How to fix subtitles that are out of sync
Shift SRT or VTT subtitles earlier or later with the correct offset. Learn the difference between a constant subtitle delay and gradual timing drift.
Free subtitle tool
Subtitle Time Shifter
Move subtitles earlier or later by a set amount. Preview the new timing before export.
About Subtitle Time Shifter
Adjust SRT or VTT subtitles that are consistently early or late. A positive offset makes them appear later; a negative offset makes them appear earlier. Every cue moves by the same amount.
What to expect
- Enter seconds with up to three decimal places, such as 1.5 or -0.250. The supported range is -86400 to 86400 seconds.
- Cue durations, subtitle text, styling and format are preserved. WebVTT inline timestamps move with their cues.
- A shift that would create negative timestamps is stopped, so no subtitles are silently trimmed or dropped. Stream-mapped VTT files are not supported.
- A fixed offset does not correct gradual drift caused by a different frame rate or edit.
How to sync subtitles with a fixed time offset
Fix SRT or VTT subtitles that consistently appear too early or too late. The subtitle time shifter applies one offset to every cue while preserving the source format. Compare a spoken phrase with its caption at several points in the video before choosing an adjustment.
- 01
Open the subtitle file
Choose a UTF-8 SRT or VTT file up to 2 MiB, or paste the captions into the source field.
- 02
Set the timing offset
Use positive seconds to show subtitles later and negative seconds to show them earlier. For example, +1.5 delays every cue by 1.5 seconds.
- 03
Preview and export
Check the new timecodes, download the shifted file, and test it against the beginning and end of the recording.
Frequently asked questions
My subtitles are late. Which direction should I shift?
Use a negative offset to make them appear earlier. If the caption starts at 12 seconds but the matching speech starts at 10 seconds, enter -2 seconds.
Will this fix subtitles that gradually go out of sync?
A fixed offset only corrects a consistent delay. Growing drift or timing changes after an edit require matching subtitles, section retiming, or new subtitles for that recording.
Why was my negative time shift rejected?
The adjustment would move at least one timestamp below zero. The tool stops instead of deleting or trimming captions. Use a smaller offset or edit the affected cues separately.
Does shifting change subtitle text or styling?
No. The tool keeps words, cue durations and formatting in the source format. WebVTT inline timestamps move with their cues. Stream-mapped VTT files are not supported.
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