How to Translate SRT Subtitles: Which Tools Take the File, and How to Keep Every Cue

The tools at a glance

In shortOnly BlipCut lists import of an existing SRT and translates it. VEED, HeyGen and Perso AI translate the video and export their own subtitles. DaVinci Resolve opens SRT files for checking, and chat assistants work on whatever text you paste.

Tool	Starts from	What you get back	Free access	First paid plan
BlipCut	Your SRT or VTT file, a video or a video link	Translated subtitles in 70+ languages, or a dubbed video in 140+	2 credits: the first minute only, with a BlipCut logo on exports	$16.99 per week (Weekly, 30 credits)
VEED	A video in the browser editor	Auto subtitles as SRT, VTT or TXT on paid plans; translation to 50+ languages on Pro	720p exports with a watermark; the subtitle allowance is not published	$12 per user per month, billed yearly as $147 (Creator)
HeyGen	A finished video	A translated video in 175+ languages and dialects, with or without lip-sync	No video translation: it is listed on paid plans	USD 29 billed monthly (Creator, 600 credits)
Perso AI	An uploaded video or a YouTube, TikTok or Google Drive link	A dubbed MP4 plus SRT subtitles, WAV stems and XLSX scripts on paid plans	One generation: a 1-minute, 720p video with a non-removable watermark	$6.99 per month (Starter, 7 dubbed minutes)
DaVinci Resolve	Your video and a subtitle file on the timeline	Subtitle tracks exported as SRT, VTT or TTML; no translation is listed	The free version includes the Edit page	$295 purchase (Studio)
ChatGPT Claude	Text you paste or upload in a chat	Whatever format you ask for, as a draft to check	Free plans with limited uploads (ChatGPT) or up to five projects (Claude)	USD 20 per month (ChatGPT Plus; Claude Pro billed monthly)

Plan names and amounts from each tool’s profile, which shows the date its plan terms were checked. VEED’s profile lists yearly billing only.

File route or video route: what happens to your cue map

In shortIf the timing in your SRT is already approved, translate the file. A tool that starts from the video makes a new set of cues, so the old numbering and timing are not its input.

Route	Tools	Starts from	Your cue numbers and timecodes	Check before delivery
Translate the subtitle file	BlipCut	Your SRT or VTT file	The file is the input, and the transcript, translation and timestamps stay editable; whether the export keeps the same numbering is not covered in the sources checked	Cue count and timestamp strings against the source
Paste into a chat assistant	ChatGPT Claude	The text you paste	Only as safe as the output format you demand; .srt upload is not covered in the sources checked	Every cue present, no merged lines, no changed arrows or commas in timestamps
Translate the video	VEED HeyGen Perso AI	The video’s spoken audio	SRT import is not listed on these profiles, so the subtitles come from the tool’s own transcript, not from your file	Treat the new file as a replacement and recheck names, numbers and line timing
Check and retime	DaVinci Resolve	The translated file plus the video	Imported as a subtitle track, edited by hand and exported again as SRT, VTT or TTML	Playback speed on the real video

Sources: BlipCut AI video translator, VEED add subtitles, HeyGen video translation, Perso AI pricing, DaVinci Resolve Edit page and subtitles.

Step 1: Mark what must survive translation

In shortKeep the cue numbers and times exactly as they are on the first pass. Change only the words.

The Library of Congress description of SubRip lists the familiar sequence: a cue number, a start and end time, the subtitle text and a blank line before the next cue. An SRT file holds text and timing, not the video. Times are written as hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds, with an arrow between start and end.

If the project does need resegmenting, do it as a second, recorded stage with a source-to-target cue map. Otherwise the reviewer loses the simplest way to find the sentence that changed.

Sources: Library of Congress: SubRip format.

Step 2: Check the plan before you upload

In shortThe free tiers here show the workflow on a minute or less of video. Check the length cap, the subtitle download and the refund terms before paying.

Storage matters for the review loop: BlipCut keeps videos for 30 days on paid plans, and Perso AI’s terms delete content after more than a year without use. Download the source, the translation and any stems before that point.

Sources: BlipCut free version limits, BlipCut refund policy, VEED pricing, HeyGen video translation, Perso AI terms of use.

Step 3: Decide names, terms and the target locale

In shortWrite the decisions down before translating, so the reviewer checks against a list rather than memory.

To practise, download the ten-cue practice SRT and the blank translation review record. The fictional workshop contains a project name, a negative instruction, a number that is corrected later and the word “bank” used for a river bank.

1. Choose one target language and locale, and note the receiving player or platform.
2. List names that stay unchanged, such as the fictional Harbor Lantern.
3. Mark “Do not connect the battery yet” as meaning-critical: a lost “not” reverses the action.
4. Keep the correction from twelve labels to ten in the dialogue rather than smoothing it away.

Where the tool supports it, enter the decisions once. Perso AI lists a custom glossary from Starter up and lets you edit the transcript or translation before regenerating. BlipCut lists an editable transcript, translation and timestamps, and its translator page says editing costs nothing extra.

Sources: Perso AI pricing, BlipCut AI video translator.

Step 4: Translate, and keep three files

In shortSave the untouched source, the raw translation and the reviewed copy as separate files. The raw output is evidence of what the tool changed.

In BlipCut, a subtitles-only job uses 0.25 credits a minute, against 1 credit for a stock-voice dub and 2 with a cloned voice. Choose subtitles-only when the original audio stays.

With ChatGPT or Claude, paste the cues and ask for the same cue numbers and timestamps back, unchanged, with only the text translated and no introduction. ChatGPT’s upload limits depend on the plan; Claude projects keep uploaded files and instructions together. Whether either accepts a .srt upload is not covered in the sources checked, so treat the reply as an unchecked draft.

Sources: BlipCut plans and credits, ChatGPT: work with files, Claude projects.

Step 5: Check structure separately from meaning

In shortA file that imports cleanly can still reverse a warning. Run the mechanical checks first, then read for meaning.

Then watch the authorized source with the translated cues. Check who performs each action, whether the negative survives, which number is current and whether the name changed. If you cannot judge the target language, use a qualified reviewer; a second machine translation is not proof.

Sources: Library of Congress: SubRip format.

Step 6: Watch it, then shorten or retime

In shortKeeping the timecodes does not guarantee that a longer translation fits. Fix wording first, timing second.

Read each subtitle at playback speed on the receiving device, against the client’s or platform’s own character and timing rules; this guide does not invent a universal maximum. Shorten with the language reviewer while keeping negation, names and safety details. If shortening would change the instruction, record a retiming request and the cue it affects.

DaVinci Resolve can take that file onto a subtitle track: the profile lists creating tracks by hand and importing or exporting SRT, VTT or TTML, and the free version includes the Edit page. Text-based editing, which automatic transcription feeds, is listed among the Studio additions at $295; checking and retiming a finished translation uses the subtitle track instead.

Sources: DaVinci Resolve Edit page and subtitles, DaVinci Resolve free and Studio.

Step 7: Deliver the package

In shortA small package with open questions visible is more useful than a file labelled “complete”.

• The unchanged source SRT and the reviewed target SRT, named with language and locale.
• The glossary and name decisions from Step 3.
• A change log; if timing changed, the cue map, and if it did not, the comparison that shows it.
• The reviewer and date, only if that review happened, and the player the file was opened in.

Accept the file when every source cue has an accounted-for destination, the meaning-critical lines were checked and the receiving player shows it correctly. If you still need source captions, start with the video caption workflow.

One 10-minute video into three languages

In shortThe same job priced in each tool’s own unit. Subtitles-only and dubbing are different jobs, so the route column matters as much as the number.

Tool	Route	The arithmetic	Smallest plan that covers it
BlipCut	Subtitles only	10 × 0.25 = 2.5 credits a language, 7.5 for three, assuming each language is charged separately. A stock-voice dub instead: 10 × 1 × 3 = 30 credits	Weekly, $16.99 per week: 30 credits, enough for the subtitles or for exactly one round of stock-voice dubs
HeyGen	Video translation	30 translated minutes: 30 × 4 = 120 credits with Audio Only, 180 in Speed mode (6 a minute) or 300 in Precision (10)	Creator, USD 29 billed monthly: 600 credits; sources up to 30 minutes
Perso AI	Dubbing, SRT alongside	30 dubbed minutes × 60 credits = 1,800 credits, assuming each language counts separately; Starter’s 3-minute cap rules out a 10-minute source	Creator, $29 per month: 2,400 credits and 15-minute videos; lip sync for all 30 minutes exceeds its 13, Pro lists 60
VEED	Captions, then translation	Creator lists unlimited auto subtitles; credits per translated minute are not covered in the sources checked	Pro, $22 per user per month billed yearly as $265, which lists translation to 50+ languages
DaVinci Resolve	Check and retime only	No AI translation listed, so no usage unit	The free version
ChatGPT Claude	Pasted text	Usage limits are set per plan, not per minute of video; a per-file cost is not covered in the sources checked	Depends on how much text the plan’s limits allow

Sources: BlipCut plans and credits, HeyGen credit usage, HeyGen video translation, Perso AI pricing, VEED pricing.

Larger BlipCut and Perso AI plans

In shortBoth meter subtitles and dubbing in credits, so a bigger plan mainly buys more minutes.

Sources: BlipCut plans and credits, Perso AI pricing.

In shortThirteen capabilities marked from the five subtitle-tool profiles. A dash means the sources checked do not cover it, not that the tool lacks it.

Capability	BlipCut	VEED	HeyGen	Perso AI	DaVinci Resolve
Getting the text in
Imports an existing SRT	OfferedSRT or VTT	Not listednot covered in the sources checked	Not listednot covered in the sources checked	Not listednot covered in the sources checked	OfferedSRT, VTT or TTML
Starts from a video	Offeredupload or URL	Offeredbrowser editor	Offeredfinished videos	Offeredupload or link	Offeredtimeline
Creates captions or subtitles	Offeredsubtitle generation	Offeredauto subtitles	Partlycaption controls in AI Studio	Offeredspeech-to-text minutes	Offeredby hand or automatic transcription
Translation
Subtitle translation without dubbing	Offered70+ languages	Partlytranslation on Pro; subtitle-only scope not stated	Not listednot covered in the sources checked	Not listednot covered in the sources checked	Not listednot covered in the sources checked
Dubbed audio	Offered140+ languages	OfferedAI dubbing	Offered175+ languages, paid plans	Offered12 to 111 languages by plan	Not listednot covered in the sources checked
Lip sync	Offered5 credits a minute	Not listednot covered in the sources checked	Offeredoptional	Partlyseparate monthly minutes	Not listednot covered in the sources checked
Edit the translation before export	Offeredtranscript, translation, timestamps	Not listednot covered in the sources checked	Partlyproofreading on Pro	Offeredscript editing	Offerededit tracks by hand
Glossary for names and terms	Not listednot covered in the sources checked	Not listednot covered in the sources checked	Not listednot covered in the sources checked	OfferedStarter up	Not listednot covered in the sources checked
Languages listed	Offered70+ for subtitles	Partly50+ on Pro	Offered175+ on paid plans	Partly74 on Creator, 111 on Pro	Not listedno translation listed
Getting the file out
SRT download	Partlysubtitle files; format not covered in the sources checked	Partlypaid plans	PartlyStudio export	Partlypaid plans	Offeredexport
Other caption formats	Not listednot covered in the sources checked	OfferedVTT and TXT	Not listednot covered in the sources checked	Not listednot covered in the sources checked	OfferedVTT and TTML
Extra files for editing elsewhere	Not listednot covered in the sources checked	Not listednot covered in the sources checked	Partlyaudio; translated audio on Enterprise	OfferedWAV stems, XLSX scripts	Not listednot covered in the sources checked
Watermark-free output	Partlylogo on Free exports	Partlyfrom Creator	Partlyfrom Creator	Partlyfrom Starter	Not listednot covered in the sources checked

offered partly or with limits not listed on the profile.

Cells come from each tool’s profile on this site, which cites the vendor pages and the date they were checked.

Sources: BlipCut AI video translator, VEED add subtitles, HeyGen download and export, Perso AI pricing, DaVinci Resolve Edit page and subtitles.

Common questions

What this guide does not judge

The SRT translator pages in the search results lead with accuracy, speed, ease of use and security. None of the vendor pages behind this guide document translation accuracy or speed in a way we can check, so no tool is ranked on them, and the same goes for lip-sync quality and batch translation of many files.

DeepL, Maestra, Caption-X, SubtitleWise, Translate Subtitles, Subtitle Edit, Aegisub and Google Translate appear in search results for this task. They are left out until each has a profile with checked plan terms. More editors sit in the video category.

How this guide was made

Plans, units, inputs and exports come from the BlipCut, VEED, HeyGen, Perso AI, DaVinci Resolve, ChatGPT and Claude profiles on this site, which cite the vendors’ pricing and help pages and carry their own check dates. The SRT structure comes from the Library of Congress format description. Sections follow the topics the top-ranking pages for this search cover, limited to what the vendors document. The practice file and diagrams are editorial material; no translation was run for this guide and no rating is given. See our editorial policy.