The Ultimate Free
Subtitle Editor for PC

Yes. Subtitle Edit is 100% free and open-source, released under the GNU General Public License (GPL v3). Every feature – including AI transcription with Whisper, auto-translation, waveform sync, OCR, and spell checking – is available at no cost. There are no paid tiers, no feature locks, no watermarks, and no trial periods. The complete source code is publicly available on GitHub.

Subtitle Edit is safe. It is an established open-source project with its entire codebase visible on GitHub, which means thousands of developers can (and do) inspect the code. The official releases are published directly on GitHub with SHA256 checksums so you can verify file integrity after downloading. To stay safe, always download from the official GitHub releases page or through nikse.dk – avoid third-party download sites that may bundle unwanted software with the installer.

For basic subtitle editing, the requirements are very modest: Windows 7 or newer, .NET Framework 4.8, a 1 GHz processor, and 512 MB of RAM. That said, if you plan to use the Whisper AI transcription feature, you will want more power. The “small” Whisper model needs about 2 GB of free RAM, while the “large” model benefits from 8 GB+ RAM and a multi-core CPU. Users with an NVIDIA GPU that supports CUDA will see dramatically faster transcription speeds.

Yes, Subtitle Edit runs without issues on Windows 11. It is compatible with Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10, and 11 in both 32-bit and 64-bit configurations. The application requires .NET Framework 4.8, which comes pre-installed on Windows 10 version 1903 and all Windows 11 builds. No additional configuration or compatibility mode is needed.

The primary desktop application is built for Windows, but cross-platform options exist:

• Linux: An Avalonia-based native build is available on the GitHub releases page. Alternatively, the Windows version can run on Linux through Mono.
• macOS: The Avalonia version works on macOS. You can also use the browser-based Subtitle Edit Online at nikse.dk, which provides core editing features without installing anything.

The Avalonia builds do not yet have full feature parity with the Windows version, but cover the core editing, syncing, and translation workflows.

Subtitle Edit has several sync correction methods:

• Constant offset: If all subtitles are consistently early or late by the same amount, go to Synchronization → Adjust all times and enter the offset in milliseconds.
• Progressive drift: If subtitles start synced but gradually fall behind or get ahead, use Synchronization → Visual sync. Match two known dialogue points (one near the start, one near the end), and the software recalculates all timings proportionally.
• Waveform dragging: For fine-tuning individual lines, open the waveform view and drag subtitle block edges to align with speech peaks visually.

Yes. Subtitle Edit includes built-in integration with OpenAI’s Whisper speech recognition model. Go to Video → Audio to text (Whisper), select or download a model, and the software will analyze the audio track and produce timestamped subtitle text. The transcription runs entirely on your local machine, so your video files are never uploaded anywhere. Accuracy varies by language and audio quality, but for clear speech in major languages, the results are typically very good – often requiring only minor manual corrections.

Both versions contain the same application with identical features. The difference is how they are deployed:

• Installer (SubtitleEdit-Setup.zip): Runs a setup wizard that installs the program to Program Files, creates Start menu and desktop shortcuts, and stores settings in your Windows AppData folder.
• Portable (SE4015.zip): A standalone .zip archive. Extract it anywhere and run the .exe directly. All settings, dictionaries, and AI models are stored in the same folder as the executable. Ideal for USB drives or if you prefer not to install software system-wide.

The translation feature connects to cloud translation APIs. Go to Auto-translate, select your source and target languages, and pick a translation engine (Google Translate, Microsoft Translator, or DeepL). The software sends each subtitle line to the service and replaces the text with the translated version, keeping all timing intact. Google Translate works out of the box for basic use. For higher-volume work or premium engines like DeepL, you may need to enter your own API key in Options → Settings → Tools.

Open the subtitle file in any of the 300+ supported formats. Then go to File → Save as and pick your target format from the dropdown list. Subtitle Edit handles the conversion automatically, mapping timecodes and text between formats. Common conversions include SRT to VTT (for web video), SRT to ASS (for styled subtitles), and VobSub to SRT (OCR conversion from DVD image subtitles to text). You can also batch-convert multiple files at once using Tools → Batch convert.

Subtitle Edit is a subtitle text editor, not a video encoder. It does not render or re-encode video files. However, you can save your finished subtitles as an .srt, .ass, or other format and then use a separate tool to hardcode them. HandBrake (free, open-source) and FFmpeg both support burning subtitles into the video stream. In HandBrake, load your video, go to the Subtitles tab, add your .srt file, and check “Burn In” before encoding.

DVDs and Blu-rays store subtitles as images (bitmap graphics), not as text. Subtitle Edit can open these image-based formats (VobSub .sub/.idx from DVDs, .sup from Blu-rays) and run OCR (Optical Character Recognition) using the built-in Tesseract engine. When you open an image-based subtitle file, the OCR window launches automatically. It scans each subtitle image, recognizes the text characters, and produces editable text with the original timecodes preserved. You can then save the result as an .srt or any other text-based format.

Subtitle Edit includes an update checker. Go to Help → Check for updates, and the application will tell you if a newer version is available with a direct download link. For the installed version, download the new installer and run it over the existing installation – your settings and dictionaries are preserved. For the portable version, download the new .zip and extract it to the same folder, overwriting the old files. Your configuration and downloaded dictionaries will carry over.

Yes. All core features work completely offline: editing, timing, syncing, format conversion, spell checking (after dictionaries are downloaded), OCR, and Whisper AI transcription (after models are downloaded). The only features that require an internet connection are auto-translation (which calls cloud APIs) and downloading new dictionaries or Whisper models. Once those resources are cached locally, you can work offline indefinitely.

Both are excellent free subtitle editors, but they target different use cases. Aegisub is strongly focused on ASS/SSA styling – karaoke timing, complex typography, and visual effects for anime fansubs and similar projects. It has not been actively updated since 2014. Subtitle Edit covers a broader range of workflows: it supports 300+ formats (vs. a handful in Aegisub), includes AI transcription via Whisper, offers auto-translation, and receives regular updates. If your primary need is advanced ASS styling and karaoke effects, Aegisub may still have an edge. For everything else – general subtitle editing, syncing, format conversion, OCR, and AI transcription – Subtitle Edit is the more capable and actively maintained choice.

For the installed version: Go to Windows Settings → Apps → Installed apps, find Subtitle Edit in the list, and click Uninstall. This removes the program files and shortcuts. Your settings are stored in %appdata%\Subtitle Edit – delete that folder manually if you want a completely clean removal. For the portable version: simply delete the folder where you extracted it. Since the portable version stores everything in its own directory, deleting the folder removes all traces.

Yes. Go to Tools → Batch convert to process multiple files simultaneously. You can convert between formats, fix common errors, adjust timing offsets, change encoding, and apply other transformations to dozens or hundreds of subtitle files in one operation. This is particularly useful for professionals working with large video libraries or translation teams handling multiple episodes of a series.

Over 300 formats, including all the commonly used ones: SubRip (.srt), WebVTT (.vtt), Advanced Sub Station Alpha (.ass/.ssa), MicroDVD (.sub), SAMI (.smi), MPL2, TMPlayer, D-Cinema XML, EBU STL, TTML (Timed Text Markup Language), Netflix Timed Text, iTunes Timed Text, and many more. It also handles image-based formats like VobSub (.sub/.idx), Blu-ray SUP (.sup), and DVB subtitles through its OCR functionality. The full list is available in the Format dropdown when saving a file.