Creator tool / 04
Subtitle Timing Shifter
Move subtitles earlier or later, and fix files cut at a different frame rate.
Subtitle Timing Shifter: TOEA adds your offset to every cue and can rescale the whole timeline for the usual frame-rate mismatches, writing the file back in the format it arrived in. Runs 100% locally in your browser with zero server file uploads.
- Category
- YouTube tools
- Runs
- In your browser
- Cost
- Free · no sign-up
- Availability
- Ready to use
Runs entirely in your browser
SRT or VTT · up to 5 MB, or paste below
Negative values move the subtitles earlier.
Measuring the offset
Find a line early in the video with a clear first word, note when it is spoken in the player and when its cue starts in the file, and take the difference. Check the same way near the end. If both differences match, enter that value as the shift; if the error grows through the file, choose the frame-rate correction first, and add a shift only if some of the error remains. If only part of the file is out, for example after an ad break was removed, split it where the error begins, shift the second part, and merge the two again with the split time as the offset.
Frame rates and releases
Film runs at 24 frames per second, or 23.976 for video. In countries that used PAL television, films were often played at 25, about 4% faster, so a 100-minute film runs about 96 minutes and subtitles made for the other version drift steadily out of step. That is what the 23.976 → 25 and 25 → 23.976 options correct.
A VTT file comes back without its cue settings, NOTE blocks, and STYLE blocks, which the tool does not keep; re-add any positioning you depend on.
How to use it
- Choose a subtitle file or paste its text.
- Set the offset in seconds, and a frame-rate change if needed.
- Download the corrected file.
Privacy & limitations
The file is read and rewritten in your browser and never uploaded. Timings are clamped at zero, so a large negative offset cannot produce a negative timestamp.
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
The subtitles run early. Which way do I shift?
Use a positive offset to move them later. If they appear before the dialogue by two seconds, enter 2.
What is the frame-rate option for?
Subtitles timed for 23.976 fps drift steadily when played at 25 fps. The drift grows through the file, so an offset alone cannot fix it — the timeline has to be rescaled.
How do I tell drift from a fixed offset?
Check the first and last cue. If both are out by the same amount it is an offset; if the error grows, it is a frame-rate mismatch.
Does it change the format?
No. An SRT file stays SRT and a VTT file stays VTT, so only the timings differ.
Free tool · runs in your browser · no account required