SRT vs VTT

The differences that matter

Everything else about the two is the same idea: blocks of text with a start time and an end time, in a file that sits next to the video.

The one difference that decides it

HTML has a track element for subtitles, and it reads WebVTT and nothing else. Hand it an SRT file and you get a video with no subtitles and no error worth reading. Every browser behaves this way and none of them are planning to change.

That is the whole decision. Publishing the video yourself means VTT. Handing the file to a platform, which converts it internally to whatever it uses, means SRT is fine and is the safer habit, because more software accepts it.

Converting between them is almost nothing

A VTT file is an SRT file with the word WEBVTT on the first line, a blank line after it, and the commas in the timestamps replaced by full stops. The block numbers can stay or go, since VTT treats them as optional labels rather than as structure.

That is why nearly any tool that writes one can write the other, and why hunting for a converter is wasted effort. Take both at the export step and keep whichever you turn out to need.

What VTT can do that SRT cannot

VTT can put a caption somewhere other than the bottom centre, style it with CSS, and mark out regions of the screen. It can also carry chapter markers and arbitrary metadata as separate kinds of track, which is how a player builds a chapter list from a file rather than from a description.

None of that helps if the subtitles are going to YouTube, which strips presentation and applies its own. Reach for the extra capability when you control the player, and not before.

Getting both

The transcriber here exports .srt, .vtt and plain text from the same pass, so choosing between them is a download button rather than a conversion. For a video, only the sound is sent and the video itself never leaves your machine.

More guides

• What Is an SRT FileA plain text list of lines and the times they appear. Opens in any editor, and breaks on one character.

FAQ

Should I use SRT or VTT for YouTube?

Either uploads without complaint. SRT is the safer habit because more software reads it, and YouTube discards the styling VTT would have let you add anyway.

Can a browser play an SRT file?

Not through the track element, which is the standard way to attach subtitles to a video on a page. It reads WebVTT only. A player written in JavaScript can read whatever its author taught it to, and that is a different thing from the browser doing it.

What does VTT stand for?

Video Text Tracks, usually written WebVTT. The first line of the file has to be the word WEBVTT or nothing will read it.

Is VTT better than SRT?

It can do more, which is only better where you can use it, and that means a player you control. For uploading, the extra capability is thrown away and the wider compatibility of SRT is worth more.

Can I rename an .srt file to .vtt?

No. You also need the WEBVTT header line at the top and the milliseconds separated by full stops instead of commas. It is a small edit, and it is not nothing.