How-To
How to Add Subtitles to a Video for Free, Without Uploading It
Last updated: October 4, 2026
You can add subtitles to a video in a few minutes without installing an app or uploading the video anywhere. A free browser tool listens to the video, writes every word with its timing, lets you fix mistakes, and then either draws the subtitles onto the video or gives you a subtitle file.
Free, in your browser. Your video is not uploaded.
Add subtitles to your video →The short answer
Open the Free Subtitle Generator, pick your video, choose the language that is spoken, check the words, pick a style, and save the video. The speech recognition (OpenAI's Whisper model) runs inside your browser, so the video never leaves your device. If you only need the words, download an SRT, VTT or text file instead of a video.
Two kinds of subtitles
| Subtitles on the video (burned in) | Subtitle file (SRT or VTT) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The words are drawn into the picture | A separate text file with the words and their times |
| Can viewers turn them off? | No | Yes |
| Works on Instagram Reels, Shorts, WhatsApp Status | Yes | No |
| Works on regular YouTube videos | Yes | Yes, upload it in YouTube Studio |
| Can be styled (font, colour, highlight) | Yes | Mostly no; the player decides |
Short vertical videos usually need burned-in subtitles. Longer YouTube videos and anything going into a video editor are better served by an SRT file.
Step by step
- Open the Free Subtitle Generator in Chrome or Safari. It works on a phone, but a laptop or desktop is much faster.
- Pick a video or audio file up to 3 minutes long. It stays on your device.
- Choose the spoken language: English, Hindi, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese or German. The first time, the tool downloads its speech engine once (about 80 MB, or 107 MB for Hindi). It starts in the background as soon as you pick your video.
- Let it listen. It writes every word with the moment it is spoken. In our tests on an iPhone, a 45-second video took about 16 seconds.
- Check the words. Tap a line to fix a word, join or split lines, or nudge the timing. Find and replace fixes a name that was misheard every time.
- Choose the output. Pick "Just download the words" for an SRT, VTT or text file, or "Add subtitles to my video" for an MP4.
- Pick a style. Eight ready-made styles, including Bold pop, Karaoke fill and One word. Change the font, size, colours, position and how the spoken word stands out.
- Save the video. Your device makes a new MP4 with the subtitles on it, in the same shape as the original. Keep the page open while it works; on a phone this can take from about a minute to several minutes.
Word-by-word subtitles
The tool keeps the timing of every single word, not just every line. That is what makes word-by-word styles possible: the spoken word can change colour, grow, sit on a coloured pill, or fill in like karaoke while the rest of the line waits. Editing a line keeps the timing of the words you did not change.
Getting accurate subtitles
- Choose the language that is actually spoken. The tool does not guess.
- Clear speech works best. Loud music, wind and people talking over each other cause more mistakes.
- Names and brand words are the most common mistakes. Fix one with Find and replace.
- For videos longer than a minute, use a computer if you can.
What it does not do
It does not translate, it does not take YouTube or Instagram links (pick a file from your device), and it handles files up to 3 minutes. Hindi is written in Devanagari, with common English words in English letters.
Frequently asked questions
Is it really free?
Yes. The Free Subtitle Generator makes 1 video a day without an account and 5 a day with a free account. Every video carries a small moving id8 mark. SRT, VTT and text files have no mark.
Do I have to upload my video?
No. Speech recognition and video making run in your browser, so the video stays on your phone or computer.
Which languages work?
English, Hindi, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and German. You pick the language that is spoken; the tool does not translate.
How long can the video be?
Up to 3 minutes per file.
Should I burn the subtitles in or use an SRT file?
Burn them in (subtitles on the video) for Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and WhatsApp Status. Use an SRT file for regular YouTube videos and for video editors, where viewers can turn captions on and off.