Get a Subtitle File for Your Video
Upload a video and ScreenApp transcribes the audio, then lines the text up with timestamps so it downloads as a subtitle file. You get the SRT or VTT file to add to your video on YouTube, in your editor, or on whatever platform you publish to.
ScreenApp does not burn the captions into the video for you yet, burned-in (open) caption export is coming soon. Until then, if you want captions permanently visible in the frame, add the SRT or VTT file in your video editor, or use YouTube’s own caption uploader, both of which accept the file directly. Once a caption is burned in it cannot be fixed without re-exporting, so if the file came from elsewhere or you have nudged the timings by hand, run it through the subtitle quality checker first.
What you get:
- A transcript with timestamps, in 100+ languages
- Export the transcript as PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT
- transcript and caption translation, for a second-language subtitle track
- Speaker labels when more than one person talks
- Free plan: 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each
How to Add Subtitles to a Video
- Drag in an MP4, MOV, AVI, WebM or similar file, or paste a video link.
- Let it transcribe. The audio is matched to timestamps as it goes, so the cues line up with the speech rather than being spaced evenly.
- Export as SRT or VTT and add it on YouTube, in your editor, or wherever you publish.
Accuracy depends on the audio, not the picture. Narration recorded close to a microphone transcribes close to clean. A room with two people talking across each other, or a video where the music sits as loud as the voice, leaves you more to fix. See how we measure accuracy.
Which file you want depends on where it is going. YouTube, Vimeo and most editors take SRT without complaint. VTT is the one to pick for a video embedded in a web page, since it is the format browsers read natively and it carries positioning information SRT cannot.
Video Subtitles vs Other Apps
| Feature | ScreenApp | HappyScribe | Veed | Clideo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 2 transcriptions, up to 45 min each | 10-minute trial | Free, with monthly limits | Up to 500 MB per file |
| Subtitle file export | PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT | .SRT, .VTT, .STL | SRT, VTT and TXT (paid plans) | SRT only |
| Languages | 100+ | 150+ | 125+ | Not stated |
| Paid plan | $19/month annual | $8.50/month annual | Not stated | Not stated |
Sources, checked 2026-10-12: ScreenApp supported languages, ScreenApp pricing, Happy Scribe pricing, clideo.com/add-subtitles-to-video, happyscribe.com/tools/add-subtitles-to-video, veed.io/tools/add-subtitles, happyscribe.com/audio-summarizer
The honest split here is burned-in captions, and all three competitors do something ScreenApp does not do yet.
HappyScribe starts as a 10-minute trial, with Basic from $8.50 a month billed annually, and it will hand back a video with the captions already in the picture. Veed does the same and translates into 125+ languages. Clideo takes files up to 500 MB free and also returns a burned-in export, though it only accepts SRT as subtitle input.
What you get here instead is the subtitle file itself, PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT, in 100+ languages with transcript and caption translation for a second track. That is the better artifact when the captions need to stay switchable, searchable or editable after publishing, and the worse one when you specifically need a finished video with the words baked in. Burned-in export is coming; until it lands, that comparison goes the other way.
Who Adds Subtitles to Video
Social teams have the least choice about it. A video in a feed autoplays muted, so a clip without captions is a silent clip, and the caption is doing the work the audio was supposed to do. That is also why those captions get read at arm’s length on a phone, which is a different job from captions someone reads deliberately.
Creators and educators want the opposite property. A separate subtitle file stays switchable and searchable after publishing, so a student can turn it on, a screen reader can use it, and you can fix a misheard word next year without re-exporting the video. Burning captions into the picture throws all of that away in exchange for them always being visible.
Teams publishing in more than one market use the file as a starting point rather than an output. One transcription produces the source track, and caption translation turns it into a second one without anybody re-recording or re-timing anything.
