SRT vs. WebVTT

SRT and WebVTT look similar, but they come from different worlds. SRT grew out of desktop video tools; WebVTT was designed for HTML5 video on the web.

Side by side

1
00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:03,500
Welcome to SNUBBIX.

WEBVTT

00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.500
Welcome to SNUBBIX.

Key differences

	SRT	WebVTT
Header	none	WEBVTT required
Millisecond separator	comma	full stop
Cue numbers	required	optional identifiers
Hours	always present	optional (01:02.500)
Positioning	no standard	cue settings (align, line, position)
Styling	informal tags	CSS via ::cue
Comments	none	NOTE blocks

Which should you use?

• HTML5 <track> elements require WebVTT.
• Many LMS and video platforms accept both; SRT is the safer default when you don't know the destination.
• Editing tools almost always import SRT.

Converting

SRT → WebVTT is lossless for timing and text. WebVTT → SRT loses cue settings, styling and NOTE blocks, because SRT has no equivalent. A good converter tells you what it dropped.