Top Free AI Tools for Transcription and Subtitling

Table of Content

What to Look for in a Tool
Top Free Tools for Transcription + Subtitling
Recommendations: What to Use When

Transcribing audio or adding subtitles to videos can be time-consuming and expensive if done manually, but AI has made the process faster, cheaper, and more accurate than ever. Whether you’re a content creator, educator, podcaster, or business professional, free AI-powered tools can help you convert speech into text, create subtitles in multiple languages, and make your content more accessible to wider audiences. In this blog, we’ll explore the best free AI tools for transcription and subtitling, highlighting their key features and how they can save you hours of editing work.

What to Look for in a Tool

Before diving into tools, it's good to keep in mind what makes one “good”:

Feature	Why It Matters
Accuracy (speech recognition, handling noise / accents)	If it mis-transcribes often, editing eats up your time.
Language support	Especially relevant for non-English / multilingual content.
Subtitle export / formats and burning-in vs separate file	.srt, .vtt etc are standard; ability to embed vs just produce a file matters depending on video platform.
Editing / subtitle timing control	Even with good AI, fine-tuning is usually needed.
Free-tier limitations (duration, watermarks, audio / video input size)	Some “free” tools are only mildly so until you pay for more minutes or more export options.
Privacy / whether processing is local or cloud	Might matter for sensitive content.

Top Free Tools for Transcription + Subtitling

Here are some good ones, combining transcription & subtitling capabilities, especially free tiers:

Strong Picks

SubtitleWhisper

Uses OpenAI Whisper. Very good for accuracy.
Free, no credit card required. Supports uploading video/audio or giving YouTube links.
Download transcripts/subtitles in formats like .srt / .txt, etc.

Animaker Subtitle Generator

Auto subtitle via AI, with editing & formatting tools.
Supports many languages (100+), good for translation or multi-language subtitles.
The free plan has some limitations (e.g., watermark, fewer export options).

Maestra.ai

Free auto subtitle generator, live captioning features.
Supports many languages, different formats, editing, and styling.

Auris AI

Transcription + subtitling in one platform. Clean editing of the transcript like a text document.
Free version available.

VMake AI

Automatic subtitle generation from videos, ability to download SRT + transcription.
CapsAI Auto Subtitle Generator
Offers subtitles in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Hinglish, etc.
Downloadable SRT/VTT or burn-in subtitles.

Tools with Important Limitations or Mixed Trade-Offs

Animaker free plan: often with watermarks, limits on export resolution, or video length.

Some tools give free minutes or small quotas (e.g., Otter.ai free tier). For large volumes, you’ll need paid plans. (Otter: ~600 mins per month free tier)

Post-processing time, editing required: AI is good but rarely perfect, especially with background noise / accent variation.

Recommendations: What to Use When

Use-Case	Best Tool(s)
Short videos / social media, many languages	SubtitleWhisper, Maestra.ai, CapsAI
Live captioning / meetings	Maestra.ai (live), Otter.ai (for transcription + meeting capture)
Sensitive privacy settings / no cloud upload	Whisper-based tools run locally might help; tools that process locally or allow you to download and delete after.
Budget zero / occasional use	Use free tiers of above tools; mix and match depending on length of video etc.