How to download an SRT file from a YouTube video (2026)

An SRT file (SubRip) is the most widely supported subtitle format: a plain-text list of numbered cues with start/end timestamps. If you want to re-upload captions, edit them, or feed them to another tool, you need the actual .srt — not just captions playing inside YouTube. The problem: YouTube doesn't offer a clean one-click SRT download.

Option 1 — Download your own video's captions from YouTube Studio

If it's your video and it already has captions, YouTube Studio lets you export them. Go to Subtitles → select the language → Download. You'll usually get an SBV or SRT file. This only works for videos you own and that already have captions.

Option 2 — When there are no captions (or they're someone else's video)

Most of the time there's no usable caption track, the existing one is auto-generated and messy, or it's not your channel. In that case you need to generate the subtitles from the audio. That's exactly what Subpix does:

1. Paste the YouTube URL into Subpix.
2. Pick the language(s) you want — the source is detected automatically.
3. Download a clean, correctly timed .srt (and .vtt) in minutes.

Because the file is generated by AI transcription, you also get accurate punctuation and casing — not the run-on lowercase text YouTube's auto-captions produce. See the YouTube subtitle generator for details.

Option 3 — Translate while you download

If your audience speaks more than one language, you can produce several SRT files in one job — for example English, Spanish and Italian — instead of translating afterward. Each file keeps the original timing. More on that in the subtitle translator.

Which option should you pick?

• Your video, captions already exist: YouTube Studio export is free and fine.
• No captions, bad captions, or not your video: generate them — it's faster and far more accurate.
• Need other languages: generate and translate in one step.