Blog › Final Cut Pro

Free subtitles in Final Cut Pro with an SRT file

Updated 9 November 2026 · by Szymon at szy.monster

Final Cut Pro has imported SRT captions since version 10.4.1. Recent versions can also transcribe speech on Apple silicon Macs. If you're on an Intel Mac, need a language it doesn't support, or just want Whisper's accuracy, an .srt file is the free way in.

1. Make the SRT

Open AutoSubtitler in Safari, Chrome or Firefox, drop in your video and press Make subtitles. Download the .srt when it's done. Your video isn't uploaded anywhere.

2. Import the captions

In Final Cut Pro, choose File › Import › Captions…, select the .srt, and pick the clip or timeline position to attach them to. When it asks for a role, choose SRT and the language.

The captions appear as a caption lane above the primary storyline.

3. Edit and style

Double-click a caption to change its text.
Drag its ends in the caption lane to change its timing.
Use the Captions inspector for formatting.

SRT captions can carry basic styling, such as bold and colour, and their position.

4. Export

To share a video with captions burned in, choose File › Share, pick a destination, and select Burn in captions with the SRT role.
To export the captions as a separate file, select them and choose File › Export Captions.

Tips

If Final Cut shows the captions out of sync, check that they're attached to the right clip, and that the timeline starts at 00:00:00:00.
Speech recognition struggles with names. Add yours under More options in AutoSubtitler before you make the file, and they'll be spelled correctly throughout.