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SRT vs VTT: What's Different and How to Convert
SRT and VTT hold the same subtitles, written slightly differently. What differs, which one to use for YouTube or your own website, and a free converter.
SRT and VTT are the two subtitle formats almost everything accepts. Both hold the same thing, lines of text with a start and end time, written slightly differently. Here is what differs, which one to use, and a free converter.
The same subtitle in both formats
From a real transcript of a public-domain Supreme Court recording (SRT, VTT):
1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:06,800
You'll hear argument next in case 22451,
Loper Bright Enterprises versus Raimondo.
WEBVTT
00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:06.800
<v Speaker 1>You'll hear argument next in case 22451,
Loper Bright Enterprises versus Raimondo.
What's different
| SRT | VTT (WebVTT) | |
|---|---|---|
| First line of the file | The first cue's number | WEBVTT |
| Timestamps | 00:01:02,500 (comma) | 00:01:02.500 (period); hours may be left out |
| Cue numbers | Required | Optional |
| Speaker names | Only as plain text | Voice tags, such as <v Speaker 1> |
| Styling and position | None | Supported |
| Captions on your own website | Not supported by browsers | The format the HTML video player uses |
Sources: MDN's WebVTT reference, YouTube's supported formats.
Which one to use
- YouTube: either. YouTube lists SRT as a basic format and VTT as an advanced one that also supports positioning and simple styling.
- Your own website: VTT. Browsers load captions for a video through the track element, which reads WebVTT.
- Speaker names on screen: VTT with voice tags, or SRT with the names written into the text.
Converting
By hand. For a short file, SRT to VTT is two edits: add WEBVTT and a blank line at the top, and change the comma in every timestamp to a period. VTT to SRT takes more: remove the header and any NOTE or STYLE blocks, change periods to commas, number every cue, and add hours where they're missing.
With the converter. The free SRT ↔ VTT converter does all of it in one step. Paste subtitles or drop a file; it recognises the format, converts it to the other one, keeps speaker names, and lists anything SRT can't hold. It runs in your browser, so the file never leaves your computer.
Need subtitles from a recording? AudioTranscribr makes both SRT and VTT from any audio or video file, with speaker labels. The first transcription is free.
Frequently asked questions
Is VTT the same as WebVTT?
Yes. VTT is the file extension, and WebVTT is the format's full name.
Does converting lose anything?
Text, timing and speaker names survive both ways. VTT styling, positions and notes don't, because SRT has no place for them. The converter lists what it left out.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The conversion runs in your browser.
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