SRT Generator: Turn Any Video into a Subtitle File
Upload a video and the AI transcribes it into numbered, timed cues. Generating and editing them is free; downloading the .srt file (and VTT, TXT or JSON) is part of a paid plan, while burning captions into the video is free with a small badge.
SRT Generator: Turn Any Video into a Subtitle File Features
EchoWave's subtitle tools are used by YouTube channels, course creators, and localization teams worldwide
Timecodes, typed for you
The subtitle file, without typing a single timecode
An SRT generator saves you from the worst job in video: pausing every few seconds to type what was said, then hand-writing timecodes to match. EchoWave transcribes your video with word-level timing, splits the speech into readable cues and numbers them in sequence, so the .srt you download on a paid plan is valid the moment it lands. Generating and editing the cues is free; the file download is the paid part. Correct anything first in the subtitle editor: fix a name, nudge a cue by 0.1 seconds, snap an edge to the playhead. Need a different container? The same transcript downloads as VTT for web players, plus TXT and JSON, on a paid plan, or run any file through the subtitle converter. No audio at all? Type cues from scratch and time them against the playhead.
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SRT + 3 more
One corrected transcript downloads as SRT, VTT, TXT or JSON on paid plans
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0.1s nudge
Cue timing adjustment, plus set-edge-to-playhead for exact sync
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Auto-detect
Transcription detects the spoken language automatically
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80+ translations
Translate the cue track (paid) and download one SRT per language
What you get
Everything between raw video and a valid .srt
Transcription writes the cues, the editor makes them right, and four download formats are available on paid plans.
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Auto-Generated, Numbered Cues
Transcription with word-level timing turns speech into sequenced cues. The downloaded file (paid plans) carries clean sequence numbers and standard timecode ranges, so it opens correctly in players and platform upload checkers without hand-formatting.
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Per-Cue Correction Rows
Every cue is an editable row with its own play button. Audition the line behind a doubtful word, fix names, jargon and punctuation in place, and the corrected text is exactly what lands in the file.
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Precise Timing Controls
Nudge a cue's start or end in 0.1 second steps, or set an edge to the exact playhead position while watching the preview. Timing gets fixed by eye, not by timecode arithmetic.
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SRT, VTT, TXT and JSON on Paid Plans
On a paid plan, one corrected transcript downloads four ways: SRT for platforms and players, VTT for web video, TXT for reading and JSON for pipelines. If the words matter more than the file, start from video to text.
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Dozens of Languages In, 80+ Out
The source language is detected automatically across dozens of languages. Translate the finished cue track into 80+ languages with the subtitle translator (a paid-plan feature) and download a separate SRT per market.
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Manual Cues for Silent Footage
No usable audio? Type or paste each line as a cue and time it against the playhead. Tolerant SRT import also loads an existing file so you can repair it in the same editor.
How it works
How to generate an SRT file from a video
Four steps from raw footage to a subtitle file that passes the upload check first time.
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Upload Your Video
Open the EchoWave editor and drop in your video. MP4, MOV, WebM and other common formats load straight onto the timeline, ready for transcription.
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Auto-Transcribe the Audio
Select the clip and run auto-transcribe in the captions tool. The AI detects the source language and writes timed, numbered cues. No usable audio? Switch to manual mode and type each cue instead.
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Correct Text and Timing
Work through the transcript rows: play any line you doubt, fix misheard words, and nudge cue edges in 0.1 second steps or snap them to the playhead until every cue sits on the speech.
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Download the SRT on a Paid Plan
On a paid plan, choose SRT as the download format and save the finished file, sequence numbers and timecodes included, then grab VTT, TXT or JSON from the same transcript if a platform asks for them. On the free plan, burn the captions into the video instead.
Who uses it
Who needs an SRT file
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YouTube Channels
Upload the SRT alongside the video so YouTube shows your exact wording instead of its auto-generated guesses.
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Course Creators
E-learning platforms ask for a caption file per lesson. Transcribe each lecture, fix the terminology, and deliver a compliant SRT in minutes.
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Localization Teams
Generate the source-language SRT once, translate the cue track into 80+ languages, and hand every market its own subtitle file.
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Video Podcast Teams
Episodes on YouTube and Spotify ship with proper subtitle files, and the same transcript doubles as show notes in TXT.
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Filmmakers and Festivals
Festival and distributor deliverables often require dialogue subtitles as a sidecar file. Export a clean, numbered SRT that matches picture.
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Developers and Pipelines
JSON carries cue text and timing into apps and workflows, while SRT remains the interchange format every player accepts.
Your subtitle file is one upload away
Transcribe the video and correct the cues for free. The SRT download is part of a paid plan.
What creators say after trying EchoWave
About the EchoWave team
EchoWave is a browser-based video and audio editor built by Lemon Vault LLC since 2018. The people who build the editor write these guides and test every step in the production app before publishing.
SRT generator FAQ
How do I create an SRT file from a video?
Upload the video to EchoWave, open the captions tool and click auto-transcribe. The AI listens to the audio and returns timed, numbered cues within moments. Read through the transcript rows, correct any misheard words, adjust timing where needed, then choose SRT as the download format, which needs a paid plan. The file arrives with sequence numbers and timecodes already written, so you can upload it straight to YouTube, Vimeo, LinkedIn or any player that accepts sidecar subtitle files. You work in your browser, with nothing to install.
What is an SRT file, exactly?
An SRT (SubRip Subtitle) file is a plain-text format that nearly every video platform and player understands. Each cue has three parts: a sequence number, a timecode range in hours:minutes:seconds,milliseconds form (00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,200), and one or two lines of text, followed by a blank line. Because it is plain text you can open it in any text editor, but hand-writing the timecodes is slow and error-prone, which is exactly the part an SRT generator automates.
How accurate is the automatic transcription?
Clear speech with modest background noise transcribes very well, and word-level timing keeps each cue anchored to the moment it was spoken. Accuracy dips with heavy crosstalk, strong accents or niche jargon, which is why the workflow puts an editing pass between transcription and download. Skim the cue rows, hit play on anything doubtful and fix the text in place. Whatever you correct is exactly what the SRT contains.
Can I edit the subtitles before downloading the SRT?
Yes, and you should. Every cue appears as an editable row with a play button, so you can audition the audio behind a line and correct it in place. Timing is adjustable too: nudge a cue's start or end in 0.1 second increments, or set an edge to the current playhead position for tight sync. There is also a per-word emphasis editor if you plan to burn styled captions into the video instead of shipping a sidecar file.
Should I use SRT or VTT, and when do I need each?
Use SRT for uploads to platforms like YouTube and for most desktop players; it is the older, most widely accepted format. Use VTT (WebVTT) for HTML5 web players and native browser video, where it is the expected format and supports web-specific styling hooks. On a paid plan EchoWave downloads both from the same transcript, so you are never locked into one. If you already have a file in the wrong format, the subtitle converter switches between them without touching your timing.
Can I make subtitles for a video with no usable audio?
Yes. Auto-transcription needs speech, but the manual path does not: type or paste your lines as cues, then time each one against the playhead while you watch the footage. This is the right route for silent screen recordings, music-only clips, or footage where the audio is too rough to transcribe. On a paid plan the finished cue track downloads as a normal SRT, identical in structure to an auto-generated one.
What languages does the SRT generator support?
Transcription covers dozens of languages and detects the spoken language automatically. After transcribing you can translate the cue track into 80+ languages with the subtitle translator (a paid-plan feature) and download a separate SRT per language, which is how one video ships with English, Spanish and Japanese subtitle files. Right-to-left scripts like Arabic are handled correctly, and Thai and CJK text splits on real word boundaries rather than mid-word.
Is the SRT generator free?
Generating and editing the subtitle cues is free. Downloading them as an SRT, VTT, TXT or JSON file is part of a paid plan. On the free plan you can burn the captions into the video instead, with a small watermark, a short end card and a 720p cap. Paid plans remove the watermark and raise video export resolution to 4K and beyond on the top tier.
Ready to generate your SRT file?
Upload a video and correct the cues for free; the SRT download is part of a paid plan.
Generate my SRT
