SRT to TXT converter Just the words, without the timecodes.
To convert SRT to TXT, paste the subtitles or drop the file and hit convert. We remove cue numbers, arrows and timecodes and hand back clean UTF-8 text. You can keep a timestamp at the start of each line, or merge the captions into paragraphs that read like a document.
Free, no sign-upSecond file
For example, the video name and the version up for approval.
This text has no timings. We will build subtitles from reading speed: each line or sentence becomes a block of up to 2 lines.
The JSON has a time for every word. We cut blocks of up to 2 lines of 42 characters, at sentence ends and pauses.
Subtitle report
- Subtitles
- Duration
- Words
- Average CPS
- Max CPS
- Flagged
| # | Time | Duration | Text | Characters per line | CPS | Flags |
|---|
How to convert SRT to TXT
- 01
Bring in the SRT
Drop the file or paste its content. Files with missing cue numbers, periods before the milliseconds or old Windows encodings work too.
- 02
Shape the text
One caption per line, a [00:01:02] timestamp in front, or paragraphs that break at pauses of 2 seconds or more.
- 03
Copy or download the .txt
Paste it into Word, Google Docs, your CMS or a YouTube description. The report shows how many captions and words there were.
What survives the trip from SRT to TXT
An SRT file is plain text with a strict layout: a cue number, a timing line with the --> arrow, then one or two lines of dialogue. Perfect for a player, awkward for a reader. A TXT file keeps only the words, in the order they are spoken.
Each cue's two lines are joined into one sentence, since the line break only existed to fit the screen. Italics, bold, colors and position tags like {\an8} are dropped, because plain text has nowhere to store formatting.
| In the SRT | In the TXT |
|---|---|
| Cue number | Removed |
| 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:44,000 | Removed, or [00:03:41] |
| Caption split over 2 lines | One line |
| <i>italics</i> and <font color> | Plain words |
| Order of the dialogue | Kept |
| Windows-1252 accents | Fixed as UTF-8 |
One passage as SRT and as TXT
Here are two cues from a sermon, before and after. In the SRT, each caption takes four or five lines of the file. In a timestamped TXT, it takes one, starting with the moment it is spoken. Without timestamps, only the sentence is left.
Timestamps show hours, minutes and seconds with no milliseconds, because their job is to help you find the moment in the video, not to sync anything. To get back to a frame-accurate SRT, keep the original file.
SRT
12
00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:44,000
<i>Good morning, church!</i> It's so good
to have you here today.
13
00:03:44,300 --> 00:03:46,100
Open your Bibles to John 3:16.
TXT
[00:03:41] Good morning, church! It's so good to have you here today.
[00:03:44] Open your Bibles to John 3:16.Timestamps or paragraphs: which to use for what
The two options work together. With both turned on, every paragraph opens with the time of its first caption, which gives you a light index of the whole video. Here is what tends to work best:
- Blog post or article: paragraphs, no timestamps. The text already flows, so you only tidy the punctuation.
- Sermon notes or a small group study guide: paragraphs with timestamps, so people can jump to each point in the video.
- Quotes for social posts: one caption per line with timestamps, to copy the exact wording and where it was said.
- Podcast show notes and YouTube descriptions: one line per caption with timestamps, then delete everything that is not a topic.
- Proofreading by someone else: one caption per line, no timestamps, easy to check against the video.
From TXT into Word, Google Docs or your blog
The file is UTF-8, which Notepad, TextEdit, Word and Google Docs all open with accents and curly quotes intact. In Word, open the .txt directly or copy the preview and paste with Ctrl+Shift+V to leave the formatting behind. In Google Docs, upload the file to Drive and open it with Docs.
Before converting, consider turning on the option that removes sound descriptions. Captions made for deaf and hard of hearing viewers include [MUSIC], (laughs) and ♪ lines, which only clutter a transcript. If the subtitles came in two parts of the same event, use the merge mode and convert them together.
More than stripping timecodes. Get the text straight from your video.
See also
Frequently asked questions
Will the TXT still have cue numbers and arrows?
No. We remove the cue numbers, every line with --> and the formatting tags. What is left is the dialogue, one caption per line. If you turn timestamps on, each line gets its start time as [00:01:02] and nothing else.
How do I turn broken subtitle lines into flowing text?
Turn on the paragraphs option. The two lines of each cue are already joined into one sentence, and with paragraphs on, consecutive sentences are joined too, until there is a pause of 2 seconds or more in the speech. That pause starts a new paragraph.
Can I remove [MUSIC] and (laughs) from the text?
Yes. Turn on the option to remove sound descriptions before converting. We delete anything in square brackets or parentheses and lines with ♪. If a caption ends up empty, it is left out of the text, and the report tells you how many were removed.
Why do accented letters show up as strange symbols?
Because the original subtitles were saved as Windows-1252 or UTF-16 and your app opened them with the wrong encoding. We detect the encoding when reading the SRT and always write the TXT as UTF-8, which Notepad, Word and Google Docs read correctly.
Can I combine several SRT files into one TXT?
Two at a time. In merge mode, place the second file right after the first and pick TXT as the output. For a longer series, merge that result with the next file and repeat until you reach the end.
Can I turn the TXT back into an SRT later?
Roughly, if you kept timestamps. The converter reads lines that start with [00:01:02] and creates a caption that lasts until the next stamp. Those times are only accurate to the second, so keep the original SRT if you need exact timing.
Want the text without needing an SRT? We transcribe the video.
Upload the video or paste a YouTube link. We transcribe every line with its timing, and you download it as TXT, PDF or SRT, along with chapters and captioned clips.
See the result on your own recording before adding a card.