What is an SRT file?
An SRT file (SubRip Subtitle, .srt) is a plain text file with the subtitles for a video: each line of dialogue with the time it appears and disappears. It's the most widely supported subtitle format: YouTube, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, CapCut, VLC and most TVs and players read it. This is a real SRT file, exactly as TranscribeNest exports it:
1
00:00:00,500 --> 00:00:03,200
Welcome back to Small Business Hour.
2
00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:08,900
Today I'm talking with Maya Torres, who turned a weekend bakery stall into three shops.
3
00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:11,100
Maya, thanks for coming on.
What each part means
- 1
- The cue number, counting up from 1.
- 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:08,900
- When the line appears and disappears: hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds, with a comma before the milliseconds.
- Today I'm talking with…
- The text shown on screen, on one or two lines.
- (empty line)
- A blank line ends the cue before the next one starts.
What is a VTT file?
A VTT file (WebVTT, .vtt) is the subtitle format made for the web: HTML5 video players load it with a <track> element. It looks almost the same as SRT. Here are the same subtitles as VTT:
WEBVTT
00:00:00.500 --> 00:00:03.200
Welcome back to Small Business Hour.
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:08.900
Today I'm talking with Maya Torres, who turned a weekend bakery stall into three shops.
00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:11.100
Maya, thanks for coming on.
SRT vs VTT: what's the difference?
| SRT | VTT |
|---|
| First line | Nothing special | Starts with WEBVTT |
| Milliseconds | After a comma: 00:00:03,200 | After a dot: 00:00:03.200 |
| Cue numbers | Required | Optional |
| Styling and position | Not standard | Supported (colours, position, alignment) |
| Typical use | YouTube, video editors, VLC, TVs | Web video players (HTML5 <track>) |
Not sure which one you need? Use SRT for YouTube and video editors, and VTT for a video player on a website.
How to use a subtitle file
- YouTube: in YouTube Studio, open Subtitles, pick the video, add a language, then Upload file and choose "With timing".
- VLC: play the video, then Subtitle, Add Subtitle File. Or give the .srt file the same name as the video and keep them in one folder.
- Video editors: Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, CapCut and most other editors can import an SRT file as captions you can restyle.
- Websites: add the .vtt file to your video with
<track kind="captions" src="subtitles.vtt" srclang="en">.