Convert · VTT → SRT

VTT to SRT converter

A timeline that refuses your captions is usually asking for SubRip, and converting VTT to SRT is the whole fix: the header drops away, each cue gains a number, dots turn back into commas, and the wording and timings arrive exactly as they left. What the rewrite touches, why editors insist on this format, which WebVTT features cannot travel, and the honest limits come next.

Updated September 22, 2026

Convert a VTT file to SRT in one pass

Drop the WebVTT track onto the converter above, or paste the text into the left pane, and SubRip is written on the right immediately. It is free, needs no sign-in and sets no cap on how many files you convert, and the rewrite happens locally — nothing about a client recording or an unpublished lecture crosses the network. Copy the output, or download a ready .srt to hand to an editor.

Not sure what is in the left pane? What a WebVTT track holds before you convert it walks through the parts you can see.

Four lines are rewritten, the rest is copied

The formats are close cousins, so the conversion touches four things and leaves everything else alone:

• the WEBVTT header is removed, because SubRip has no header of any kind;
• every cue receives a sequential index, which SubRip requires and WebVTT does not;
• milliseconds switch from a dot to a comma, so 00:02:11.320 becomes 00:02:11,320;
• short timestamps are padded out — WebVTT allows 01:12.500 with no hour field, SubRip insists on 00:01:12,500.

Wording is untouched and running order is preserved. Why SubRip insists on numbering every cue explains the reasoning behind that short list.

Why editors still want SubRip

SubRip has been the lowest common denominator since the early 2000s, and reach is the reason. VLC, mpv, Plex, Kodi and smart-TV apps read it without complaint. Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro and CapCut import it straight onto a caption track. YouTube Studio, Vimeo and Facebook accept it on upload, and HandBrake or ffmpeg will burn the cues into the picture when a platform carries no separate track at all. WebVTT was designed for the browser instead, so a timeline rarely asks for it. When a program refuses your file, converting is usually the entire fix: same lines, same timings, in the wrapper the software was written against.

WebVTT extras that stay behind

WebVTT carries four things SubRip has nowhere to put. Cue settings such as align:start or line:90% place text on screen; NOTE blocks hold comments for the editor; STYLE blocks contain CSS aimed at the ::cue pseudo-element; REGION definitions describe the roll-up areas live captioning uses. None of it survives the move, and no converter can change that, because the older format has no syntax for any of it. Dialogue, order and timing come through intact; placement and colour do not. If the placement was never the point, keep the wording and drop the cue boundaries in a single pass.

The honest limits

This converter changes notation, not content. It cannot translate a track you paste in, it does not accept video or audio files, and it will not repair cues that were already out of sync — a late subtitle stays late, because timings are copied rather than judged. Predictability is what you get in exchange: the same transcript, in the format your software expects, every time. For a video you have only a link to, lift the captions out of a YouTube link as text and skip the subtitle file altogether.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert VTT to SRT?

Drag the .vtt onto the converter above or paste its text. Numbered SubRip cues appear on the right at once, ready to copy or download as an .srt. No account, no cost, nothing sent anywhere.

Will the subtitles stay in sync?

Yes. Every cue keeps its exact start and end time; only the notation around them changes, as the WEBVTT header falls away and dots become commas.

Why does my editor reject a .vtt file?

Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut and CapCut were all built around SubRip and treat WebVTT as a web delivery format. Converting to .srt is usually all the import needs.

Can I turn a Zoom or Teams transcript into SRT?

Yes, if you have the .vtt the recording produced. Paste it in and SubRip comes out. Speaker names written inside the cue text stay put, because they count as wording rather than markup.