Make SRT File

Generate and download a captions file for a video.
Make SRT File Screenshot

Automatically Generate or Edit an SRT File

Closed captions are essential for posting engaging videos on social media. With Kapwing’s Subtitle Editor, generate a transcription using AI technology in seconds. Then, download the file in the SRT format (short for “Subrip Subtitles”) to publish on a native video player like YouTube, Instagram, or another social media platform.

Rather than manually editing an SRT file, creators can make changes to each line of text and its timings while previewing the subtitles on their video. Upgrade to download your captions as SRT files or embed the captions directly into your video for free.

Automatically Generate or Edit an SRT File Screenshot

How to Make and Edit an SRT File for a Video

How to Make and Edit an SRT File for a Video
  1. Upload Video
    Upload the video that you want to add captions to. Trim and edit the video inline.
  2. Generate, Type, or Import Subtitles
    Use Kapwing’s smart technology to auto-generate subtitles on your video. Or, type them manually. Then, adjust the text and timing to make the captions perfect.
  3. Download SRT File
    Find the “Download SRT” option in the left-hand column to get the transferable subrip file for social media.

What is an SRT File?

A .SRT file (or a subrip file) is a special file type for storing captions and timings. It’s essentially a text file that contains a numbered list of captions. Each section of the .SRT file contains a number, start time, end time, the caption text, and a new line to signify when the text should appear as an overlay on the video. Time stamps are represented as Hours:Minutes:Seconds, Milliseconds. There’s a specific formatting: the times must appear as HH:MM:SS,MS with an arrow " –> " exactly between the start and end time.

SRT files are useful when uploading Closed Captions to social media platforms. Video sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube and hosting platforms like Wistia and Vimeo rely on SRT files to show dynamic subtitles to the viewer. These captions will only appear when the user clicks the “CC” button in the viewer — if you want the text to appear for every viewer, you have to add Open Captions instead. Most hosting platforms have a space to upload an SRT file before you publish, then display the subtitles within the native video viewer depending on the user’s settings.

Subtitles make videos on social media more engaging for people with the sound off and more accessible to people with hearing disabilities. If you have multiple audiences who speak different languages, you might want to upload an SRT to the platform instead of burning the text directly into the video so that different languages appear for different viewers.

Use Kapwing’s SRT file editor to avoid this finicky formatting and reduce the high cost of ordering caption files for every video you make. Kapwing’s platform allows you to generate or type out subtitles, time them out against the video, and then download a new updated SRT file. This editor makes it much easier to listen to the video and create an SRT file to match the audio track or automatically extract the subtitles from the video’s audio track.

If you have a Kapwing Pro Workspace, you can now download your subtitles as an SRT file. Just open the subtitle maker, generate or type out the text, adjust the timings, and click the “Download SRT” button in the left column.

If you want to get the SRT file for videos that you’ve already created, just click “Edit” to go back to the subtitle editor and download the SRT file retroactively. We hope that this new functionality makes it easier for Kapwing Pro customers to produce captioned social media videos at scale.

Frequently Asked Questions

Bob, our kitten, thinking

Can I import an existing SRT File?

Yes! You can. Open Kapwing’s subtitle maker and click the “Import” button to bring existing captions into the editor. Then, you can make tweaks to the text and timings and save a new version of the SRT file. You can also translate an existing SRT file to get closed captions in a different language.

Which social media platforms support SRT files?

Most of them do. YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other websites support SRT uploads. It’s not clear if TikTok or Snapchat support SRT captions.

What languages does Kapwing’s subtitle generator work in?

Kapwing’s subtitle maker can generate captions for hundreds of languages and dialects. Creators can use Kapwing to make and edit SRT files in English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Italian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Hindi, and hundreds of other languages. Select the original dialect for best results.

What's different about Kapwing?

Easy
Easy
Start creating immediately with thousands of templates and copyright free videos, images, music, and GIFs. Repurpose content from the internet by pasting a link.
Free
Free
Kapwing is completely free to start. Just upload a video and start editing. Supercharge your editing workflow with our powerful online tools.
Accessible
Accessible
Automatically subtitle and translate videos with our AI-powered Subtitler tool. Caption your videos in seconds, so that no viewers get left behind.
Online
Online
Kapwing is cloud based, which means your videos are wherever you are. Use it on any device and access your content anywhere in the world.
No spam or ads
No spam or ads
We don't serve ads: we're committed to building a quality, trustworthy website. And we will never spam you nor sell your information to anyone.
Powerful
Powerful
Kapwing works hard to help make the content you want, when you want it. Get started on your project today.
Spotify
Google
Code.Org
Dyson
NYU
Facebook
Columbia
Whole Foods
Verizon
Harvard
UK Parliament
Louis Vuitton
Alberta
Reivews Gradient Background
Trusted by millions of creators all over the world
Headshot of Michael Trader
Best online video service ever. And a miracle for deaf people.
[Subtitler] is able to autogenerate subtitles for video in almost any language. I'm deaf (or almost deaf, to be correct) and thanks to Kapwing I'm now able understand and react on videos from my friends :)
Michael Trader
Information Services Freelancer
Headshot of Dina Segovia
This tool should be in every social media account managers' bookmark list.
I use this daily to help with video editing. Even if you're a pro video editor, there is no need to be spending hours trying to get the format correct. Kapwing does the hard work for you.
Dina Segovia
Virtual Freelance Worker
Headshot of Eunice Park
It just works!
Kapwing is incredibly intuitive. Many of our marketers were able to get on the platform and use it right away with little to no instruction. No need for downloads or installations - it just works.
Eunice Park
Studio Production Manager at Formlabs
Headshot of Vannesia Darby
With Kapwing, we're always ready to create.
Kapwing is an essential tool that we use in MOXIE Nashville every day. As a social media agency owner, there's a variety of video needs that my clients have. From adding subtitles to resizing videos for various platforms, Kapwing makes it possible for us to create incredible content that consistently exceeds client expectations. With Kapwing, we're always ready to create - from anywhere!
Vannesia Darby
CEO at MOXIE Nashville
Headshot of Grant Taleck
Spend less time learning... and more time crafting stories.
Kapwing helps you spend less time learning complex video editing platforms and more time crafting stories that will connect with your audience and customers. We've used the platform to help create engaging social media clips from our clients' podcasts and we can't wait to see how the platform simplifies this process going forward. If you've learned graphic design with Canva, you can learn video editing with Kapwing.
Grant Taleck
Co-Founder at AuthentIQMarketing.com
Headshot of Panos Papagapiou
It keeps getting better!
Kapwing is probably the most important tool for me and my team. It’s always there to meet our everyday needs in creating scroll-stopping and engaging videos for us and our clients. Kapwing is smart, fast, easy to use and full of features that are exactly what we need to make our workflow faster and more effective. We love it more each day and it keeps getting better.
Panos Papagapiou
Managing Partner at EPATHLON
Headshot of Kerry-lee Farla
By the far the most user friendly software to use.
As a housewife at home looking to start a Youtube channel for fun with absolutely zero editing experience, it was so easy for me to teach myself via their YouTube channel. It takes the tediousness out of editing and encourages creativity. As long as Kapwing is around, I will be using their software.
Kerry-lee Farla
Youtuber
Headshot of Gracie Peng
Kapwing is my secret weapon!
This is one of the most powerful, yet inexpensive and easy-to-use video editing software I've found. I blow my team away with how fast and efficiently I can edit and turnaround video projects.
Gracie Peng
Director of Content
Headshot of Martin James
Kapwing is king.
When I use this software, I feel all sorts of creative juices flowing because of how jam-packed with features the software really is. A very well-made product that will keep you enticed for hours.
Martin James
Video Editor
Headshot of Heidi Rae
Love this site.
As an English Foreign Language Teacher, this site helps me to quickly subtitle interesting videos that I can use in class. The students love the videos, and the subtitles really help them to learn new vocabulary as well as better understand and follow the video.
Heidi Rae
Education
Headshot of Natasha Ball
Excellent subtitling features
[It] works perfectly for me. Have been using Kapwing for a year or so, and their automatic subtitle tool gets better and better every week, it's rare that I have to correct a word. Keep up the good work!
Natasha Ball
Consultant
Headshot of Mitch Rawlings
Best online video service ever. And a miracle for deaf people.
[Subtitler] is able to autogenerate subtitles for video in almost any language. I'm deaf (or almost deaf, to be correct) and thanks to Kapwing I'm now able understand and react on videos from my friends :)
Mitch Rawlings
Information Services Freelancer
Ready? Let's do this.

Kapwing is free to use for teams of any size. We also offer paid plans with additional features, storage, and support.