How to Generate Subtitles in 6 Steps
From raw video to a polished SRT file in under a minute. No account, no upload, no editing degree required — just follow these steps.
Choose your video
Pick any clip up to 60 seconds long and 100 MB. MP4, MOV, and WebM all work. For longer videos, split the audio into 60-second sections and merge the SRT files afterward.
Drop it into SubEasy
Drag the file onto the upload card or click to browse. On your first visit the AI model downloads once (~75 MB) and is cached — after that, generation can even work offline.
Let the AI transcribe
Whisper, an open-source speech-recognition model, analyzes the audio entirely inside your browser and produces timestamped text. Nothing is uploaded to any server at any point.
Review the draft
Read the subtitles once against the audio. Fix names, brand terms, and jargon — the four categories where every transcription model is weakest — and check that captions break where a speaker naturally pauses.
Download the SRT
Export your reviewed subtitles as a standard .srt file. It is plain text with precise timestamps, ready for any editor, player, or platform.
Import and publish
Drop the SRT into CapCut, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, or Final Cut — or upload it straight to YouTube Studio. Style the captions in your editor and export.
Subtitle Formats Explained: SRT, VTT, and ASS
Every subtitle file carries the same core data — text plus timestamps — but the three common formats serve different jobs. SubEasy exports SRT, the universal format; here is when you might want the others.
SRT — the universal default
SubRip Subtitle is plain text: a sequence number, a timestamp range, and one or two lines of text per cue. CapCut, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, YouTube, Vimeo, VLC, and Plex all read it natively. It supports almost no styling, which is a strength — you keep clean timing data and style captions in your editor. For 95% of creators, SRT is the right choice and the right master copy to keep.
VTT — for the web
WebVTT is the W3C standard for captions in HTML5 video. It looks like SRT with a WEBVTT header and periods instead of commas in timestamps, plus basic styling and positioning. Use it for online courses, membership sites, and documentation videos, where browsers render it natively and screen readers can access it. Converting SRT to VTT takes seconds — see our converter guide.
ASS — for styled captions
Advanced SubStation Alpha supports fonts, colors, outlines, screen positioning, and scripted karaoke timing. It is the format of fansubs, lyric videos, and creatively styled burned-in captions. The price is complexity: larger files, harder hand-editing, and poor support outside dedicated players. Choose ASS only when the captions are part of the visual design.
Which should you pick?
Generate once in SRT and keep it as your master. Convert to VTT when a web player demands it, to ASS when styling demands it. Never the reverse as a starting point — styling does not survive a trip down to SRT. Full comparison: SRT vs VTT vs ASS.
Private by Design: Your Video Never Leaves Your Device
Most subtitle tools make you upload raw footage to their servers first. SubEasy was built to eliminate that step completely — privacy is the architecture, not a setting.
100% client-side processing
When you drop a video in, it is decoded and transcribed inside your browser's sandboxed memory using WebAssembly and your device's own processor. No video bytes, no audio stream, and no subtitle text ever travel to our servers — because we operate no server that receives them. Closing the tab wipes the working data.
Nothing to leak, nothing to sell
There are no accounts, so there are no passwords or email databases to breach. We never see your footage, so we cannot analyze it, share it, or train models on it. The site is supported by a small amount of display advertising that never touches your videos — read the full details in our privacy policy.
Who Uses SubEasy
Anyone with a video and sixty seconds. Here is where auto-generated subtitles pay off fastest.
Short-form creators
TikTok, Reels, and Shorts are watched muted more often than not. Captions are the highest-ROI edit on a short clip: higher completion rates, more shares, and viewers who keep watching in sound-off environments like commutes and offices.
Teachers and course makers
Captions make lessons accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing students, help non-native speakers follow along, and make your content searchable — students can find the exact moment a concept was explained.
Small businesses
Product demos, testimonials, and social ads all perform better captioned. SubEasy replaces an hour of manual transcription (or a freelancer invoice) with a one-minute free workflow.
Podcasters and interviewers
Turn audio highlights into captioned video snippets for promotion. Transcribe the clip, burn in styled captions, and post — the snippet carries the full message even on mute.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions we hear most.
Is SubEasy really free?
Yes — completely free, with no paywall, no watermarks, and no feature tiers. Because all transcription happens on your device, our cost per generation is effectively zero, and we pass that saving to you. The site is supported by a small amount of display advertising.
Do I need to create an account?
No. There is no sign-up, no email verification, and no password to remember. Open the site, drop in your video, download your SRT. That is the entire product.
Is my video uploaded to a server?
Never. The AI model runs inside your browser via WebAssembly, and your video is decoded and analyzed locally on your device. Not a single byte leaves your computer or phone. See our privacy policy for the full details.
What video formats and limits apply?
Clips up to 60 seconds and 100 MB, in MP4, MOV, or WebM. For longer videos, transcribe in 60-second sections and merge the SRT files in a text editor, renumbering cues so they run continuously.
How accurate are the AI subtitles?
Very accurate on clear, single-speaker audio — and you should always do one review pass. AI stumbles most on proper nouns, brand names, technical jargon, overlapping speech, and heavy background music. Fix those, and the result is publish-ready.
Which subtitle format does SubEasy export?
SRT, the universally supported format — it imports directly into CapCut, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, YouTube, and VLC. Need VTT for web video or ASS for styled captions? Convert in seconds with our format converter guide.
Does it work offline?
After your first visit, yes. The AI model (~75 MB) downloads once and is cached in your browser, so subsequent transcriptions run entirely offline — handy on planes, in cafés with bad Wi-Fi, or behind corporate firewalls.