How to Download Vimeo Captions or Subtitles as an SRT File
Vimeo lets only people with edit access download a video's captions. How to save them as SRT from any public Vimeo link, and what to do when a video has none.
Short answer
To download a Vimeo video's captions as SRT, paste its link into a transcript tool such as SubGrab: it saves the video's own captions when there are any and transcribes the audio when there aren't. For a video you can edit, open it in your Vimeo library, choose Languages, and download the track as .srt, .vtt or .ttml.
Vimeo keeps captions for a lot of videos: tracks the owner uploaded, and automatic captions, which Vimeo's help says creators on Free and paid accounts have access to. Downloading them is another matter. Vimeo's own instructions start with "You must have edit access to the video to view or download its transcript" (Vimeo Help).
Here are the two ways to get them as an .srt file, and what to do when a video has none, which is most of the time.
Method 1: Paste the Link Into SubGrab (Any Public Vimeo Video)
1. Copy the Vimeo link. Regular links (vimeo.com/123456789), unlisted links with their privacy code (vimeo.com/123456789/abc123def4), player.vimeo.com links, showcase links and review links all work.
2. Paste it into the box on the Vimeo transcript page.
3. Sign in. A free account comes with 2 credits.
4. If the video has captions, SubGrab reads them for 1 credit, whatever the video's length. If it has none, SubGrab offers AI transcription instead, at 1 credit per started hour of audio.
5. Click Download and choose SubRip (.srt), WebVTT (.vtt) or Plain Text (.txt).
When a video has captions in several languages, SubGrab takes the English track if there is one and otherwise the first track listed. Vimeo sometimes lists a track whose file is gone; SubGrab then tries every other track before offering AI transcription, and the credit for the failed read is returned.
How Many Vimeo Videos Have Captions?
About a third, going by the Vimeo links people paste into SubGrab:
| Vimeo transcripts, 11 Oct – 9 Nov 2026 | Count |
|---|---|
| From the video's own captions | 226 of 634 (36%) |
| From the audio, because there were no captions | 408 of 634 (64%) |
| Couldn't be read, mostly password-protected or embed-only | 44 (not in the 634) |
So for most Vimeo videos there is no caption file to download anywhere, and the only way to an SRT is transcribing the audio. SubGrab's AI transcription is 95% accurate on clear English speech, and lower with heavy accents or background noise.
Method 2: Download Your Own Video's Captions From Vimeo
If you have edit access to the video, Vimeo gives you the file directly (Vimeo Help):
1. Open the video from your Vimeo library to reach its settings page.
2. Choose Languages in the left-hand menu.
3. Open the three-dot menu next to the transcript.
4. Choose Download. The file arrives as .srt, .vtt or .ttml.
Vimeo says this works on the Free plan and all paid plans, and only for videos that have captions, uploaded or auto-generated. It also advises editing a transcript to correct auto-caption errors before publishing, which is good advice for any machine-made subtitles.
To fix a track rather than just keep it, edit the downloaded file and upload it back. Vimeo accepts SRT and WebVTT, recommends WebVTT, and needs the file in UTF-8 so accented characters display correctly.
Passwords, Review Links and Other Special Cases
- Password-protected videos work if you have the password: SubGrab asks for it before taking a credit and doesn't store it (details).
- Review links (vimeo.com/reviews/…) work while the owner keeps them active (details).
- Embed-only videos play only on the websites the owner allowed (how to tell).
- Private videos and some newer unlisted uploads are shown only to signed-in viewers, so their links can't be read (why).
A video that can't be read costs nothing: the credit is returned automatically.
SRT, VTT or TXT?
- SRT opens in almost every video editor and player, and it's the file Facebook asks for when you upload captions.
- VTT is the format web players expect, and the one Vimeo recommends for uploads.
- TXT is for reading and quoting; SubGrab's starts each line with its timestamp.
More in SRT vs VTT vs TXT.
Related Reading
Frequently asked
Can I download captions from a Vimeo video I don't own?
Not from Vimeo itself: its help says you must have edit access to a video to view or download its transcript. A tool that reads the captions from the public link, such as SubGrab, gets you the same text as SRT, VTT or TXT. Use it for notes, study or accessibility, and ask the owner before republishing it.
Does Vimeo generate captions automatically?
Vimeo says creators on Free and paid accounts have access to automated subtitle transcription. Even so, most Vimeo videos people bring to SubGrab carry no captions: 408 of the 634 transcribed in the 30 days to 9 November 2026 had none and were transcribed from the audio instead.
How much does it cost to get Vimeo subtitles?
Reading captions a Vimeo video already has costs 1 credit, whatever its length. A video without captions is transcribed from its audio at 1 credit per started hour, so a 90-minute webinar costs 2. A new account starts with 2 free credits, and a video that can't be read costs nothing.
What if the Vimeo video has a password?
Enter it when SubGrab asks. The password is checked before any credit is taken, it isn't stored, and a wrong one costs nothing. Private and embed-only videos are different: Vimeo plays those only for the accounts or websites their owner chose, so their links can't be read.