How to translate a subtitle file
- 1Drop an .srt or .vtt file into the Subtitle file panel, or click to browse. The first few cues are shown so you can check it's the right file.
- 2Choose the target language, and whether the download should stay in the same format or switch between SRT and VTT.
- 3Complete the quick verification check, then click Translate. Cues fill in as each batch comes back, with a progress bar showing how far it has got.
- 4Review the side-by-side table, then download the translated file, copy it, or open it in the Subtitle Editor to adjust individual lines.
How the translation keeps your timings intact
This SRT translator is built around one rule: the AI never touches the timings. Most problems with machine-translated subtitles come from the timing lines. If a translator rewrites 00:01:02,500 --> 00:01:04,000, merges two cues, or drops one, every subtitle after it slides out of sync. Here, your file is parsed into cues first, and only the text of each cue is sent for translation, tagged with its position. The translations come back keyed by that position and are slotted into the original cues, so the start and end times in the download are byte-for-byte the ones you uploaded. It works the same way as a VTT translator for WebVTT captions, and you can translate SRT files and VTT files into any of the listed languages.
Cues are translated in batches of up to 80 consecutive lines. Seeing neighbouring lines lets the model keep pronouns, tone and running jokes consistent, and finish a sentence that a subtitler split across two cues, while each cue keeps its own translation. Formatting tags such as <i> italics, speaker tags in WebVTT and position codes like {\an8} are kept. If the AI skips a cue, the tool asks again for just that line; anything still missing keeps its original text and is listed so you can fix it in the editor.
Translation runs on Anthropic's Claude Haiku model through our server. That's the one part of ToolDash that leaves your browser: the subtitle file is sent to our server, which forwards the cue text, not the timestamps, to the AI and streams the result back. Nothing is stored. To keep the tool free and stop it being misused, there's a short verification check, a limit of about ten files an hour per visitor, a cap of 3,000 cues per file, and a daily overall quota.
AI translation is good at everyday dialogue but it isn't a professional subtitler. Check names, jokes and anything legal or medical before you publish, and keep in mind that some languages need more characters per line than others, so a long translated line may need splitting in the Subtitle Editor.
Who uses it
YouTubers and course creators
Translate subtitles to Spanish, Hindi or Portuguese from your English captions and upload them as extra caption tracks.
Watching foreign films
Translate a subtitle file you found in another language into one you read, without the timing drifting.
Translating auto-generated captions
Generate subtitles from audio with Audio to Text, then translate them here in the same browser session.
Draft translations for review
Give a human translator a timed first draft to edit instead of starting from a blank file.
Frequently asked questions
Will the translated subtitles stay in sync with the video?
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Yes. Only the cue text is translated; the start and end times are copied from your file unchanged, and cues are never merged or split. If the original was in sync, the translation is too.
Which languages can I translate subtitles into?
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More than 50, including Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Hindi, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Turkish and Vietnamese. The source language is detected automatically, so you don't need to choose it.
Is my subtitle file uploaded?
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Yes, this tool has to send the text to translate it. The file goes to our server, which sends only the cue text to Anthropic's Claude API and returns the result. Neither the file nor the translation is stored. All our other subtitle tools run entirely in your browser.
Can I translate SRT to English?
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Yes. Choose English as the target language. The source language is detected from the text itself, so a Spanish, Korean or Arabic .srt file all work the same way.
Is there a limit?
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Each file can have up to 3,000 cues (enough for a long film), and each visitor can translate about ten files an hour. There's also a daily overall quota; if it runs out, translation is paused until the next day.
Does it keep italics and other formatting?
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Yes. Tags like <i>, <b> and <font>, WebVTT voice tags and ASS position codes such as {\an8} are kept around the translated words. WebVTT cue settings are kept when you download as .vtt.
Can I translate SRT to VTT at the same time?
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Yes. Under Output format choose .srt or .vtt and the translated file is written in that format. To convert without translating, use the Subtitle Editor.
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