No. Credits never expire — buy a pack today, use it in six months.

What video formats are supported?

MP4, MOV, WebM, AVI, and MKV up to 500 MB per file.

How accurate is the transcription?

Whisper consistently achieves 95%+ accuracy for clear audio. You can edit any segment directly in the workspace.

Which languages can I translate my subtitles into?

Capto translates into 60+ languages including Spanish, French, Japanese, Arabic, German, Portuguese, Hindi, Korean, Italian, Russian, Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), Dutch, Polish, Swedish, Turkish, Greek, and Thai. Each translation costs 0.2× the video duration in credits. Re-exporting the same language later is always free.

Does Capto work for right-to-left languages like Arabic?

Yes. Capto correctly handles RTL languages including Arabic. The subtitle file (SRT/VTT) will contain correct Unicode text. For burned-in exports, captions are rendered with proper RTL alignment.

How long does transcription take?

Most videos finish in under 2 minutes. Speaker diarization may take up to 4 minutes.

Can I translate into multiple languages?

Yes. Each translation costs 0.2× the video duration in credits. Repeat exports of the same language are always free.

How do I add subtitles to a YouTube video?

Upload your video to Capto, which generates an accurate .SRT or .VTT file using OpenAI Whisper. Then in YouTube Studio, go to your video → Subtitles → Add language → Upload file, and select the file from Capto. The whole process takes under 3 minutes and produces 95%+ accurate captions — far better than YouTube's built-in auto-captions.

What is the best free subtitle generator?

Capto offers 5 free minutes of transcription with no credit card required — enough to subtitle 2–3 short videos. It uses OpenAI Whisper for 95%+ accuracy and supports 100+ spoken languages, SRT/VTT/DOCX export, and burned-in MP4. After the free credits, it costs as little as $0.03 per minute with pay-as-you-go pricing.

Can I translate subtitles automatically?

Yes. After transcription, click Translate in the Capto workspace, choose a target language from 60+ options, and select a tone preset (Neutral, Casual, Professional, or Formal). Capto uses GPT-4o-mini to produce contextually accurate translations. Download a translated SRT/VTT for any language in seconds.

How to add captions to Instagram Reels?

The most reliable method is to burn captions directly into the video file. Upload your Reel to Capto, generate subtitles, choose a bold caption style (Impact or Bebas Neue work best), then export a burned-in MP4. Upload that MP4 to Instagram — captions are permanently embedded and visible even when audio is muted. The whole process takes under 2 minutes.

What's the difference between SRT and VTT subtitle formats?

SRT (SubRip Text) is the most widely supported format — compatible with YouTube, Vimeo, Zoom, and most video players. VTT (Web Video Text Tracks) is the web standard, used by HTML5 video elements and platforms like Coursera. Both contain the same timestamped text. Capto exports both formats from every transcription, so you can choose based on where you're uploading.

How do I burn subtitles into a video?

Burning (or 'hardcoding') subtitles means embedding them permanently into the video file so they're always visible — even without a subtitle player or when sound is off. In Capto, after transcribing your video, go to the Export tab and click 'Burned-In MP4'. Capto uses FFmpeg to render your styled captions directly onto the video and returns a download link within minutes.

Feature

YouTube Subtitle Generator
SRT & VTT in Under 2 Minutes

YouTube’s auto-captions miss technical terms, accents, and proper nouns. Capto generates 95%+ accurate subtitles you can edit, translate, and export as SRT — ready to upload to YouTube Studio.

check_circle95%+ accuracycheck_circleSRT & VTT exportcheck_circle60+ translation languages

YouTube’s built-in auto-captions improve discoverability and accessibility, but they’re not accurate enough to leave unchecked — especially for channels covering technical topics, non-native English speakers, or content in languages YouTube doesn’t support well. Capto uses OpenAI Whisper to generate an accurate, fully editable transcript, then exports it as an SRT file you upload directly to YouTube Studio. The result is a clean subtitle track that’s searchable, accessible, and correct.

95%+

Transcription accuracy with Whisper

100+

Spoken languages detected automatically

SRT & VTT

YouTube-ready subtitle formats

$0.10

To subtitle a 10-minute YouTube video

What’s included

closed_captionSRT & VTT export — upload directly to YouTube Studio
spellcheckFully editable transcript — fix proper nouns and technical terms
translateTranslate into 60+ languages — reach global YouTube audiences
record_voice_overSpeaker diarization — labels each host and guest automatically
summarizeAI chapter markers — paste directly into your YouTube description
movieBurned-in MP4 — repurpose your YouTube video for Reels and TikTok
bolt1 credit per minute — a 10-minute video costs 10 credits ($0.30)
language100+ spoken languages detected automatically — no manual selection

Who is this for?

Any YouTube creator who needs more than auto-captions can offer.

video_camera_front

YouTube creators

YouTube's auto-captions hit 70–80% accuracy on a good day. For a creator in a technical niche — software, finance, medicine, language learning — that's not good enough. Capto uses Whisper to hit 95%+ accuracy and gives you an editable transcript before export. Fix a misspelled name, adjust a line break, then download a clean SRT in under 2 minutes.

public

International channels

YouTube's manual translation tool requires you to type translations yourself. Capto translates your transcript into 60+ languages automatically and exports a separate SRT for each. Upload multiple subtitle tracks to YouTube Studio — your Spanish-speaking viewers see Spanish captions, your French-speaking viewers see French, all from the same source video.

school

Educators and course creators

Online courses uploaded to YouTube benefit from subtitle files for accessibility compliance, student comprehension, and search indexing. Capto's word-level timestamps make the transcript precise enough for students who use captions as a study tool — pausing, rereading, and following along with complex material.

How to generate YouTube subtitles with Capto

STEP 01

Upload your YouTube video

Paste a downloaded MP4 or export directly from your editing software. Files up to 500 MB on Creator and Pro plans.

STEP 02

AI transcribes with Whisper

Whisper detects your spoken language and generates a timestamped transcript in under 2 minutes. Word-level timestamps included.

STEP 03

Review and edit

Click any segment to correct it inline — the video plays alongside the editor so you can fix errors in seconds.

STEP 04

Download SRT and upload to YouTube

Export your .SRT file, go to YouTube Studio → Subtitles → Add language → Upload file. Your captions appear immediately.

Plan limits

Plan	Max file size	Max video length	Concurrent exports
Essential	100 MB	15 min	1
Creator	500 MB	60 min	2
Pro	500 MB	120 min	3
Growth	2 GB	4 hr	5

View full pricing →

Frequently asked questions

Are YouTube auto-captions accurate enough?add

YouTube's auto-generated captions reach about 70–80% accuracy for clear English audio. They often fail on accents, technical terms, proper nouns, and less common languages. Capto uses OpenAI Whisper, which consistently achieves 95%+ accuracy and supports 100+ languages — including languages where YouTube offers no auto-captions at all.

What subtitle file format does YouTube accept?add

YouTube accepts SRT (.srt), VTT (.vtt), SBV (.sbv), and ASS (.ass) files. Capto exports SRT and VTT — both work identically in YouTube Studio. SRT is the safest choice for maximum compatibility.

How do I upload subtitles to YouTube Studio?add

In YouTube Studio, select your video → Subtitles tab → Add language → choose your language → click Upload file → select your .SRT from Capto → click Publish. Your captions appear immediately with no processing delay.

Can I translate YouTube subtitles to Spanish?add

Yes. After transcription in Capto, click Translate, select Spanish (or any of 60+ languages), choose a tone preset, and download a translated SRT. Upload each language as a separate subtitle track in YouTube Studio. YouTube displays the right track based on each viewer's language settings.

Does Capto work for long YouTube videos?add

Yes — up to 60-minute videos on Creator, 120 minutes on Pro, and 4 hours on the Growth plan. Most YouTube videos (5–45 min) fall comfortably within the Creator or Pro plan limits.

How much does it cost to subtitle a 10-minute YouTube video?add

10 credits = $0.30 using the Essential pack ($4 for 120 credits). Adding Spanish translation costs 2 more credits ($0.06). A burned-in MP4 for social clips costs 20 more credits ($0.60). The whole package — transcription + 1 translation + burned-in export — costs 32 credits, or about $1.07.