Guides › Make SRT or VTT subtitles

How to make SRT or VTT subtitles for a video

By Lawal Ayo, LAS G Concept · Updated 15 October 2026

Subtitles make videos watchable with the sound off, help viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing, and let you reach people who speak another language. Social platforms also reward videos with captions. This guide shows how to make subtitle files with LAS Converter and how to choose between an SRT file, a VTT file, a subtitle track and burned-in captions.

The Subtitles tool is a Premium feature.

Step by step

Open the converter, log in with Premium, and choose Subtitles.
Drop your video. You can also drop an existing .srt, .vtt, .ass or .txt file if you only want to convert between subtitle formats.
Press Generate subtitles from video (AI). The app transcribes the speech; choose the spoken language first (English, Pidgin, Yoruba or Hausa).
Read through the lines and fix mistakes. This is the most important step.
Choose the output: SubRip (.SRT), WebVTT (.VTT), ASS or plain TXT, and save it.
If you want the subtitles inside the video, press Download MP4 with subtitle track (fast) or Download MP4 with burned-in subtitles.

SRT, VTT, subtitle track or burned in?

SRT is the most widely supported file. Use it for YouTube, Facebook, VLC and most video editors.
VTT is the web version. Use it for HTML5 video players on websites.
ASS supports styling such as colours and positions, mainly for advanced players and editors.
Subtitle track (soft subtitles): the text is stored in the MP4 as a separate track. Viewers can switch it on or off. It is fast because the video is not re-encoded. Not every app shows these tracks; WhatsApp and some social apps ignore them.
Burned-in (hard subtitles): the text is drawn permanently onto the picture. It always shows, on every platform, which makes it the right choice for reels, TikTok and WhatsApp Status. It takes longer because the video is re-encoded, and it cannot be switched off.

Writing good subtitles

Keep each line to about 42 characters and two lines at most.
Show each subtitle for at least one second, and no more than around six.
Split sentences at natural pauses rather than in the middle of a phrase.
Use plain punctuation and spell names the way the speaker would want.

Translated subtitles

After generating subtitles, you can choose a target language to translate them, for example Yoruba or Hausa speech into English. The app lets you download the translated file as its own timed SRT. Machine translation can miss slang and context, so have a fluent speaker check it before you publish.

Uploading your SRT

On YouTube, open Studio, choose Subtitles, add a language and upload the SRT file. On Facebook, upload the .srt when you edit a video under Subtitles and captions. Facebook expects the file name to include the language code, for example video.en_US.srt.

New to the transcription side? Read how to transcribe Yoruba, Hausa and Pidgin audio.

A simple workflow for reels and Status

For a short social video, the quickest route is: generate subtitles, correct them, choose burned-in subtitles, and download the MP4. Because the text becomes part of the picture, it displays correctly on every app, including WhatsApp Status, Instagram and TikTok. Keep a copy of the SRT as well, so you can reuse it if you later re-edit the video or want a soft subtitle track for YouTube. Always do a quick full playback of the final MP4 to check that no line is cut off at the bottom of the frame.

Frequently asked questions

Can I edit subtitles after generating them?

Yes. Review and fix the lines before you export.

Which is better, SRT or VTT?

SRT works almost everywhere. Use VTT for web players.

Does burning subtitles reduce quality?

The video is re-encoded, so there is a small quality change. Use the Ultra or High preset to keep it minimal.

Is it free?

Subtitles are a Premium feature.

Try it

Use the subtitle maker page to learn more, or go straight to the app.

Open the converter Create a free account