SRT, VTT and video delivery tools

ASS to SRT Converter (ASS and SSA to SRT)

Convert ASS or SSA subtitles to plain SRT or WebVTT: styles, drawings and effects are removed, text and timing stay.

This free ASS to SRT converter turns Advanced SubStation Alpha (ASS) and SubStation Alpha (SSA) subtitle files into SRT files, which are plain-text subtitles that many video tools accept. Paste the text of a file into the box, or add it with the Add files button, and the SRT result appears straight away.

The converter runs in your browser, so nothing you open is uploaded, and there is no sign-up. The page opens with a short four-cue workshop scene already converted, so you can see the output before you load your own file. Timing and cue text carry over. The styling of an ASS file does not.

Ass to srt example

How to use the ASS to SRT converter

  1. Open the page. The example scene is already loaded and its SRT result is already shown, so you can check the output first.
  2. Load your file. Click Add files to choose one or more files, or drop a file onto the box labelled ASS or SSA subtitles. You can also paste the text straight into that box.
  3. Check that To is set to “SRT (SubRip)”, which is the default. Choose “WebVTT (.vtt)” only if you need that format instead.
  4. Choose how formatting is handled under Italic, bold, underline. Keep <i> <b> <u> is the default, and it keeps those three tags and removes the rest.
  5. If the subtitles are early or late, enter a number in Shift all times (seconds), such as -1.5 for 1.5 seconds earlier.
  6. Tick Put speaker names in front (Name: text) if you want speaker names written before the text.
  7. Read the SRT result box, the status line and any Notes. Open the Cue list table to check the timings.
  8. Click Download to save the file, or Copy to copy the text.

Two more options are on the page. Windows line endings (CRLF) makes every line break in the downloaded file CRLF. Add UTF-8 BOM (older TVs and players) starts the file with the three bytes EF BB BF. Leave both off unless the device or program you use needs them. Load example puts the example back, and Clear empties the box.

What is lost when converting ASS to SRT?

Only cue text and timing survive the conversion. Positions, colours, fonts and karaoke effects are dropped. Drawings are dropped too, so an event that contains only vector drawing commands produces no cue. Italic, bold and underline codes become <i>, <b> and <u>. A position code such as {\an8} at the start of a cue is kept in the SRT text, because SRT players such as VLC honour it.

For example, a line such as Today we are fixing\Nthe timing of these {\i1}subtitles{\i0}. becomes two lines of SRT text, Today we are fixing and the timing of these <i>subtitles</i>., and a {\fad(200,200)} fade at the start of a line is dropped.

Does SSA work too?

Yes. The tool detects SSA from the text, so you do not pick the format yourself. SSA v4.00 files use a [V4 Styles] section instead of [V4+ Styles], and their Format line in the Events section starts with Marked instead of Layer. The reading rules follow the Format line, so both versions convert the same way.

Why is my SRT missing lines?

Usually the lines were never cues, or the tool skipped them on purpose. Lines that start with Comment: are ignored. Events that contain only drawing commands produce no cue. After a negative shift, a cue that ends before 0:00 is removed, and the result line says how many were removed. Check the Notes list, which records anything fixed or skipped, and the Cue list table, which shows the first 300 cues. Overlapping cues are kept rather than dropped, so they stay in the file.

Can I keep speaker names?

Yes, with Put speaker names in front (Name: text). It takes the Name field of each Dialogue line and writes it before the text as Name: when that field is not empty. The option is off by default. In the example, the Host lines get the prefix, and the sign has no name, so its text stays unchanged. The first cue then starts “Host: Welcome back to the workshop.”

What about accents, Chinese or Japanese text?

The tool reads UTF-8 and UTF-16 files correctly, with or without a byte order mark. Accented letters and Chinese or Japanese characters therefore come through when the source file is saved in one of those encodings. If the device you are using expects a byte order mark, tick Add UTF-8 BOM (older TVs and players).

Frequently asked questions

Is it free?

Yes. The converter is free and needs no sign-up, and there is no limit on the number of files.

Is my file uploaded?

No. Everything runs in your browser. The line under the input box says that nothing you type or open is uploaded.

Can I convert several files at once?

Yes. After you choose Add files with two or more files, a Converted files list shows each file with its cue count and a Download button. Download all saves one file per conversion. The files are converted with the options that are set when you press the button.

Can I get WebVTT instead of SRT?

Yes. Set To to “WebVTT (.vtt)” instead of the default SRT. The rest of the steps stay the same.

Are fades, colours and karaoke effects kept?

No. Only the words, the start and end times, line breaks and italic, bold and underline are written to the SRT file. Everything else in the override tags between curly braces, such as fades, colours and animations, is dropped.

What is the downloaded file called?

The file takes the name of the file you opened, with the new extension. Text you pasted into the box is saved as subtitles.srt.