Subtitle Edit

Subtitle Edit — Free Download. Subtitle creation

Subtitle Edit is a free editor for video subtitles that provides tools for creating, adjusting, synchronizing, and translating subtitle lines. It supports over 300 different subtitle formats for import and export, including SubRip, MicroDVD, Advanced Sub Station Alpha, SAMI, and Blu-ray sup files. The program includes a built-in video player using mpv, DirectShow, or VLC media player, along with an audio visualizer control that can display waveform and spectrogram views for precise timing adjustments.

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Download Subtitle Edit (Official links)
File size: 40.3 MB
The latest version of Subtitle Edit is: 5.1.0
Operating system: Windows, Linux
Languages: English
Developer: Nikolaj Lynge Olsson
Price: $0.00 USD (Open Source (MIT))
  • Waveform and Spectrogram Display. The audio visualizer control shows the sound pattern of the loaded video file, allowing users to see exactly where dialogue begins and ends. This visual representation of audio data makes it possible to align subtitle start and end times with spoken words at a sample-accurate level, reducing the need for trial-and-error synchronization. The spectrogram mode provides frequency information that helps distinguish between different speakers and background noise.
  • Format Conversion Engine. The program reads and writes more than 300 subtitle formats, including SubRip (.srt), MicroDVD (.sub), Advanced Sub Station Alpha (.ass), D-Cinema (.xml), SAMI (.smi), and YouTube SBV. Each format preserves specific styling, positioning, and timing information where the target format allows. Batch conversion processes entire folders of subtitle files without user intervention.
  • Visual Synchronization Tools. Users can adjust subtitle timing by dragging subtitle entries along the waveform display or by setting new start and end positions numerically. The point synchronization feature aligns a selected subtitle line with a specific timecode from the video, and all other subtitles shift accordingly. A separate synchronization method uses another subtitle file as a reference to match timing across different versions of the same content.
  • Speech-to-Text Transcription. The Whisper integration converts spoken audio directly into subtitle text through automatic speech recognition. This function processes the audio track of a video file and generates timed subtitle entries without manual typing. The feature supports multiple languages and can handle various audio qualities, producing editable text that users can refine after the initial transcription pass.
  • DVD and Blu-ray Subtitle Import with OCR. The program extracts subtitle streams from decrypted DVDs and imports VobSub (.sub/.idx) binary files for optical character recognition. Blu-ray .sup files are also processed through OCR, with the underlying reading code based on BDSup2Sub by 0xdeadbeef. Users can select Tesseract as the OCR engine and train it on specific fonts to improve recognition accuracy for unusual typefaces.
  • Embedded Subtitle Extraction. Subtitle Edit opens text-based subtitle tracks embedded inside Matroska (.mkv) containers and MP4/M4V files. The program also extracts and OCRs closed captions and VobSub streams from these containers. For DivX/AVI files, XSub subtitles are opened and processed similarly, while DVB and teletext subtitles from Transport Stream (.ts/.m2ts) files are imported with optional OCR.
  • Automated Translation Pipeline. The translation function connects to Google Translate, DeepL, local language models via Ollama and LM Studio, and multiple AI services. Users select source and target languages, and the program translates all subtitle lines while preserving timing information. The translated output remains editable, allowing manual corrections where automatic translation produces inaccurate phrasing.
  • Common Error Fixing Wizard. This tool scans subtitle files for typical problems such as overlapping timecodes, missing end times, lines exceeding maximum character limits, and inconsistent formatting. The wizard presents each detected issue with suggested corrections that can be applied individually or in bulk. It also checks for hearing-impaired notation that may need removal and identifies lines with reading speeds too fast for comfortable viewing.
  • Spell Checking with LibreOffice Dictionaries. Subtitle Edit integrates NHunspell and LibreOffice dictionary files for spell checking across many languages. Users can add custom words to a local dictionary to prevent false positives for names and technical terms. The spell checker works interactively while editing and can also run as a batch operation over the entire subtitle file.
  • Multi-track Subtitle Comparison. The comparison tool loads two subtitle files and displays them side by side with differences highlighted. Users can see which lines differ in text, timing, or both, and merge selected entries from one file into the other. This function is used for reviewing translation accuracy or checking synchronization differences between subtitle versions.
  • Batch Processing and Renumbering. The batch converter applies format conversion, encoding changes, and error fixes to multiple subtitle files at once. Renumbering assigns new sequential numbers to subtitle entries after deletions or merges. The split and merge functions divide a subtitle file at a chosen point or combine two separate files into one continuous timeline.
  • Display Time and Reading Speed Adjustment. Users can extend or shorten the display duration of selected subtitle lines by a fixed amount or by a percentage. The program calculates reading speed in characters per second and flags entries that may disappear before viewers finish reading. Minimum and maximum duration limits can be set globally to enforce consistent timing across the entire file.
  • Export to Image-based Subtitle Formats. The export function generates PNG images with BDN XML for Blu-ray, Adobe Encore FAB image scripts, VobSub, Blu-ray sup, EBU STL, PAC, and plain text output. Image-based exports render subtitle text with specified fonts, sizes, and colors into bitmap sequences. The generated video export burns subtitles directly into the video frame or creates a transparent video overlay.
  • Text Effects and Styling. Built-in effects include typewriter animation, where text appears character by character, and karaoke mode that highlights words as they are spoken. Users can change casing using a names dictionary that recognizes proper nouns and leaves them capitalized correctly. Search and replace supports multiple simultaneous patterns with regular expression support.
  • Undo History and Edit Tracking. The history manager records all edits, including text changes, timing adjustments, and format conversions. Users can step backward through the edit history with Ctrl+Z and forward with Ctrl+Y. The undo stack persists through save operations, allowing recovery of previous states even after saving and reopening a subtitle file.

Subtitle Edit was created by Nikolaj Lynge Olsson and first released in 2001. The program is written in C# using the .NET framework and Windows Forms for the graphical interface. Development has been continuous since the initial release, with regular updates adding new subtitle formats, improving OCR capabilities, and integrating modern APIs for translation and speech recognition. The source code is maintained in a public repository where contributors submit patches and report issues.

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