Burn Subtitles into Video
Burn subtitles into video online - hardcode SRT or VTT captions with your own styling, free, no upload, no sign-up.
Need to burn subtitles into a video so they show on every player and every platform? This tool hardcodes an SRT, VTT, SBV or ASS file into your MP4 or MOV, with your own font, colours and position, all in your browser. There is no upload, no account and no watermark.
Your files are never uploaded. The video and the subtitle file are read, previewed and re-encoded inside this browser tab. Nothing is sent to Meetrix or anywhere else.
1. Video
Drop an MP4 or MOV (up to 1.5 GB) here, or click to choose one
2. Subtitles
Drop an SRT, VTT, SBV or ASS file here, or click to choose one
Your video with burned-in subtitles is ready
Why use this tool to burn subtitles into video
Your video stays on your device
The video and subtitle file are read, previewed and re-encoded locally. Nothing is uploaded and there is no watermark.
Vertical-video safe zones
A 9:16 preset keeps captions clear of the buttons and text Reels, Shorts and TikTok draw over your video, with a guide in the preview.
Style it your way
Choose the font, size, colours, outline, box or shadow, and top, middle or bottom position, and scrub the preview to check them.
Phone videos land upright
Clips a phone stores sideways with a rotation flag are turned upright first, so captions sit on the picture you actually see.
How to burn subtitles into a video
- Drop your MP4 or MOV video into the first box, and your SRT, VTT, SBV or ASS subtitle file into the second.
- Pick a safe zone: Standard for landscape video, or Vertical 9:16 for Reels, Shorts and TikTok.
- Adjust the font, size, colours and position while you scrub through the preview. Use Next caption to jump between lines.
- If the captions run early or late, enter a timing shift in seconds.
- Click Burn subtitles into video, wait for it to finish, then preview the result and click Download MP4.
Common problems when you hardcode captions
- The captions never appear: the subtitle file probably belongs to a different cut of the video. The tool warns you when no caption falls inside the video's length. Try a timing shift, or open the file in the subtitle sync tool.
- Text is cut off, or hidden behind an app's buttons: raise the bottom margin, switch to the Vertical 9:16 safe zone, or lower the size. Always check the finished video inside the app you will post it to.
- Strange characters instead of accents or non-Latin text: the subtitle file is not UTF-8. Change the Text encoding menu under the subtitle file until the preview reads correctly.
- "This browser can't decode this video": the video uses a codec your browser lacks, most often HEVC. Try Chrome or Edge, or re-export the video as H.264 MP4.
- The output has no sound: the original audio was not AAC. The result panel tells you when this happens.
- It is slow or the tab runs out of memory: the whole video is held in memory while it is re-encoded. Close other tabs, or cut the video shorter first.
- The file is bigger or smaller than the original: burning re-encodes the video. Use the Higher quality setting for more detail, or run the result through the video compressor to shrink it.
Don't have subtitles yet? The subtitle generator makes them from your video, the subtitle editor fixes the wording, and the AI subtitle translator produces other languages before you burn them in here. If you run video meetings and want recordings captioned end to end, see the Meetrix transcribe engine, or browse all Meetrix features.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this tool to burn subtitles into video free?
Yes. It is free to use, requires no sign-up, has no watermark, and there is nothing to install.
Is my video uploaded anywhere?
No. Your video and subtitle file are read by your browser, the preview is drawn on your device, and the new video is encoded on your device. Nothing is sent to Meetrix or anyone else while it works.
What is the difference between burned-in and soft subtitles?
Soft subtitles are a separate track or file that a player can switch on or off. Burned-in (hardcoded) subtitles are drawn into the picture itself, so they always show, in every player and on every platform, and cannot be turned off.
Which subtitle formats can I use?
SRT, VTT (WebVTT), SBV and ASS/SSA. For ASS files the timings and text are used, but the colours and fonts inside the file are ignored in favour of the style you choose here. Plain text files have no timings, so they cannot be used.
Which video formats work?
MP4 and MOV (including M4V) files that your browser can decode, which in practice means H.264 and, in some browsers, HEVC. WebM, MKV and AVI are not supported yet, so export those as MP4 first.
Will burning subtitles reduce my video quality?
Slightly. Burning means the video is re-encoded, so it is not a lossless copy. The default matches the original bitrate, and there is a Higher setting that keeps more detail at the cost of a larger file. The audio is different: AAC audio is copied across unchanged.
What is a safe zone for vertical video?
On Reels, Shorts and TikTok, the app draws its own buttons, username and caption text over parts of your video, mostly along the bottom and the right edge. A safe zone keeps your captions inside the area that stays clear. The Vertical 9:16 preset uses a conservative margin, but every app changes its layout from time to time, so check the result in the app before posting.
How do I add captions to a TikTok, Reels or Shorts video?
Load the vertical video and its SRT or VTT file, choose the Vertical 9:16 safe zone, style the text, and burn it. Tools that generate captions, such as the subtitle generator, can give you the SRT to start from.
Can I change the font, size and colour?
Yes: font (four families that ship with most computers), size, text colour, outline, background box or shadow, bold, and position. The preview uses the same drawing code as the final video, so what you see is what is burned in. Fonts come from your own computer, so the same choice can look slightly different on another system.
Why are my captions early, late, or missing?
The subtitle file probably belongs to a different cut of the video. Use "Shift caption timing" to move every caption by a number of seconds and check the preview. For drift that grows over time, fix the file first in the subtitle sync tool.
Can I remove burned-in subtitles later?
No. They become part of the picture. Keep your original video and the subtitle file, and burn a fresh copy whenever you need to change the text or the style.
Does the video keep its sound?
Yes, when the audio is AAC, which is what almost every MP4 uses. It is copied across without being re-encoded. If a video has a different audio format, the tool tells you the output has no sound rather than failing.
Is there a file size limit?
Files over 1.5 GB are blocked, because the whole video is held in your browser's memory while it is re-encoded. A warning appears above 500 MB. For a large file, cut it down first with the video trimmer or shrink it with the video compressor.
Which browsers does this work in?
The latest Chrome and Edge on a computer. The tool needs the WebCodecs video encoder, which is newer and more limited in Firefox and Safari. If your browser cannot do it, the tool says so instead of failing part-way through.
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