How to Download Subtitles From a Facebook Video (SRT, VTT or Text)
Facebook shows captions on some videos but gives viewers no way to save them. How to get SRT, VTT or text subtitles from a public Facebook video or Reel, and what Page owners can do.
Short answer
Facebook has no button for saving a video's captions, even when they show in the player. To get subtitles as a file, paste the video or Reel link into a transcript tool such as SubGrab, which transcribes the audio and exports SRT, VTT or text with timestamps. It works on public videos, not friends-only or group ones.
Facebook puts captions on a lot of videos: some uploaded by the creator, some generated by Facebook, and many Reels with words written straight onto the picture. What it doesn't give a viewer is a way to save any of them. Facebook's own help explains how to turn captions on under Settings, then Media, and how a creator adds captions to their video by uploading a SubRip (.srt) file. It says nothing about downloading them.
So the dependable way to get a Facebook video's subtitles as a file is to make them from the audio. Here is how, and what we measured doing it for a month.
Method 1: Paste the Link Into SubGrab (Any Public Video or Reel)
1. Copy the video's link. In the Facebook app, tap Share, then Copy link. Links that start facebook.com/share/r/, facebook.com/share/v/, facebook.com/reel/ or facebook.com/watch/, and fb.watch short links, all work.
2. Paste it into the box on the Facebook transcript page.
3. Sign in. A free account comes with 2 credits.
4. Confirm the price: 1 credit per started hour of video, so a Reel or anything up to an hour costs 1 credit. Videos up to 10 hours long are accepted.
5. When the transcript opens, click Download and choose SubRip (.srt), WebVTT (.vtt) or Plain Text (.txt).
All three come from the same transcript, so you can download every format without paying again. SRT and VTT carry the start and end time of each subtitle; the text file starts every line with its timestamp. SRT vs VTT vs TXT explains which one your editor or player wants.
What We Measured: 1,093 Facebook Videos in 30 Days
Between 11 October and 9 November 2026, SubGrab was asked to transcribe 1,093 Facebook videos, counted once per transcript rather than once per attempt.
| Facebook videos, 11 Oct – 9 Nov 2026 | Result |
|---|---|
| Transcribed | 1,026 of 1,093 (93.9%) |
| Median length | 74 seconds |
| Three in four were shorter than | 3 minutes 22 seconds |
| Nine in ten were shorter than | 17 minutes 40 seconds |
| Not in English | 546 of 1,026 (53%) |
Most Facebook videos people want subtitles for are short, so most cost a single credit. Of the 67 that failed, 51 were videos Facebook shows only to logged-in viewers; more on those below.
Languages: More Than Half Weren't English
| Language | Facebook transcripts, same 30 days |
|---|---|
| English | 480 |
| Hindi | 232 |
| Urdu | 69 |
| Gujarati | 49 |
| Arabic | 41 |
| Spanish | 40 |
| French | 26 |
SubGrab doesn't trust a video's opening alone, where music or silence can pass for English. On anything longer than 30 seconds it listens to four 30-second stretches spread from the start to near the end, and goes with the language most of them hear, so the subtitles come back in the language that was spoken instead of as a translation. If a transcript still comes back in the wrong language, here is why that happens.
Burned-In Captions Are Not a Subtitle File
Many Reels show captions as part of the picture: the creator added the text in an editing app and it was rendered into the video itself. There is no subtitle track behind those words, so no tool can download them as SRT; they could only be read off the screen. A transcript made from the audio gives you the same words with exact timings, plus anything the on-screen text left out.
The captions you switch on and off in Facebook's player are a separate track, but Facebook only displays them.
Method 2: Your Own Video (Meta Business Suite)
If the video is on a Page you manage, you can work on its captions directly. Facebook's help page on editing a Page video lists Add auto-generated captions, which turns on computer-generated captions, and Upload captions, for your own .srt file. With task access to the Page, you do this in Meta Business Suite.
That page describes adding and editing captions, not downloading them. So the useful route runs the other way: make the SRT from the audio with Method 1, correct names and terms in any text editor, and upload it as the video's captions. Facebook asks for a SubRip (.srt) file, which is exactly what SubGrab's SRT download is.
When a Facebook Link Can't Be Read
Friends-only, group and private videos can't be read from a link by any tool: Facebook shows a signed-out visitor a login page instead of the video. Some public videos Facebook hides can still be reached, so a public one is worth pasting, and if SubGrab can't read it, you aren't charged. Why some Facebook videos won't transcribe goes through it in detail, and Facebook share links explains the /share/ links the app copies.
If the video plays for you but its link can't be read:
- You have the file: upload it and download the same SRT.
- It plays in your browser: the failed page offers Record it from a tab instead on desktop Chrome or Edge (how it works).
Check Before You Publish
SubGrab's AI transcription is 95% accurate on clear English speech, and weaker on names, slang and loud music. Read an SRT through before it goes back on a video, especially:
- Names and brands, which the audio alone can't spell
- Songs and background music, which can turn into stray lines
- Long silences, where a stray "Thank you." sometimes appears (why)
Need to know who is speaking? Speaker labels are an optional add-on for 1 credit per started hour, switched on when you confirm the job.
Related Reading
Frequently asked
Can I download the captions Facebook shows on a video?
Not as a viewer. Facebook's help explains how to turn captions on, under Settings and then Media, and how creators add them to their own videos, but describes no way for a viewer to save them. Transcribing the video's audio gives you the same words as a timed SRT, VTT or text file.
Why does a Reel with captions on screen still need transcribing?
Most Reel captions are burned into the picture: the words are part of the video image, not a separate subtitle track, so there is no file to download. A transcript comes from what is said, with exact timings, and it also catches speech the on-screen captions left out.
Does it work for Facebook videos that aren't in English?
Yes. Of the 1,026 Facebook videos SubGrab transcribed in the 30 days to 9 November 2026, fewer than half were in English; Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Arabic and Spanish came next. The language is detected from the speech itself, and the subtitles stay in the language that was spoken rather than being translated.
How much does a Facebook subtitle file cost?
One credit per started hour of video, so a Reel or any video up to an hour costs 1 credit, and a new account starts with 2 free credits. If Facebook won't let SubGrab read the video, you aren't charged. The SRT, VTT and text downloads of one transcript cost nothing extra.