How to Add Subtitles to a Video

Subtitles are essential for accessibility, engagement, and discoverability. videos with captions consistently outperform those without. But the process of adding subtitles can feel fragmented across platforms and tools. This guide walks you through the complete workflow: generating a subtitle file and applying it to your video, whether soft subtitles for platform upload or burned-in subtitles for universal playback.

Soft Subtitles vs Hard Subtitles

At the most basic level, there are two ways to get text onto your video. Soft subtitles, delivered as a separate .srt or .ass file, are like a soundtrack track: the viewer toggles them on or off in their player. This is the format YouTube, Vimeo, and most professional platforms expect. The advantage is flexibility: one video file, multiple subtitle languages, and full styling control if you're using ASS.

Hard subtitles, also called burned-in subititles, are permanently woven into the video frames themselves. Once burned in, the text becomes part of the picture and cannot be turned off. This is useful when you're distributing a video directly to viewers who may not know how to enable subtitles, or when posting to social media feeds where subtitles play automatically without sound.

The catch is that hard subtitles can't be edited after the fact, so you need to be happy with your subtitle file before committing. Soft subtitles, by contrast, can be swapped out or corrected at any time without re-exporting the video.

Step 1: Generate Your Subtitle File

The first step is to create an accurate subtitle file from your video or audio. Upload your file to Subify - MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, WebM, MP3, WAV, and M4A are all supported, and the AI processes it in the background. Within minutes, you'll have a subtitle file ready to apply.

Subify outputs two formats. SRT is the simplest and most widely compatible. If you're unsure which to use, start here. ASS gives you full control over fonts, colours, positioning, and effects, including the karaoke display mode that highlights words as they're spoken.

If your source audio is in a language other than English and you need the subtitles translated, Subify's Translate to English option handles that automatically. This feature is included on all paid plans; the Free tier provides SRT generation only.

Step 2: Apply Soft Subtitles to Your Platform

Once you have your subtitle file, the application process varies slightly by platform:

YouTube

In YouTube Studio, navigate to Subtitles for your video, click Add, and upload your SRT or ASS file. YouTube may take a few minutes to process the file after upload. Once it appears, you can fine-tune the timing using YouTube's built-in offset tool, drag the subtitle track forward or backward by a few seconds if the timing needs adjustment.

Vimeo

In your video settings on Vimeo, go to the Captions tab and upload your file. Vimeo accepts SRT and other common formats, and the subtitles appear immediately.

Video Editors (Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut)

In most editors, you can import the subtitle file by dragging it onto your timeline or using the import function. In Premiere Pro, for instance, dragging an SRT file onto the timeline creates a caption track that you can adjust just like any other element. ASS files preserve all styling when imported into compatible editors.

Not every platform handles subtitle files the same way, so it's worth testing your file on your target platform before finalising. If timing feels off, most platforms offer a simple offset adjustment, usually just a few clicks in their subtitle settings.

When to Burn Subtitles Into Your Video

Sometimes soft subtitles aren't enough. If you're sharing a video directly with viewers, posting to a platform with poor subtitle support, or creating content for social media feeds where subtitles play on mute, burning them into the video ensures everyone sees them.

Subify's burn-in feature processes your uploaded video file and returns a single video with subtitles permanently embedded, no separate file to manage. When you generate subtitles, simply select the burn-in option and choose from five quality levels. Level 4 (High, 80% bitrate) is recommended for the best balance of video quality and processing speed; level 5 (Original) preserves maximum quality but takes longer for large files.

When you burn subtitles into a video, the Recent Transcriptions box on your dashboard still provides the standalone SRT or ASS file alongside the burned-in video, so you get both formats from a single generation without using extra minutes.

Free vs Paid Options

Your free Subify account gives you 10 minutes of processing per month and SRT downloads, enough to test the workflow on a short clip. Burn-in and ASS format downloads require a paid plan. If you're captioning occasionally, start with the free tier. If you're producing regularly or need burned-in videos, the paid plans start at £2.50/month for audio-only processing.