DownSub - Free Online Subtitle Downloader
Free subtitle downloader — paste a public video link and export SRT, VTT, or TXT in seconds. No account, no extension, no watermark. Useful for YouTube captions, transcripts, study notes, accessibility checks, and editing drafts.
Why use DownSub to download subtitles?
A good subtitle downloader should be fast, simple, and honest about what can be downloaded.
Free Subtitle Downloader
Paste a supported public video URL and download available captions without creating an account.
SRT, VTT, and TXT Support
SRT for editors, VTT for web players, and TXT for searchable transcripts, notes, and summaries.
No App Installation
Use DownSub from Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox, or a mobile browser without installing extra software.
Transcript Downloader
Copy readable TXT transcript text when you do not need a timed subtitle file.
Useful for Learning and Research
Students, language learners, researchers, and journalists can review spoken content as searchable text.
Mobile Friendly
The tool panel, menus, and cards are built to stay usable on small screens.
Public Caption Access
DownSub is positioned around captions the source video makes available, not private or restricted content.
Clear Error Messages
If a video has no captions, is private, or is restricted, DownSub explains why a subtitle file is unavailable.
How to download subtitles online
Copy the video link, paste it into DownSub, then save the subtitles in the format you need.
Copy a public video URL
Start with a supported public video page where captions may be available.
Paste the link into DownSub
The downloader checks the URL and looks for available caption tracks.
Choose language and format
Select an available track, then choose SRT, VTT, or TXT.
Download or copy text
Save the extracted subtitle file or copy the transcript when captions are available.
Subtitle availability depends on whether the source video exposes captions. Some videos will not have subtitles to download.
Designed for public caption sources.
DownSub currently supports verified public caption sources including YouTube, Vimeo, TED, TubiTV, Weverse, and TV Naver.
YouTube
Vimeo
TED
TubiTV
Weverse
TV Naver
Choose the right subtitle format
DownSub keeps SRT, VTT, and TXT easy to understand.
Best for video editors, media players, course uploads, and broad subtitle compatibility.
Best for web video players, HTML5 captions, and browser-based publishing workflows.
Best for readable transcripts, research notes, search, summaries, and language study.
Practical ways people use subtitles
Captions become more useful once they are searchable, portable, and easy to review.
Students
Review lectures, capture key terms, and study spoken material at reading speed.
Language learners
Compare dialogue, vocabulary, and phrasing from public videos with available captions.
Researchers
Search interviews, talks, lessons, and public video transcripts more efficiently.
Video editors
Use timed SRT or VTT files as a starting point for caption review and editing.
Accessibility reviewers
Check whether captions are present, readable, and useful for viewers.
Teachers
Prepare transcript references for lessons, assignments, and classroom discussion.
Journalists
Review public statements and interviews while respecting copyright and source context.
Content creators
Turn their own video captions into notes, outlines, and repurposing drafts.
What DownSub is, and what it is not
DownSub is an online subtitle extractor interface for people who need captions outside the video player: creators preparing edits, students reviewing lectures, researchers searching interviews, accessibility teams checking transcript quality, and viewers who prefer reading.
A subtitle downloader can only work when the source makes caption data available. Some videos have manual captions, some have auto-generated captions, and some have none. Private videos, members-only content, deleted videos, regional restrictions, and platform changes can prevent extraction.
Use downloaded captions responsibly. Work with videos you own, have permission to use, or where your use is allowed by copyright law and platform terms. DownSub is not a tool for bypassing access controls or redistributing someone else's copyrighted transcript.
People search for downsub because they want a fast way to turn public video captions into useful files. A good online subtitle downloader should explain the limits as clearly as the benefits: captions can help accessibility, but they are only available when the source video provides them; transcripts can help research, but users still need permission for publishing or redistribution.
Subtitles and transcripts are related but not identical. Subtitles are usually timed to video playback, which is why SRT and VTT files include cue timing. Transcripts focus on the spoken text itself, which is why TXT is easier for reading, quoting with permission, and searching. DownSub keeps these choices visible so users do not have to guess which file they need.
Browser-based tools are convenient because they remove installation friction. A student can paste a lecture URL, a teacher can check a public educational video, and a creator can prepare captions for their own content without installing an extension. The tradeoff is that browser tools should be transparent about technical access: private videos, login-only pages, region restrictions, and videos without captions may not produce a usable result.
Why browser-based tools are convenient
You can paste a link, choose a format, and download from the same screen without installing a browser extension or opening a video editor first.
Why formats matter
SRT keeps timed subtitles portable, VTT fits web players, and TXT is ideal when you only need readable transcript text.
Common subtitle downloader questions
Useful answers before you paste a video link.
Need YouTube subtitles first?
The YouTube page covers SRT, VTT, TXT, transcript use cases, and common reasons a caption download may fail.
Open YouTube subtitle downloader