You found subtitles for a movie, but they appear too early, too late, or start fine and slowly drift away. Each of these has a different cause and a quick fix.
Step 0: get the right file
The number one cause of “out of sync” is a subtitle made for a different release of the same movie. A BluRay rip and a WEB-DL rip can differ by a few seconds or have different cuts. When you search, pick the subtitle whose name matches your file name as closely as possible.
Our free movie subtitle search looks in OpenSubtitles and SubDL at the same time, so you see more releases to choose from in one list.
Case 1: always early or always late by the same amount
This is a constant offset. Shift every timecode by the same number of seconds:
- VLC: press
GorHwhile playing to move subtitles by 50 ms steps. Good to find the right amount; it does not save the file. - In the file: shift all times and save, with Subtitle Edit (Synchronization → Adjust all times) or in the browser with our free shift subtitle timing tool, which runs locally without uploading the file.
Case 2: fine at the start, worse and worse later
This is drift, almost always a frame rate mismatch: the subtitle was timed for 23.976 fps and your video plays at 25 fps (or the opposite). Shifting will not fix it. Convert the frame rate of the subtitle instead (for example 23.976 → 25). Subtitle Edit can do it, or use the free change subtitle frame rate tool.
Case 3: in sync, then suddenly off after a certain scene
The two releases have a different cut (an extra scene, a recap, an intro). Split the file at that point and shift only the second part, or look for a subtitle made for your exact release.
Nothing matches your file?
Make subtitles from the audio of your own copy: they will match it exactly. Upload it to the AI subtitle generator and download an SRT (free minutes when you verify your email).