(Free) How to Extract Subtitles from MKV, MP4, M2TS, VOB, etc. with the Best Subtitle Extractors on Windows

Quick Navigation

Before Proceeding:

- Soft vs. Hard Subtitles

- Subtitle Formats

Choose Subtitle Extractor (Overview):

- WonderFox Subtitle Extractor

- MKVToolNix

- CCExtractor

Bottom Line

FAQs

Using the right video subtitle extractor is key to extracting subtitles from videos like MKV, MP4, M2TS, and more. In this article, I'll introduce three excellent, free subtitle extractors and walk you through the entire subtitle extraction process on Windows, step by step. Want to get started easily? Download this handy sub extractor and read on:
https://www.videoconverterfactory.com/download/hd-video-converter-pro.exe hd-video-converter-pro.exe

Before Proceeding, Check If You Can Extract Subtitles from Your Videos

First, it's important to clarify that not all subtitles can be extracted. The subtitle type and format determine whether you can successfully extract subtitles from your videos and what kind of file will be produced.

- Soft Subtitles vs. Hard Subtitles

Subtitles come in two types: soft subtitles (Closed Captions) and hard subtitles (Open Subtitles/burned-in subtitles).

Soft subtitles are independent tracks that can be extracted from the video, whereas hard subtitles are integrated into the video frames and cannot be extracted directly.

- Subtitle Formats: SRT, ASS/SSA, VTT, PGS, VobSub

The subtitle format decides what output file you'll get.

Text-based subtitle formats are the most common. These include SRT and ASS/SSA, which you often find in MKV, MP4, and MOV/M4V movies, and VTT, which is typically used for WebM videos. When you extract these subtitles, you will get text files (e.g., .srt, .ass/.ssa, or .txt) that can be opened and edited easily in a text editor like Notepad.

On the other hand, there are also image-based subtitle formats: PGS and VobSub. PGS is commonly found on Blu-ray discs (M2TS), while VobSub is used in standard DVDs (VOB). Directly extracting PGS or VobSub yields image files (such as .sup or .sub/.idx) rather than editable text. So you'll probably need an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) tool if you want to have them in text formats.

You can easily check if your video contains soft or hard subtitles, as well as the subtitle format. Simply open your video using the free software MediaInfo to view its technical details, including whether a text stream is present and the format of that stream.

Now you should know whether your video subtitles can be extracted. You can choose the following methods to effectively extract the subtitles.

💡 If a video file does not contain extractable soft subtitles, you can download external subtitle files directly from online databases such as OpenSubtitles.org or Addic7ed.com, or use OCR tools to extract hardcoded subtitles.

How to Extract Subtitles from Videos: Choose Your Subtitle Extractor

Subtitle Extractor	Best for
WonderFox Subtitle Extractor	Extracting SRT/ASS/SSA/VTT from MKV/MP4/MOV/WebM movies
MKVToolNix	Extracting PGS/VobSub from MKV/M2TS/VOB files (requires gMKVExtractGUI installed)
CCExtractor	Extracting VobSub from VOB and saving it as a text file (.srt)

- Method 1: Extract Subtitles with WonderFox Subtitle Extractor

If your video contains SRT, ASS/SSA, or VTT soft subtitles, you can use WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro's built-in easy subtitle extractor to quickly split subs from your movie and save them as separate text files on your computer.

Here is an example of extracting SRT from an MKV video. With similar steps, you can also extract subtitles from MP4, MOV/M4V, and WebM. Download the software and follow the instructions below:

Step 1: Open the Subtitle Extractor

Launch the software and enter the Toolbox module. Select Subtitle Extractor.

Step 2: Add a Video Containing Soft Subtitles

Click ➕ Add Video to import a video that you want to extract subtitles from.

Step 3: Select the Subtitle Track and Output Type

Select your preferred subtitle track from the subtitle drop-down menu if the video contains multiple subtitle tracks. If you see no subtitles, it means the video imported does not have a text-based subtitle track.

Next, select what format you want to save the subtitles in: SRT, ASS, SSA, or TXT.

Step 4: Extract Subtitles from the Video

Choose an output folder at the bottom and click Extract Subtitles to export the subtitle file to that folder. The process should be done very quickly.

- Method 2: Extract Subtitles with MKVToolNix (and gMKVExtractGUI)

Note that the first tool cannot handle image-based subtitles like PGS or VobSub. If your video source is a Blu-ray (M2TS) or DVD rip (MKV/VOB), you will need a stream extractor to extract the subtitles correctly.

MKVToolNix is an excellent choice for this purpose. It allows you to extract subtitle streams into the .mks format, a Matroska subtitle container that stores only the subtitle tracks. And when used together with gMKVExtractGUI, you can also extract the raw .sup or .sub/.idx files from the track. This can be useful if you need to add the subtitles back into the video later.

Now, follow the steps below to learn how to use these tools to extract subtitles from an MKV/M2TS/VOB file:

🔔 gMKVExtractGUI supports only Matroska files. If your source video is an M2TS or VOB file, you must first use MKVToolNix to export the subtitles as an MKS file, and then import that MKS file into gMKVExtractGUI to extract the subtitles. See the later section for more details.

🔔 The output remains in image-based formats.

Step 1: Download the MKVToolNix installer from https://mkvtoolnix.download/downloads.html#windows and complete the installation.

Then, download gMKVExtractGUI from https://github.com/Gpower2/gMKVExtractGUI/releases and extract the files. Copy and paste the entire contents of the extracted folder into the MKVToolNix installation directory.

Setting up MKVToolNix and gMKVExtractGUI

Step 2: Double-click gMKVExtractGUI to run it.

Step 3: Drag an MKV file into the Input Files section. The program will display all available tracks. Select your preferred subtitle tracks.

Step 4: Click Browse to specify an output directory, or check Use Source to save the subtitle files in the same folder as the video file.

Step 5: Click Extract to start the extraction process.

💡 Steps to Extract Subtitle Tracks from M2TS or VOB:

Launch MKVToolNix and drag an M2TS or VOB video into the Source files area.
Check the box before the subtitle track and leave other tracks unchecked if you don't need them.
Select a destination folder at the bottom.
Click Start multiplexing and confirm Create file without audio track to export the subtitle track.

You can then follow the steps above to extract the subtitle file from the exported MKS track.

Extract Subtitle Tracks from M2TS or VOB

- Method 3: Extract Subtitles with CCExtractor

If you wish to extract image-based VobSub from VOB files into text-based SRT, CCExtractor is an ideal choice due to its built-in OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology. Here is how to extract SRT from VOB using CCExtractor.

Step 1: Download the win_portable version from https://github.com/CCExtractor/ccextractor/releases and unzip the file.

Step 2: Double-click ccxgui.exe to run it.

Step 3: Click Add more files to import a VOB file. (If you need more customization, explore the tabs on the left panel, which may require some learning)

Step 4: Click Start all to begin the extraction process.

It will take some time to scan the images and turn them into a text file. Once completed, the generated SRT file will be saved in the same folder as the video file.

Bottom Line

Keep in mind that only soft subtitles can be directly extracted, and you can use the three excellent subtitle extraction tools introduced in this article to properly extract subtitles from MP4, MKV, MOV, WebM, and even VOB or M2TS.

In fact, MKVToolNix and CCExtractor also support extracting text-based subtitles in SRT, ASS/SSA or VTT formats contained in MP4, MKV, MOV and WebM videos, but the simplest one to use is the subtitle extractor built into WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro, which needs no additional plug-ins or complex settings. Additionally, you can gain access to a range of other practical features, such as video conversion, audio extraction, video downloading, screen recording, GIF making, and more. If your video contains text-based subtitles, WonderFox is highly recommended. Download the software now to give it a try:

Subtitle Extraction FAQs

1. How do I extract soft subtitles from MP4?

The easiest way is to use WonderFox's built-in Subtitle Extractor to extract subtitles from MP4 to SRT, ASS, SSA, or TXT format.

2. Can I extract subtitles from M2TS or VOB?

Yes. You can use tools like MKVToolNix to pull original subtitle tracks directly from M2TS and VOB files, or use gMKVExtractGUI to further extract the subtitle files from those tracks.

3. Why can't I extract subtitles from MKV?

If the subtitles are burned into the MKV video or are image-based, they cannot be extracted directly. Instead, you need to use an OCR tool like CCExtractor to convert the subtitles into an SRT file.