Where to Download Subtitles for Movies and TV Shows: The 4 Best Sites (2024)

If you rely on subtitles when watching movies and TV shows, it's frustrating when they are missing. That's where subtitle download websites come in—and these are the best places to download free subtitles, along with how to load them.

Where to Download Subtitles for a Movie or TV Show

First, you need to download the subtitles. These are the sites to use.

1. OpenSubtitles

OpenSubtitles is one of the biggest subtitle databases. Though the site looks a bit dated, it's actively maintained and provides subtitles for shows and movies of all eras. There's no registration required for download.

Other useful features include the ability to request subtitles, advanced search filters, and embedded third-party information (like IMDb).

2. Podnapisi

Despite sounding like a site for podcasts, Podnapisi is an excellent subtitle resource for over 64,000 movies and 8,000 TV shows. Chances are, whatever you require subtitles for is available here.

In total, two million subtitles are available in various languages and formats, including 115,000 adapted for hearing-impaired and hard-of-hearing (SDH) viewers.

With a speedy, clean interface, and easy search function (filter by keywords, seasons, language, FPS, and more), Podnapisi is an exceptional choice for subtitles.

3. Addic7ed

Although the layout isn't the fanciest, Addic7ed is still a great place to get subtitles from due to its breadth of content. New subtitles are uploaded all the time; just use the search bar to find what you need.

If something isn't available, hop into the forums, and someone might be able to help you out. Plus, you can browse the site's tutorials to find out how to make subtitles of your own.

4. TVsubtitles

Despite its name, TVsubtitles isn't just for TV shows, though they are its bread and butter; you only need to glance at its list of subtitles for evidence. There are so many TV shows listed here, spanning decades and genres.

The movie subtitle selection is slimmer, so you're better off with a different site for those, but some are available if you need them.

How to Load Subtitles for Movies and TV Shows

Most free media players will automatically detect and load subtitle files as long as you title them properly.

Generally, all you have to do is rename the subtitle file to the same name as the video file. This works for nearly all video file formats (e.g., AVI, MKV, MP4) and the most common subtitle file formats (e.g., SCC, SRT, SUB, VTT). You also have to ensure both the video and subtitle files are in the same location.

With that done, launch the video file, and your media player should automatically load the subtitle file.

What if it doesn't? Or what if your video file has a built-in subtitle track, and you want to override it with the subtitle file? In that case, you'll have to manually load the subtitle file and switch the track in your media player.

How to Manually Switch Subtitle Tracks for a Video

We'll demonstrate using VLC Media Player, an excellent and popular media player app.

To manually load a subtitle file, even one that isn't in the same location as the video file:

1. Launch the video file in VLC.
2. In the top toolbar, select Subtitles > Add Subtitle File.
3. Navigate to the subtitle file, select it, and click Open.

You can load multiple subtitle tracks (as many as you want) and switch between them at will. This is particularly useful for certain movie files, especially those in the MKV format, which come with many subtitles in various languages. This is one of the many great secret features of VLC Player.

To switch to a different subtitle track, go to Subtitles > Su b Track > Track #.

How to Download Subtitles Directly Through VLC Player

The above sites are great. However, if you prefer subtitles for everything, then downloading them by hand every time can get cumbersome.

Happily, some media players support the ability to search and download subtitles right within the app, and some can even automatically find subtitles based on the filename of what you're watching.

Again, we recommend VLC Player, which uses a default plugin called VLsub to search for subtitles on OpenSubtitles.

1. Open VLC Player and play the video
2. Click View > VLsub from the top toolbar.
3. For the most accurate result, select Search by hash as this searches based on the exact video you're playing. Alternatively, manually write the name in the Title field (use the other fields like Subtitles language and Season as needed) and click Search by name.
4. Select your chosen subtitle file from the list.
5. Before proceeding, be aware that any existing subtitle files will be overwritten without confirmation, so move them to another folder if you still need them.
6. When you're ready, click Download selection.

The subtitle file gets placed in the same folder as your video, with a matching name. This means that VLC player will automatically load the subtitle file when you play the video. In the toolbar, go to Subtitle > Sub Track to toggle the subtitles.

Mobile Subtitles Are Also Easy, Thanks to VLC Player

Now you know how to download and use subtitles, no longer will you have to strain to hear dialogue over huge explosions. And thankfully, if you're using a streaming service, most of them come with multi-language subtitles to save you this trouble anyway.

While these tips have focused on subtitles for desktop videos, you can also add subtitles to mobile videos. VLC Player remains the best choice on mobile too.