Add Subtitles to YouTube Videos: Upload an SRT (2027)

Summary

To add subtitles to YouTube videos, upload a corrected SRT or VTT file with the video, one file per language, with timing kept across languages.

Generate cues from your video file, correct them, check timing and readability, translate, then upload. Burn captions only into clips for feeds that ignore subtitle files.

VideoText makes SRT and VTT from the same cues, handles files up to 4 hours on Pro, and translates into 104 target languages with every cue's timing kept.

Generate an SRT from your YouTube video in Video to Subtitles, free for videos up to 30 minutes.

Adding subtitles to a YouTube video with your own file gives viewers more: they can turn captions on in their language, and the text is there for people watching with the sound off. The weak point is usually the file. Auto-generated captions are left uncorrected, translations drift, or a file breaks on upload because of a formatting slip.

This guide is for creators and channel teams publishing long-form video in 2027. For vertical clips, see how to add subtitles to TikTok videos.

Make your SRT now: upload the video to Video to Subtitles and download upload-ready SRT and VTT. Free account, no card needed.

Subtitle file or burned-in captions on YouTube?

	Subtitle file (uploaded with the video)	Burned-in captions
Viewer can turn on or off	Yes	No
Several languages on one video	Yes, one file per language	One video per language
Fixing a typo after publishing	Replace the file	Re-render and re-upload
Best for	Long-form uploads on platforms that accept subtitle files	Clips for feeds that ignore subtitle files

For long-form, upload subtitle files. Keep burned-in captions for clips and teasers.

Step 1: Generate an SRT from your video file

Upload the video file to Video to Subtitles. Choose the spoken language from its list or leave it on auto-detect, and generate. You get SRT and VTT from the same cues, including your edits. Free handles files up to 30 minutes and 2 GB; Pro handles files up to 4 hours and 10 GB, with continuous timing, so a long episode or livestream recording doesn't need splitting.

If you already have a script or transcript with a start and an end time on every segment, Fix Transcript can export it as SRT or VTT. Otherwise generate from the video, so timing comes from the audio. See converting a transcript into SRT captions.

Step 2: Correct the words

Correct names, product names, numbers and anything you'll be quoted on. Review each cue against the video in Video to Subtitles, with overlaps and fast cues flagged; editing cues there is a Pro feature. See editing subtitles after you generate them.

Step 3: Check timing and readability

Run the file through the free SRT validator to catch upload-breaking problems (unreadable timing lines, missing blank lines, repeated cue numbers, garbled characters) and readability problems by cue number. Then repair in Fix Subtitles: it ends overlapping cues before the next one starts, re-wraps lines to 42 characters on at most two lines, and gives cues faster than 20 characters per second more time where the next cue allows it. It doesn't change wording.

For timing that drifts over a long video, see fixing subtitle timing drift after transcription.

Check before you upload: run the file through the free SRT validator, then repair it in Fix Subtitles. A clean file is far less likely to break on upload.

Step 4: Translate YouTube subtitles, one file per language

Add languages from the corrected source file, never from an uncorrected draft. Two ways:

In Video to Subtitles: add a translated lane with the same timing and download it as its own file. The translate lane lists 104 target languages.
In Translate Subtitles: upload the SRT or VTT, choose one of 104 target languages, and download a translated file with every cue's start and end time unchanged. SRT stays SRT and VTT stays VTT. Lines that look untranslated or mixed-language are pointed out.

Translated lines often run longer, so run each language through Fix Subtitles before uploading. For choosing a translator, see the best subtitle translation software in 2027.

Step 5: Upload the SRT to YouTube, then make clips

Upload each language's file through YouTube's subtitle upload for that video, and name files by language so you upload the right one. Translate Subtitles is built for this: one translated SRT per language, each with the original timing. For clips and teasers that go to feeds, burn captions in with Burn Subtitles or style them in Subtitle Style Studio.

If you also publish a transcript or chapter list, Video to Transcript on Pro can add chapters and a summary where available.

A per-video checklist

SRT or VTT generated from the uploaded video file
Names, numbers and terms corrected
Validator clean; overlaps, line length and reading speed fixed
Each language translated from the corrected source and checked
Files named by language
Clips burned in from the same corrected file

What it costs

You can generate, check and fix subtitles with a free account, no card needed. Free SRT and VTT downloads include two short VideoText watermark cues, one at the start and one after the last cue, so for published uploads you'll want them removed. Pro is $14.99/month or $120/year, with 30 hours of speech a month, files up to 4 hours, cue editing and no watermark. See pricing.

FAQ

Should I upload subtitle files or burn captions into long videos? Upload subtitle files for long-form video: viewers can turn them on or off and choose a language. Burn captions only into clips for feeds that ignore subtitle files.

Should I upload SRT or VTT to YouTube? Either works as an upload-ready caption file, and Video to Subtitles gives you both from the same cues. SRT is the most widely accepted format, so it is the safe default.

How do I add subtitles in several languages? Translate the corrected source file once per language. Every cue keeps its timing, so each file lines up with the video.

Can I subtitle a video longer than an hour? On Pro, yes: files up to 4 hours. Free handles files up to 30 minutes.

How do I add subtitles to a YouTube video? Upload the video file to Video to Subtitles to generate an SRT, correct the words, check it in the SRT validator, then upload the file as the subtitles for that video. Add one file per language for translations.

Next step

Generate subtitles for your next upload in Video to Subtitles, check them in the SRT validator, then add a language in Translate Subtitles. Free SRT downloads include two short watermark cues, so for published uploads Pro removes them and adds files up to 4 hours and cue editing, for $14.99/month or $120/year. This guide is part of Best subtitle software in 2027 and Subtitle and transcription tools: the 2027 guide.

How to add subtitles to YouTube videos in 2027: make, check and upload an SRT

Subtitle file or burned-in captions on YouTube?

Step 1: Generate an SRT from your video file

Step 2: Correct the words

Step 3: Check timing and readability

Step 4: Translate YouTube subtitles, one file per language

Step 5: Upload the SRT to YouTube, then make clips

A per-video checklist

What it costs

FAQ

Next step

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