---
title: "Add subtitles to a video, free · Cutshed"
description: "Add subtitles in the browser with Whisper. Edit the lines, then download SRT or VTT. Nothing is uploaded. Twenty minutes or 200 MB."
canonical: "https://cutshed.com/blog/how-to-add-subtitles-to-a-video/"
---

# Add subtitles to a video, free · Cutshed

Add subtitles in the browser with Whisper. Edit the lines, then download SRT or VTT. Nothing is uploaded. Twenty minutes or 200 MB.

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How to
# How to add subtitles to a video for free (SRT / VTT)
Published November 6, 2026 .
Open Subtitles, drop a video or an audio file, pick the language when you know it, and wait for Whisper tiny. Fix the lines, then download SRT or VTT. The file is not uploaded. The limit is twenty minutes or 200 MB. This version does not burn captions into the picture.
The tool for this is Subtitles . It writes a sidecar caption file from speech that is already in the clip. YouTube can take the SRT. An HTML5 player can take the VTT. The picture stays as it was. Use your own videos, or videos you have the rights to.
People watch with the sound off, and captions are also how a lot of viewers follow a talking-head clip. A first pass from the model still needs a human read for names.
## Steps
- Drop a video or an audio file Open Subtitles and drop the file. Video pictures are only for the on-page player. They are not sent for transcription. Audio is resampled to 16 kHz mono in the tab. The limit is twenty minutes or 200 MB.
- Pick the language, or leave auto Pick the language when you know it. Auto-detect is weaker on short clips, accents, and anything with music under the voice. The list is the languages this tiny model can be pointed at.
- Wait for Whisper tiny The model is Xenova/whisper-tiny, quantized to 8-bit. It is the smallest multilingual Whisper build that still gives usable timestamps. The first run downloads the weights into the browser cache. Whisper works in 30 second windows with a short overlap, so a long file does not arrive as one block.
- Fix the lines The editor is there because the model misses names, jargon, and noisy dialogue. Rewrite those lines before you export. The download uses the lines you edited, not the raw model text.
- Download SRT or VTT SRT is the file to upload to YouTube as captions. VTT is for an HTML5 video track. Export both from the same edit if you need both. This version does not burn the words into the picture. Your editor or YouTube places the sidecar on the video.
## SRT or VTT
## Why the first pass still needs an edit
Whisper tiny is fast and it makes mistakes. Names, jargon, and dialogue with music under it are the usual misses. Fix spelling before you chase timestamps. If a whole sentence is wrong, change the language menu before you retype every word.
A lav or a ducked music bed is easier to read than a camera mic in a cafe. If you already have a dialogue stem, transcribe that instead of the full mix. Noise remover turns down steady hiss on a voice before you caption. It is a poor fit for music.
## Long interviews
Twenty minutes or 200 MB is the cap. Longer interviews should be cut into reels first. Video trimmer takes a start and an end, with the same 3 minute and 200 MB limit as the other short-clip tools. Video splitter cuts a file into equal parts, up to 40, when you want chunks of a known length. The walkthrough is how to split a video into equal parts .
A horizontal talking-head clip still needs a tall frame for a phone. Crop to 9:16 is the centered crop. If the finished file is too large to send, compress it for Discord .
## What this tool does not do
It does not burn captions into the picture. You get a sidecar SRT or VTT. YouTube or your editor places that file on the video.
It does not move a whole file that is early or late. Use the subtitle shifter for an offset or a scale. It does not translate the words. Use the subtitle translator when you already have the SRT or VTT. Transcript turns the same Whisper tiny pass into a post and throws away the timestamps.
## Audio only
The page accepts audio as well as video. Video to MP3 pulls a soundtrack out first when you want an MP3. The walkthrough is how to extract audio from a video . Files over 250 MB are refused there. Subtitles still stop at twenty minutes or 200 MB.
## Do this part in Cutshed
- Subtitles Writes SRT or VTT with Whisper tiny in the browser. Edit the lines, then download. Twenty minutes or 200 MB. Nothing is uploaded. No burn-in.
- Subtitle shifter Moves every cue when the whole SRT or VTT is early or late. It does not change the words and does not upload the file.
- Subtitle translator Translates cue text and leaves the timestamps where they are.
- Transcript Turns the same Whisper tiny pass into a post and drops the cue times.
- Video to MP3 Extracts an MP3 when you want the soundtrack before you caption. Files over 250 MB are refused.
- Noise remover Turns down steady hiss on a voice before a caption pass. A poor fit for music.
- Video trimmer Cuts a long interview down before captioning. The trimmer limit is 3 minutes or 200 MB.
- Video splitter Splits a longer file into equal parts, up to 40, so each piece can fit the subtitle cap.
- Video crop Center-crops a clip to 9:16 after the captions exist as a sidecar. The subtitle page does not reframe.
## FAQ
- How do I add subtitles to a video for free?
Open Subtitles, drop a video or an audio file, pick the language or leave auto-detect, wait for Whisper tiny, fix the lines, and download SRT or VTT. The job runs in the browser. Nothing is uploaded. It does not spend Studio credits.
- Which Whisper model writes the captions?
Xenova/whisper-tiny, quantized to 8-bit. It is the smallest multilingual Whisper build that still gives usable timestamps. It misses names, jargon, and noisy dialogue. The editor is there for that.
- Is the video uploaded?
No. The weights download into the browser cache. Audio is resampled to 16 kHz mono in the tab and passed to the local model. Video pictures are only used for the on-page player.
- Should I pick a language?
Pick the language when you know it. Auto-detect is weaker on short clips, accents, and anything with music under the voice.
- Do I download SRT or VTT?
Upload SRT to YouTube as a caption file. Use VTT for an HTML5 video track. Both exports use the lines you edited, not the raw model text.
- Can I burn the captions into the picture?
Not in this version. You get a sidecar file. Your editor or YouTube can place it on the picture.
- How long a file can I caption?
Twenty minutes or 200 MB. Longer interviews should be cut into reels first. Whisper works in 30 second windows with a short overlap.
Files stay on this device.
Free tools never upload the file you open. Studio is the only paid part of the site, and the only place a prompt is sent to a video model.

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