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SRT, VTT or burned-in captions: which one to use

By the BolCaps team · Updated 28 October 2026

Caption tools usually offer several exports, and the names do not explain much. SRT, VTT and "burned in" are three different ways of attaching words to a video, and each one suits a different place. This guide explains what each one is, shows what the files look like inside, and tells you which one to use where.

Burned-in captions (open captions)

Burned-in captions are drawn into the video pixels, like any other part of the picture. They always show, on every app and every device, and they can be animated, coloured and styled any way you like. That is why almost every Reel, Short and TikTok uses them.

The downside: they cannot be turned off, translated or edited after export, and search engines cannot read them. If you notice a spelling mistake after posting, you have to export and upload again.

SRT files

SRT (SubRip Text) is the most widely supported caption file. It is a plain text file with numbered blocks. Each block has a start time, an end time and the words:

1
00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:03,200
Assalam o alaikum, aaj hum seekhenge

2
00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:05,800
ke captions kaise lagate hain

Note the comma before the milliseconds. SRT files do not store styling (except basic bold and italic in some players), so the platform shows them in its own font. YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Vimeo, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro all accept SRT.

VTT files

WebVTT is the format web browsers use for video subtitles. It looks almost the same as SRT, but starts with the word WEBVTT and uses a full stop before the milliseconds:

WEBVTT

00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.200
Assalam o alaikum, aaj hum seekhenge

VTT can also carry position and some styling. Use it when you put a video on your own website with the HTML video player. YouTube accepts VTT as well.

Export SRT, VTT or MP4 from the Caption studio

Which one to use where

Uploading an SRT to YouTube

  1. Open YouTube Studio and choose the video.
  2. Go to Subtitles, choose the language, and click Add.
  3. Choose Upload file, then With timing, and pick your .srt file.
  4. Check the preview and publish.

Set the video's language correctly first. If an Urdu video is marked as English, YouTube's automatic captions and translations will be wrong.

Common problems

Best of both

For YouTube we suggest doing both: burn in short animated captions for viewers on phones, and upload an SRT with the full text for search, accessibility and translations. BolCaps exports MP4 with captions, SRT and VTT from the same project, so you only fix mistakes once.

Export SRT, VTT or MP4 from the Caption studio

Free tools for this

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