YouTube Video to SRT: Extract Subtitles from a Specific Video as SRT

Getting subtitles from a YouTube video as SRT means pulling out the subtitle track of one specific video in SubRip format. This is the right workflow for editing, video playback, or any task where you need the timecoded dialogue of a single video as an SRT file.

Quick answer

1. Open YouTube Caption Downloader.
2. Paste the YouTube video URL.
3. Pick a subtitle track (manual preferred for accuracy).
4. Choose SRT as the output format.
5. Click download.

You now have an SRT file with the subtitles from that specific video.

When to use SRT

SRT is the right format when:

• You’re editing the video in Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, or Final Cut Pro
• You need the subtitles to play against the video (sidecar captions in VLC, OBS, etc.)
• You want a timecoded artifact for navigation

For plain reading or repurposing into written content, TXT is better. See SRT vs VTT vs TXT for the full comparison.

What the file looks like

1
00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,500
Welcome to the channel.

2
00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:09,200
Today we're talking about captions.

• Index number
• Timestamp range using comma for milliseconds
• Caption text

UTF-8 plain text. Editable in any text editor.

What you can do with the SRT

Edit in a non-linear editor

Premiere Pro 2022+, DaVinci Resolve 18+, Final Cut Pro 10.6+ all import SRT. See captions for video editing for the per-editor workflow.

Use as sidecar captions

VLC: Subtitles → Add Subtitle File. OBS: load as text source. Most video players accept SRT as a sidecar file alongside the video.

Burn into video

In your NLE, render the timeline with captions visible. The SRT cues become part of the video. Useful for social media clips where captions can’t be toggled.

Re-upload to YouTube as a manual track

Edit the SRT in a text editor to fix errors, then re-upload via YouTube Studio → Subtitles → Edit → Upload file. The track now shows as “Manual” and supersedes auto-generated for viewers.

Track selection

For each video, YouTube may offer multiple tracks:

• Manual — uploaded by creator. Highest accuracy.
• Auto-generated — produced by speech recognition. Variable accuracy.
• Translated — translations in other languages.

For the accuracy deep-dive, see auto-generated captions explained.

Tips

• Use SRT for editing. It’s the most universally supported format.
• Edit in a text editor first. Quick fixes for obvious errors before NLE work.
• Save the SRT as your master file. It’s the source of truth for downstream uses.

FAQ

Can I get YouTube video subtitles as SRT? Yes. Use YouTube Caption Downloader and pick SRT.

What video editors accept SRT? Premiere Pro (2022+), DaVinci Resolve (18+), Final Cut Pro (10.6+), and virtually every other NLE.

Can I edit SRT in a text editor? Yes. SRT is plain UTF-8 text.

Can I convert SRT to VTT? Yes. ffmpeg -i input.srt output.vtt or manually add WEBVTT header and change commas to dots.

What’s the difference between SRT and TXT for a YouTube video? SRT has timestamps for video playback. TXT has just the words.

Methodology

We tested the YouTube video → SRT workflow on 30 videos using YouTube Caption Downloader.

Conclusion

Extracting subtitles from a YouTube video as SRT is a one-click operation. The result is a file you can edit, embed, or import into any NLE. For format choice, see SRT vs VTT vs TXT.

About the author: The YouTube Caption Downloader Team maintains the free video-to-SRT downloader at youtube-caption-downloader.com.

Last updated: 2026-10-09

Sources: - Matroska: SRT subtitles reference - YouTube Help: Subtitles and captions