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Add Subtitles in DaVinci Resolve

The free version of DaVinci Resolve can't write subtitles from the audio, but it imports them. Make the SRT from your video in Exemplary AI, then import it into Resolve, style it and export.

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To add subtitles in DaVinci Resolve, import a subtitle file: right-click in the Media Pool and choose Import Subtitle (or use File > Import), pick the .srt, and drag the subtitle clip above your video tracks, where Resolve puts it on a subtitle track.

Writing subtitles from the audio (Create Subtitles from Audio) is a DaVinci Resolve Studio feature, so in the free version the SRT has to come from somewhere else. Exemplary AI makes it from your video: upload it, correct the transcript and download the SRT. Free plan: 500 one-time credits; files up to 500 MB and 30 min long; 720p video exports with a watermark.

Subtitles in DaVinci Resolve at a glance

Facts checked .

Files it imports
.srt, .srtx, .vtt, .xml and .ttml, as subtitle clips
Subtitles from audio
Create Subtitles from Audio (Timeline > AI Tools): DaVinci Resolve Studio only
Styling
Inspector > Track for the whole track; Customize Caption for one caption
Export
Burned into the video, as a separate SRT or WebVTT file, or embedded in QuickTime or MXF
From Exemplary AI
An SRT (or VTT or TXT), translated into any of 116 languages if you need other languages
Free plan
500 one-time credits; files up to 500 MB and 30 min long; 720p video exports with a watermark
How it works

How to add subtitles in DaVinci Resolve

A transcript in Exemplary AI downloaded as an SRT file

Free DaVinci Resolve vs Studio for subtitles

DaVinci Resolve Studio writes subtitles itself: Create Subtitles from Audio (Timeline > AI Tools on the Edit page) asks for a language, a caption preset, characters per line and one or two lines, then fills a subtitle track. Blackmagic's manual lists Chinese (Simplified Mandarin), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish, with more through an extra transcription download. Animated subtitles are Studio-only too.

The free version imports subtitles, styles them and exports them; it just doesn't write them. That is where an SRT from Exemplary AI fits, with the spoken language detected for you, a transcript you correct like a document before it reaches the timeline, speaker names in the file if you want them, and translation into any of 116 languages, each language as its own SRT. Resolve shows one subtitle track at a time, so import each language as its own track and switch between them.

Resolve flags subtitles that break its limits, set in Project Settings > Subtitles (by default 60 characters per line, 30 characters per second and a 3-second minimum). Split a flagged caption in Resolve, or fix it in the transcript and download the SRT again. The menu names here follow Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve 21 manual; a newer release may label them slightly differently.

More on the file itself: the SRT generator, and SRT vs VTT for which format a player wants. Using another editor? See Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or CapCut.

What it does

An SRT for DaVinci Resolve, Made from Your Video

Exemplary AI writes the subtitle file; Resolve styles it and puts it on your timeline.

Subtitles for free Resolve

Free DaVinci Resolve imports subtitle files but can't write them from the audio. Exemplary AI makes the SRT from your video.

Language detected for you

Upload the video and the spoken language is detected, including languages outside the list Resolve Studio transcribes.

Corrected before it reaches Resolve

Fix names and jargon in the transcript like a document. The SRT is built from your corrected text, so the subtitle track arrives clean.

A subtitle track per language

Translate the transcript into any of 116 languages and download each as its own SRT: one subtitle track per language in Resolve.

Keep going

From spoken words to finished captions

Create a subtitle track, choose how it looks, or make the captions part of the video.

Browse all 155 tools
Questions

Common questions

Can you add subtitles in DaVinci Resolve for free?
Yes, by importing a subtitle file. The free version imports SRT, VTT and other subtitle files, styles them and exports them. What it lacks is Create Subtitles from Audio, which is in DaVinci Resolve Studio only, so make the SRT somewhere else, for example in Exemplary AI, and import it.
How do I import an SRT file into DaVinci Resolve?
Right-click in the Media Pool and choose Import Subtitle (or use File > Import) and pick the .srt. Then drag the subtitle clip onto the timeline above the video tracks; Resolve creates a subtitle track and splits the file into one clip per caption.
How do I burn subtitles into a video in DaVinci Resolve?
On the Deliver page, in Render Settings > Video, open Subtitle Settings, tick Export Subtitle and set the format to Burn into video. Resolve burns in the subtitle track that is selected.
Can I export an SRT file from DaVinci Resolve?
Yes. Choose File > Export Subtitle, or right-click the subtitle track header and choose Export Subtitle, and save it as .srt or .vtt. The Deliver page can also write it next to the render, As a separate file.
Why does Resolve flag some of my subtitles?
Its subtitle checks, set in Project Settings > Subtitles, warn about captions over 60 characters per line, faster than 30 characters per second or shorter than 3 seconds by default. Split the caption in Resolve, or fix the line in the transcript and download the SRT again.
How do I add subtitles in two languages in Resolve?
Translate the transcript in Exemplary AI (any of 116 languages), download an SRT per language and import each as its own subtitle track. Resolve shows one subtitle track at a time, so switch the one you want on before you render.
Is it free to make the SRT for DaVinci Resolve?
Yes, on the Free plan: 500 one-time credits; files up to 500 MB and 30 min long; 720p video exports with a watermark. The Free plan watermark applies to video exports, not to subtitle or transcript downloads.

Discover more Subtitles & Captions

Give your words a place on screen

Upload a video to review its transcript, adjust the captions, and export the finished result.

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