SubtitleLab

Convert WebVTT (VTT) to SRT

Downloaded a .vtt from a streaming site or online course but your player only reads SRT? Convert it here without installing anything.

Drop subtitle files here, or click to chooseYou can also paste text below. Multiple files are converted together.

🔒 Runs in your browser. Your files and text are not uploaded.

How to use the VTT to SRT Converter

  1. Drop the .vtt file or paste its contents. The WEBVTT header is detected automatically.
  2. Choose whether to keep italic / bold / underline tags and whether <v Name> speaker tags should become a “Name:” prefix.
  3. Click Convert to SRT and check the preview. Warnings tell you about blocks that were skipped.
  4. Download the .srt. Cue numbers are generated from 1 in time order.

What is removed when converting WebVTT to SRT

SRT is the simpler format, so features that exist only in WebVTT have to go or be translated:

  • Cue settings such as line:10% position:50% align:center size:80% are dropped.
  • NOTE, STYLE and REGION blocks are comments or CSS for browsers; SRT has no place for them.
  • Inline timestamps like <00:00:02.500> used for word-by-word highlighting are removed, leaving the plain sentence.
  • Class and language spans (<c.yellow>, <lang fr>) are stripped but their text is kept.

Speaker (voice) tags

Transcripts from video platforms often contain <v Maria>Hello there</v>. SRT has no concept of a speaker, so you can either lose the name or keep it as visible text. With the option ticked you get Maria: Hello there; unticked, the line is just Hello there. If many lines already start with a dash for dialogue, untick it.

Time codes without hours

WebVTT allows short timestamps like 01:02.500 when the hour is zero. Many SRT readers require the full 00:01:02,500 form, so every time code is rewritten in full, with a comma before the milliseconds.

Typical sources of .vtt files

Online courses, conference recordings, podcast platforms and some streaming sites deliver WebVTT. Browser extensions and download tools usually save them as .vtt. After converting, the .srt will work in VLC, Plex, Kodi, most smart TVs, Premiere, DaVinci Resolve and similar software. If the timing is off after conversion, try the timing shifter.

Frequently asked questions

Will I lose the text formatting?

Italic, bold and underline survive if you leave the box ticked. Colours and CSS classes cannot be represented reliably in SRT and are removed.

What happens to cue settings like position and align?

They are removed, because SRT has no equivalent. The text itself and its timing are untouched.

My VTT has no WEBVTT header. Will it still convert?

Yes. The tool also accepts pasted blocks that start directly with a time line, which is a common result of copying from a web page.

Why are there more cues than I expected?

Some tools write “rolling” captions where each line repeats on the next cue. Use Clean SRT afterwards and enable duplicate removal.

Does the converter support WebVTT chapters or metadata tracks?

It converts subtitle and caption cues. Chapter titles are converted as ordinary text lines, which is usually not what you want in a subtitle file.

Is it safe to use with private transcripts?

The file is processed locally and never uploaded.

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