Free Subtitle & Text Encoding Converter
Convert SRT, VTT, ASS, SSA, and TXT files to UTF-8 directly in your browser. Preview the text, choose its source encoding, and download a converted copy. Your file contents stay on your device.
Convert your file
Or drop one file here. SRT, VTT, ASS, SSA, or TXT · up to 5 MiB (5,242,880 bytes).
No file selected.
Detection checks BOMs, validates UTF-8, then checks UTF-16 byte patterns and possible legacy decoders.
Decoded text preview
Preview is limited to the first 12,000 UTF-16 code units. The download includes all text.
Garbled characters? Change the source encoding and check again. The preview is plain text, including any subtitle tags.
How to convert an SRT file to UTF-8
- Choose or drop your original SRT file. The same steps work for VTT, ASS, SSA, and TXT.
- Check the detected source encoding. A BOM identifies a Unicode encoding; without one, detection is best-effort. For ambiguous files, select the original encoding and confirm the preview.
- Read the preview, especially accented names and non-Latin text. If it looks wrong, change the source encoding before continuing.
- Select UTF-8, or UTF-8 with BOM if your target application requires it, then press Convert & Download.
- Open the new copy in your editor or player. For example,
captions.srtbecomescaptions-utf8.srtorcaptions-utf8-bom.srt.
Try files with known encodings
Download an SRT example in Windows-1252 and select Windows-1252 as its source. Its caption is “Café, déjà vu — £5.” You can also try a UTF-8 VTT example containing accented, Cyrillic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Hindi text. These are actual encoded files you can inspect and convert.
Supported formats and source encodings
| Extension | Format | What stays intact |
|---|---|---|
| .srt | SubRip subtitles | Cue numbers, timestamps, text, and tags |
| .vtt | WebVTT subtitles | Header, cue settings, timestamps, and text |
| .ass | Advanced SubStation Alpha | Script info, styles, dialogue, and override tags |
| .ssa | SubStation Alpha | Script info, styles, and dialogue |
| .txt | Plain text | Wording, whitespace, and line breaks |
Source decoders: UTF-8, UTF-16 LE, UTF-16 BE, Windows-1252, Windows-1251, GBK, GB18030, Big5, Shift-JIS, and EUC-KR. They use the browser’s native TextDecoder mappings. The menu shows only decoders available in your browser. Output is always UTF-8, with or without a leading BOM.
This is a text encoding converter, not a subtitle parser. It preserves decoded characters and CRLF, LF, or CR line endings without validating the subtitle syntax. It rejects empty files, files over 5 MiB, known binary signatures, binary control characters, and invalid byte sequences for the selected encoding. UTF-32, image-based subtitles, archives, and other file extensions are unsupported.
When an encoding converter helps—and its limits
What character encoding means
A character encoding maps bytes to text characters. UTF-8 can represent Unicode text across languages. Older regional encodings use different mappings, so the same byte can mean different characters depending on the decoder.
Why subtitle characters appear garbled
Garbled text often means a player or editor interpreted the original bytes using the wrong encoding. Select the source encoding that makes the original text readable, then save a UTF-8 copy. This can help move older Western European or Cyrillic subtitles into a Unicode workflow, or prepare Chinese, Japanese, or Korean text for an editor that expects UTF-8.
UTF-8 versus UTF-8 with BOM
The text is the same in both outputs. UTF-8 with BOM adds the three bytes EF BB BF at the start; UTF-8 without BOM leaves out that encoding signature. A BOM can help some software recognize UTF-8, but compatibility depends on the application. Follow the editor or player’s requirements and test the copy. A source BOM is removed before the selected output BOM is applied.
| Operation | What changes | This tool? |
|---|---|---|
| Encoding conversion | Byte representation, such as Windows-1252 to UTF-8 | Yes; the format and language stay the same |
| Subtitle format conversion | Cue syntax and structure, such as SRT to VTT | No; changing an extension is not format conversion |
| Translation | Words and language, such as English to Hindi | No |
If automatic detection is wrong
BOMs provide a strong encoding signal. Valid UTF-8 bytes are a useful default, but do not prove the author’s intended encoding. UTF-16 zero-byte patterns are only a heuristic. Legacy encodings often accept the same bytes, so this tool lists possible decoders and asks you to choose. Check the preview against a known line, the source editor’s encoding setting, or information from the file’s author. A readable preview is more useful than a confident-looking guess.
Already-lost characters cannot reliably be recovered
If an earlier program replaced text with ? or � and saved it, those bytes no longer contain the original characters. Re-encoding preserves those symbols. Obtain the original file when possible. Existing garbled text saved as valid Unicode also stays garbled; this tool does not guess a reverse repair. Strict decoding reports malformed bytes instead of silently inserting replacement characters.
How local browser processing works
Your browser reads the selected file as bytes into memory. A local Web Worker detects and decodes it, returns a limited plain-text preview, and creates UTF-8 download bytes. A temporary local URL lets the browser save the copy. Clear releases the file state, and temporary download URLs are released after use. No AI service, upload endpoint, database, or desktop software is involved.
The page loads normal website styles and fonts, but sends no file bytes, previews, or filenames to external services. Analytics are disabled on this page. The converter is provided by Toolcross; read the Toolcross privacy policy.
Frequently asked questions
Is the converter free?
Yes. Toolcross provides this browser-based converter for free, with no account required. The limit is one file of up to 5 MiB at a time.
Are my files uploaded?
No. Your browser reads the selected file into local memory, decodes it in a local worker, and creates the download on your device. This page does not load analytics or session replay, or send filenames, file contents, or previews to a server.
How do I convert SRT to UTF-8?
Select your SRT file, check the detected encoding and text preview, and manually choose the source encoding if needed. Select UTF-8 or UTF-8 with BOM, then use Convert & Download. The copy keeps the .srt extension.
Does it support VTT and ASS?
Yes. It supports text-based VTT, ASS, SSA, SRT, and TXT files. It changes character encoding only; it does not convert one subtitle format into another.
Should I choose UTF-8 with BOM?
Start with UTF-8 without BOM unless your editor or player asks for a BOM. A UTF-8 BOM is the three-byte prefix EF BB BF that can help some applications identify Unicode text. Some applications expect no BOM, so check the requirements of your target software.
Will subtitle timings change?
No. The tool preserves the decoded text, timestamps, tags, spacing, and original line endings. It only changes encoding and the selected leading BOM behavior. It does not validate or adjust subtitle timing.
Does it translate subtitles?
No. The language and wording stay the same. Translation changes words into another language; character encoding conversion changes how the same text is represented as bytes.
Can it repair every corrupted file?
No. It can decode intact original bytes using the right source encoding. It rejects invalid byte sequences for that encoding. If characters were already replaced by question marks or replacement symbols and saved, the missing information cannot reliably be recovered.
Do I need to install software?
No. Use a current browser with JavaScript, Web Workers, TextDecoder, and TextEncoder. Individual encoding choices are shown only when your browser supports their decoder.