Free Subtitle Reading-Speed Checker

    Every cue's character count divided by its on-screen duration, compared against reading-speed presets — kids' content, general streaming, fast-paced. A cue above the threshold is flagged as likely too fast to actually read, not merely too fast to display.

    • No uploadRuns on your device
    • No accountNothing to sign up for
    • No watermarkYour file, untouched
    • Works offlineDisconnect and try it

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    Your files never leave your device

    This is not a promise about how carefully we handle your upload. There is no upload. The file you choose is read into memory by your own browser, processed there, and handed back as a download — the tool has no server component and makes no network request with your data.

    • Nothing is stored. We never receive the file, so there is no copy to retain, no retention period to disclose, and nothing to delete on request.
    • Nothing is transmitted. No upload endpoint, no analytics payload carrying file contents, no third-party processor.
    • You can verify it. Load this page, disconnect from the internet, and use the tool. It still works, because everything it needs is already on your machine.
    • Nothing persists after you close the tab. Files are held in page memory only — not in local storage, not in a cache, not in a database.

    A note on wording, because it matters: we do not describe these tools as “encrypted.” Encryption protects data that travels to somebody else's computer. Your file does not travel, so there is nothing to encrypt and nothing to intercept — which is a stronger guarantee than encryption, not a weaker one. The page itself is served over HTTPS like the rest of the site.

    This makes the tools safe for material you are contractually barred from uploading to third-party services — client footage under NDA, unreleased campaign assets, anything covered by a confidentiality clause.

    Questions

    What's a normal reading speed for captions?

    There's no single number every platform enforces, but streaming guidelines commonly land between 17 and 20 characters per second for general adult content, lower for children's programming, and higher is sometimes accepted for fast-paced material a viewer can rewatch. The presets here reflect that range — pick the one closest to your audience.

    How is this different from words-per-minute?

    WPM measures how fast a script is spoken; this measures how long text actually sits on screen once it has been cut into cues. A perfectly-paced voiceover can still produce an unreadable cue if the cue-splitting crammed too much text into too short a timestamp — exactly what this catches, and a spoken-duration estimate cannot.

    Do my files get uploaded anywhere?

    No. This tool runs entirely in your browser using the Canvas and File APIs. The file you choose is read into memory on your own machine, processed there, and offered back as a download. Nothing is sent to a server, which is also why it keeps working with your network off.

    Is it actually free, or is there a catch?

    Actually free, with no account and no limit, because it costs nothing to run — the work happens on your device rather than on our hardware. That is different from generating with an AI model on Versely, which does cost credits; there is no free tier for generation.

    These rearrange files. Versely makes new ones.

    Everything on this page works on a file you already have, which is why it costs nothing. Generating something that did not exist — video from a prompt, a voice, a score — runs a model, and that costs credits.