Where free stops and credits start

Most of what the editor does costs nothing because it runs on your own computer. One step runs on mydubly's servers, and that is the step credits pay for.

Typing subtitles or importing an SRT or VTT file: Free, no account.
Correcting words and timing: Free, no account. Line list, timeline, split, merge, shift all.
Styling: Free, no account. Eight presets, 19 fonts, colours, boxes, position.
Exporting SRT and VTT: Free, no account, as many times as you like.
Rendering the subtitled MP4: Free, no account, done by your browser at the source's resolution with no watermark.
AI subtitles from the speech: 1 credit per started minute of video, at least 5 credits per video, Google sign-in required.
AI subtitles translated into another language: The same 1 credit per minute. The subtitles are translated from the speech, not from a file.

Put simply, the generator part is paid and the editor part is free, and the paid part comes with a free allowance large enough that many people never top up.

What the free credits actually buy

Credits are tiny units: 1,000 of them cost one US dollar, so a credit is a tenth of a cent. AI subtitles use 1 per minute of video, rounded up to the next whole minute, with a 5-credit floor.

Your first Google sign-in adds 100 credits (10¢ at the top-up rate). That covers 100 minutes of video: one long recording, or twenty clips of five minutes or less, since each video costs at least five.
10 more credits are added to a registered account every day. Unused ones carry over until the 1st of the month, when the daily pot resets, and the daily credits are spent before the others.
Running AI again on the same video charges again. Editing what came back, restyling it and rendering it any number of times does not.
One AI job runs at a time per account, and videos can be up to 2 hours long.

If you run out, top-ups are paid in rupees; pricing has the current packs.

Generating subtitles on free credits

In the editor, check that "Write the subtitles automatically with AI" is ticked, and leave "Subtitle language" on "Same as spoken (auto-detect)" or pick one of the 21 languages under "Translate into".
Choose an MP4, MOV, M4V, WebM or MKV file.
Sign in with Google when the window opens. A new account gets its 100 credits at that moment, and the run begins without another click.
Watch the strip move through reading the audio, sending it, writing the subtitles and timing the lines. Stop cancels it.
Play the result and fix what's wrong; names, numbers and words spoken over music are where errors gather.
Export SRT or VTT, or click Render video and then Download video for an MP4 with the subtitles in the picture. Neither step touches your credits.

If you open AI subtitles from the bar above the preview instead, the button shows the price for that video before you press it. For a longer look at what the run does, see automatic subtitles.

Free generators compared, honestly

Searching for a free subtitle generator turns up a few kinds of tool, and each charges in a different currency:

Tools that run Whisper on your own hardware, either in the browser or as a desktop program, have no per-minute charge. You pay in setup, download size and waiting time, which depends heavily on your computer. Running Whisper locally covers that route.
Freemium online editors often generate subtitles free up to a point. Many stamp a logo on free exports or cap resolution, length or the number of exports, and those terms change, so check them on the day.
Platform captions, such as the automatic ones YouTube creates for uploads, cost nothing but live on that platform. Editing YouTube's auto captions explains how to reuse them.
This editor charges a fraction of a cent per minute for the AI step, gives a free allowance for it, and leaves everything else free, watermark-free exports included.

None of these fits every case. If you'd rather avoid AI entirely, our roundup of free subtitle editors lists desktop options, and adding subtitles online for free walks through the route here that spends no credits at all.

The fine print on free

The site carries ads. Visitors who haven't bought credits see ads from Adsterra in a separate frame on the page; buying credits switches them off for 30 days. Ads never appear in your video.
Your computer does the rendering, so speed and the largest file you can handle depend on it. Rendering needs Chrome or Edge 94+, Safari 16.4+ or Firefox 130+ on a computer.
AI output is a draft. Plan to watch it through once, especially if accents, crosstalk or brand names feature.
The page needs an internet connection to load, and AI needs one to send the audio.

Four budgets, worked out

Weekly 8-minute vlog

8 credits (0.8¢) per episode. The daily allowance alone covers it, and the sign-up credits would pay for twelve episodes on their own.

45-minute recorded lecture

45 credits (4.5¢) from the sign-up allowance, leaving 55 for later.

Thirty 40-second Reels

Each costs the 5-credit minimum, so 150 credits (15¢) in all. The sign-up credits cover twenty; the other ten take about five days of daily credits.

Interview that already has an SRT from the client

0 credits. Switch AI off, import the file, style it and render.

When you only need the file

If the goal is an SRT or VTT to upload somewhere else, with no video rendered at all, the AI subtitle generator is the more direct tool, and translated subtitles produces the file in another language. For the words as plain text rather than timed subtitles, use video to text. Each of those uses the same credits as the AI step here.

About the subtitle editor on this page

Opens: MP4, MOV, M4V, WebM, MKV videos your browser can decode
Subtitles from: AI (from the speech, optionally translated into one of 21 languages), an SRT or VTT file, or typing them in
You download: An MP4 with the subtitles drawn into the picture at the original resolution and frame rate, plus SRT and VTT files
Cost: Editing, styling, rendering and SRT/VTT export are free, with no account and no watermark. AI subtitles cost 1 credit per minute (5-credit minimum per video); signing in with Google gives 100 free credits and accounts get 10 free credits a day
Privacy: The video never leaves your device and is rendered in your browser. Only for AI subtitles is the audio sent, over HTTPS, and it is deleted within 30 minutes of delivery
Rendering needs: Chrome or Edge 94+, Safari 16.4+, or Firefox 130+ on a computer. Editing and SRT/VTT export work in any current browser

More: free, private and in the browser

Subtitle tools

Frequently asked questions

Is the subtitle generator completely free?

The editing is; the AI writing isn't. Turning speech into subtitles costs 1 credit per started minute with a 5-credit minimum, paid from free credits first. Typing, importing, editing, styling, exporting and rendering cost nothing and need no account.

How far do the 100 sign-up credits go?

One hundred minutes of video in total. Because each video costs at least 5 credits, that could be twenty short clips, a single 100-minute recording, or any mix in between.

Do the 10 daily credits expire?

They accumulate through the month and reset on the 1st. When a job runs, daily credits are used before your sign-up or purchased ones.

Do subtitles in another language cost extra?

No. Choosing a language under Translate into costs the same 1 credit per minute. Translation starts from the speech in the video, so an imported SRT or VTT file can't be sent for translation.

Can I get AI subtitles without signing in?

No. Credits belong to an account, so the AI step asks for a Google sign-in. Without signing in you can still type the subtitles or import a file and render the video.