | ~5% |
| Dutch | ~6% |
| Polish | ~6% |
| Russian | ~6% |
| Turkish | ~7% |
| Japanese | ~7% |
| Korean | ~7% |
| Ukrainian | ~7% |
| Mandarin | ~8% |
| Arabic | ~8% |
Source: Radford et al., Robust Speech Recognition via Large-Scale Weak Supervision, arXiv:2212.04356, Table 5. WER measured on FLEURS/CommonVoice benchmark subsets. Real-world audio (background noise, heavy accents, technical vocabulary) will show higher WER.
Editing subtitles after generation
Every subtitle project opens in a full editor with the video preview synced to the cues. You can:
- • Fix misheard words with click-to-edit — timestamps update automatically.
- • Merge or split cues at word boundaries for readability.
- • Rename speakers and preserve speaker labels through SRT export.
- • Adjust cue duration to match speaker delivery (dramatic pauses, fast dialogue).
- • Add non-speech notation like [applause] or [music] for accessibility compliance.
- • Re-export as SRT, VTT, TXT, or a re-burned MP4 without regenerating from scratch.
Bulk generation
Upload up to 50 files at once for batch processing on any paid plan. Useful for course creators subtitling a full module, agencies processing a client backlog, or podcasters generating show-note transcripts across an entire season. Each file lands in your library as an independent project with its own editor and export options.
When to hire a human transcriptionist instead
AI subtitle generators land at 92–96% accuracy on clean audio. For contexts where the remaining 4–8% is unacceptable, use a human service:
- • Broadcast television — FCC accuracy standards require near-perfect captions.
- • Legal proceedings — court transcripts and depositions need certified accuracy.
- • Medical dictation — drug names and procedures where a single misheard word has clinical consequences.
- • Named entities under legal review — patents, contracts, regulatory filings.
A common workflow: run AI generation first (fast + cheap), then hand the SRT to a human editor for a review pass. Services like Rev and Happy Scribe offer human review at $1.50–$2.00 per audio minute — see our comparison of subtitle tools for details.
Frequently asked questions
Hoe genereer ik ondertitels van audio?
Upload je audio- of videobestand naar VexaScribe via drag-and-drop of de bestandskiezer. Onze AI-transcriptie-engine verwerkt het bestand, detecteert gesproken woorden met nauwkeurige tijdstempels en genereert een ondertitelbestand. Na afloop kun je exporteren als SRT- of VTT-formaat — beide zijn compatibel met YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn en de meeste video-editors. Het hele proces duurt slechts enkele minuten voor de meeste bestanden.
Welke ondertitelformaten ondersteunt VexaScribe?
VexaScribe exporteert ondertitels in SRT- (SubRip) en VTT-formaat (WebVTT). SRT is het meest ondersteunde formaat en werkt met YouTube, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro en de meeste sociale-mediaplatforms. VTT is het webgebaseerde formaat dat wordt gebruikt door HTML5-videospelers en wordt ook geaccepteerd door YouTube en andere platforms.
Hoe nauwkeurig zijn AI-gegenereerde ondertitels?
De nauwkeurigheid hangt af van de audiokwaliteit, achtergrondgeluid en de duidelijkheid van de spreker. Bij heldere opnames met minimaal achtergrondgeluid levert VexaScribe doorgaans een hoge nauwkeurigheid die geschikt is voor professioneel gebruik. Je kunt de ondertitels bekijken en bewerken in de ingebouwde editor voordat je ze exporteert. Bij content met sterke accenten of vakjargon wordt een snelle controle aanbevolen.
Kan ik ondertitels in verschillende talen genereren?
Ja, VexaScribe genereert ondertitels in 99 talen, waaronder Engels, Spaans, Frans, Duits, Portugees, Italiaans, Chinees, Japans, Koreaans, Arabisch, Hindi en nog veel meer. De taal wordt automatisch gedetecteerd uit de audio, of je kunt deze handmatig opgeven voor het beste resultaat.
Wat is het verschil tussen SRT- en VTT-ondertitelbestanden?
SRT (SubRip) is het meest gebruikte ondertitelformaat — eenvoudig, universeel en geaccepteerd door vrijwel elk videoplatform en elke editor. VTT (WebVTT) is het nieuwere webgebaseerde formaat dat extra opmaak ondersteunt, zoals letterkleur en positionering. Voor de meeste toepassingen is SRT de veiligste keuze. Kies VTT als je webweergave of aangepaste opmaak nodig hebt.
Kan ik ondertitels bewerken voordat ik ze download?
Ja. Na de transcriptie kun je het volledige transcript bekijken en bewerken in de ingebouwde editor van VexaScribe. Corrigeer woorden, pas de timing aan, hernoem sprekers en exporteer vervolgens de gecorrigeerde versie als SRT of VTT. Zo krijg je professionele ondertitels zonder handmatig timingwerk.
Welke video- en audioformaten kan ik uploaden?
VexaScribe accepteert alle gangbare audioformaten (MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, OGG, AAC) en videoformaten (MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, WebM). Bij videobestanden wordt het audiospoor automatisch geëxtraheerd. Bestanden tot 5 GB worden ondersteund.
Hoeveel kost het genereren van ondertitels?
Het genereren van ondertitels gebruikt dezelfde prijzen als transcriptie. De gratis proefperiode bevat 30 minuten. Betaalde abonnementen beginnen bij $2/maand voor 200 minuten (Starter), $5/maand voor 1.000 minuten (Basic), $10/maand voor 2.500 minuten (Pro) en $20/maand voor 6.000 minuten (Studio). Een video van 1 uur kost ongeveer $0,30 om te ondertitelen op het Basic-abonnement.
Comparing tools?
If you're shopping around, we ranked 12 subtitle generators (including ours, honestly at #3) on accuracy, free-tier reality, format support, and per-hour cost.
See the 12-tool ranking →