Turn your YouTube script into a caption file for YouTube Studio
Automatic captions often get names, slang and product terms wrong, and fixing them line by line in YouTube Studio takes a while. If you read from a script, upload the video file with the script and you get an SRT in your words, timed to your voice, ready for the Subtitles page in Studio. Videos of up to 10 minutes are free in full; longer ones cost $5, paid once.
- Upload the video file or an audio export; YouTube links are not accepted
- Your script becomes the caption text, spelled the way you wrote it
- An SRT that YouTube Studio takes as a file with timing, plus a VTT
- Caption rows of about 42 characters, at most two per caption
- English is preselected; switch it if you record in another language
Adding the SRT in YouTube Studio
- Download the SRT once the timing looks right
- In YouTube Studio, open Subtitles from the left menu and pick the video
- Add the video language if it is not set, then choose to add subtitles and upload a file
- Pick the option with timing, select the SRT and publish
Why your script makes better captions
Automatic captions are a guess made by listening. Your script is what you meant to say, already spelled and punctuated: the channel name, a sponsor, model numbers, a word borrowed from another language. Syncing the script keeps all of that and uses speech recognition only to work out when each word is said.
YouTube Studio can also try to sync a transcript you paste in. If that works for your video, use it. The file made here is one you can check, correct and reuse in your editor or on other platforms.
If you went off script while filming, those ad-libs get no caption, and viewers hear words that are not on screen. For a video with a lot of improvising, add the extra lines to the script before you sync.
Why a YouTube link does not work
The tool needs the recording itself, and links to YouTube videos are not fetched. Upload the exported video from your editor, or export only the audio track, which is smaller and uploads faster. MP4, MOV, MP3, M4A and WAV all work, and so does a public Google Drive, Dropbox or direct download link. Shorts are handled the same way.
Captions in other languages
This page makes captions in the language you speak in the video. For Spanish, Hindi or any other caption track, take the finished SRT to the subtitle translator, which changes the text and keeps the timing. YouTube lists every language you upload as its own track.
How the tool works, what it costs and how your files are handled is on the Sync Transcript to Audio page; prices for every tool are on the pricing page.
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Questions and answers
Can ChatGPT make YouTube captions from my script?
It can arrange a script in SRT form, and for a short clip where you give it the times, the result is fine. It cannot watch your video, so for a full-length upload the times it invents drift away from your voice and YouTube shows captions early or late. This tool reads the times from your audio.
Can I paste my YouTube video link?
No. Upload the video file, or export the audio from your editor. Public Google Drive, Dropbox and direct file links are accepted.
Will YouTube accept the file?
Yes. In the Subtitles section of YouTube Studio, upload it as a file with timing. A VTT copy is included too.
I do not use a script. Can I still get captions?
This tool needs your text. Without a script, the video subtitle tool on this site makes captions straight from the audio.
How much do captions for one video cost?
A video of up to 10 minutes is free in full. A longer one is $5, one payment, for up to 6 hours. If you post often, Unlimited at $19 a week covers every tool and up to 12 hours per job.
Can I get captions in other languages?
Not from this page. Sync the script in the language you speak, then translate the SRT with the subtitle translator, which keeps the timing.