TXT to SRT Converter
A transcript has the words but no times, and an SRT file needs both. This converter gives every line of your text its own numbered caption and a fixed duration, so you start from a working subtitle file instead of typing timestamps by hand.
Subtitle Converter
or drop SRT, VTT, ASS … files here ·
Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes
Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.
Moves every subtitle by this many seconds. Use a positive number if subtitles appear too early, negative if too late (e.g. -1.5).
Set this and the target rate when subtitles drift further out of sync over the film, a sign they were timed for a different video release.
Frame rate of the video you will play the subtitles with. A 23.976 → 25 conversion fixes most PAL/NTSC drift.
Only used for plain TXT input, which has no times: each line is shown for this long, one after another. Adjust times afterwards in a subtitle editor if needed.
Auto-detect handles most files. Pick the encoding manually if accented, Cyrillic or Arabic letters come out as question marks. The output is always UTF-8.
Font used by the default ASS style. The viewer's computer must have it installed; Arial is the safest choice.
Size relative to a 1080-pixel-tall video. 48 is a typical size for films.
How to use this tool
- 1
Prepare and upload the TXT
Put each caption on its own line, then upload the file, up to 20 at a time and 95 MB each. Accented letters are read correctly with Input encoding on Auto-detect.
- 2
Set the seconds per line
Under Advanced settings, Seconds per line is 3. Divide the length of the speech by the number of lines for a better value, and use Shift timing if the talking starts after an intro.
- 3
Convert to SRT
Press Convert to SRT and download the file. Load it next to the video in your editor or player and nudge any caption that is off.
How do I convert a TXT file to SRT?
Put one caption per line in the text file, upload it, set Seconds per line and press Convert to SRT. Each line becomes a numbered subtitle shown for that many seconds, one after another.
How a text file becomes timed subtitles
An SRT file is a list of blocks: a cue number counting up from 1, a time range written as 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:06,000 with a comma before the milliseconds, one or two lines of text and an empty line. The format dates from SubRip, a Windows program that pulled subtitles off DVDs around 2000, and it has stayed popular because it has almost no rules. A plain transcript already supplies the text part; the converter writes the numbers and times around it.
The timing is mechanical. The first line starts at zero, plus any value in Shift timing, and each following line starts where the previous one ended. With the default of 3 seconds, line 1 runs from 0 to 3 s, line 2 from 3 to 6 s, and a 200-line transcript covers exactly 10 minutes. If the result runs ahead of the speaker by the end, increase the value; if it lags, decrease it. Real speech is uneven, so expect to drag some captions in an editor such as Subtitle Edit or Aegisub, both free, afterwards.
Choosing the seconds per line for a TXT to SRT conversion
- 0.5 s
Shortest allowed; only for single words
- 2 s
Short phrases, quick dialogue
- 3 s
Default; a medium line
- 5 s
Full two-line captions
- 7 s
Upper end of common style guides
- 30 s
Longest allowed; slides or lyrics
Prepare the transcript before converting
One caption per line
Every line break starts a new subtitle. Split paragraphs at natural pauses such as commas and the ends of sentences.
Keep lines short
Netflix's English style guide caps a subtitle line at 42 characters. Shorter lines read faster and fit small phone screens.
Remove what nobody says
Delete titles, page numbers, timestamps copied from a transcription app and speaker headings that would otherwise appear on screen as captions.
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Save the TXT as UTF-8 when it contains accented or non-Latin letters | Paste a whole transcript as one paragraph |
| Check the first and last captions against the video | Expect the times to follow pauses in speech |
| Mark a change of speaker with a dash at the start of the line | Leave empty lines or notes to yourself in the file |
TXT
Plain text
A TXT file contains only plain characters with no formatting, fonts, images or layout. Modern text files are usually encoded in UTF-8, which covers every language, though older files may use other encodings and show garbled characters. Plain text is tiny, never becomes obsolete and opens on every device, from phones to servers. It cannot hold bold text, tables or pictures, so structure must be expressed with spacing or simple markup.
- Compression
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- Transparency
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- Animation
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- Introduced
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SRT
SubRip subtitles
SRT is the subtitle format of SubRip, a free Windows program that extracted subtitles from video around 2000. Each entry is a plain-text block with a number, a start and end time, and the caption text. It is the most widely supported subtitle format, accepted by VLC, YouTube, Facebook, video editors and smart TVs. SRT has only basic formatting and no positioning or styling standard.
- Compression
- –
- Transparency
- –
- Animation
- –
- Introduced
- SubRip
TXT to SRT adds numbered cues and evenly spaced timestamps to a transcript that has none, turning plain words into a subtitle file players and editors can load; the reverse strips the times back out.
TXT to SRT FAQ
How does the converter decide when each subtitle appears?
It does not listen to the audio. Lines are placed back to back from the start of the file, each lasting the value in Seconds per line, so the timing is even rather than matched to speech. Treat the result as a first draft to adjust in a subtitle editor.
What should Seconds per line be for my video?
Divide the spoken part of the video by the number of lines. A 6-minute talk transcribed into 120 lines works out to 3 seconds per line; dense, fast speech in fewer, longer lines needs more. The field accepts 0.5 to 30 seconds in steps of 0.1.
My video has an intro before anyone speaks. How do I handle it?
Enter the length of the intro in Shift timing, for example 8 for an 8-second title sequence. Every caption moves later by that amount, so the first line lands when the first word is said.
Do I need an SRT to add captions to YouTube from a transcript?
Not necessarily. YouTube Studio can take a plain transcript and set the timing for you with its auto-sync option, matching the words to the audio. An SRT is the better route for other platforms, video editors and players, which expect timed captions.
Can I convert a TXT to WebVTT instead?
Yes. Pick WebVTT in Convert to on the subtitle converter and the same line-by-line timing is applied. If you already made the SRT, SRT to VTT converts it for HTML5 video players.
