Translate Subtitles in Filmora: AI Translation Guide

Quick answer: Text-only translation is the cheaper, safer starting point for Filmora’s AI Translation. Voice and text costs more than three times as much per minute, and human review is still essential.

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Want viewers who don’t speak your language to follow your videos? Filmora’s AI Translation can translate your subtitles, and can also dub your voice into another language. This guide explains the two translation types, what Wondershare says about supported languages, what each type costs in AI credits, and how to export the translated subtitles.

How-to guide · Updated October 2026

Disclosure: ToolPilot Guide may earn a commission from some links on this page at no extra cost to you. How I reviewed this: this guide is based on Wondershare's official Filmora documentation, checked in October 2026. I haven't tested AI Translation myself yet, so there are no accuracy scores, timings or my own screenshots here. Language lists and credit costs change, so check them in your copy of Filmora and on Wondershare’s site. A commission never changes our verdict. See our affiliate disclosure.

What you’ll learn

The difference between “Translate Voice and Text” and “Only Translate Text”
What Wondershare’s own pages say about supported languages, and why the numbers don’t match
The steps Wondershare documents for translating a video
How to edit translated subtitles and export them as an SRT
How many AI credits each translation type uses per minute
A quality checklist before you publish a translated video

New to Filmora captions? Read the Filmora AI Captions tutorial first. It covers generating and proofreading captions in your own language, which you should do before translating anything.

Who this is for

YouTubers and course creators whose analytics show viewers in other countries
Small businesses making product or tutorial videos for customers in more than one language
Creators who want subtitles in another language without hiring a translator for every video
People who want to try an AI dub of their voice on short videos

Who should skip

Legal, medical or compliance videos where a mistranslation could cause harm. Use a professional translator.
Channels whose whole audience speaks one language
Anyone who can’t get the translation checked by someone who speaks the target language, at least for important videos

Two translation types: text only, or voice and text

Wondershare’s AI Translation guide for Windows says the settings window offers two types:

Only Translate Text translates the subtitles and leaves your original voice. Viewers hear you and read the translation.
Translate Voice and Text translates the speech as well as the subtitles, so the video gets an AI voice in the target language along with translated captions.

The same guide mentions Lip Sync. Wondershare says it’s available only for videos under 5 minutes, and appears only when you use voice and caption translation. On longer videos, plan for subtitles only.

The two types also cost different amounts (see the credits section below), so it’s worth choosing on purpose.

Supported languages: what each Wondershare page says

Wondershare’s pages give different numbers, so here is each one with its source rather than one figure:

AI Translation guide for Windows: Filmora supports 23 source languages. Voice and text translation can go into 14 target languages. Text-only translation supports all recognised languages. (source)
AI Video Translation support FAQ: the translator supports “up to 23 languages”. These include English (US and UK), German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Japanese, Chinese (Taiwan and Hong Kong), Russian, Dutch, Arabic, Korean, Polish, Romanian, Indonesian, Swedish, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Telugu and Tamil. (source)
Auto caption page: Dynamic Caption “can translate captions to 30+ languages”. (source)
Speech-to-Text language FAQ: speech recognition supports 45 languages and dialects. (source)

What this means for you: the pages describe different features (AI Translation, Dynamic Caption translation and Speech-to-Text) and may have been updated at different times. Don’t rely on any one total. Open the language list in your copy of Filmora and check that your exact language pair is there before you plan a series around it.

Before you start (quick checklist)

A finished, proofread video in the original language. Translation mistakes pile up on top of transcription mistakes.
Clear speech with little background music
Enough AI credits for the length of the video (see below)
A stable internet connection. Wondershare says its speech recognition runs in the cloud.
Someone who speaks the target language to review it, if the video matters

Steps: translate a video in Filmora

These are the steps from Wondershare’s Windows guide. The guide says there are multiple ways to open the tool, and menu names may differ slightly on Mac or in other versions.

Create a project and import your video. Click New Project, then Import in the media panel.
Open AI Translation. Drag the video to the timeline. Then right-click the video in the media library and choose AI Translation.
Choose your settings. Pick the translation type (Translate Voice and Text, or Only Translate Text), then the source and target languages. Wondershare says Auto Match is on by default to line the subtitles up with the timeline. Click Translate.
Preview and export. When it finishes, drag the translated files to the timeline, preview them, and click Export.

Speech-to-Text also lets you pick a translation target when you generate captions. Wondershare’s Speech-to-Text support page lists an optional translation step after you choose the source language.

According to Wondershare’s FAQ, AI Translation can translate audio files too, including MP3, M4A, WAV, WMA, OGG, FLAC, AIF and AIFF. That’s useful for podcasts.

Try Filmora’s AI Translation. You can download it free from Wondershare. Translation uses AI credits, and free exports usually carry a watermark.

Edit and export the translated subtitles

Wondershare’s AI Video Translation FAQ says you can edit the translated subtitles and export them as an SRT:

When translation finishes, the translated subtitles appear on the timeline.
Right-click the subtitle and choose Advanced Edit to open the Subtitle Editor. There you can add, delete and revise subtitles, and change the font, animation and colour.
To save just the subtitles, right-click the track and choose Export Subtitle File.
To save the translated video or audio, use the normal Export button.

A translated SRT lets you add a second caption language on YouTube without making a second video. Our Filmora SRT guide covers exporting, importing and uploading subtitle files in detail.

How many credits does translation use?

According to Wondershare’s AI credit rules:

Translate voice and text: 16 credits per minute
Only translate text: 5 credits per minute
Speech-to-Text (original-language captions): 4 credits per minute

Here’s what that means for a 10-minute video, based on Wondershare’s per-minute rates: about 50 credits for text-only translation, or about 160 credits for voice and text. That’s more than three times as much. Wondershare doesn’t clearly say whether caption generation and translation are charged separately, so check your balance after your first job.

How many credits you get depends on your plan. Compare plans in Filmora Free vs Monthly vs Annual, and check live prices on Wondershare’s site. I don’t list prices here because they change.

Quality checklist before publishing a translation

Have a native or fluent speaker review at least the first video in each language
Check brand names, product names and technical terms. AI often translates names that should stay as they are.
Check numbers, prices, dates and units
Make sure translated lines fit on screen. Some languages take up more space.
For dubs, listen all the way through for odd pronunciation or timing
Label the language clearly when you upload, for example in the SRT file name and on YouTube

Common problems and what to check

My language isn’t in the list. The pages above give different counts, so your app’s dropdown is the final word. If your pair isn’t there, use text-only translation into a language that is, or a human translator.

The Lip Sync option is missing. Wondershare says it appears only for voice and caption translation, on videos under 5 minutes.

Translation is wrong in places. Fix the source captions first, then translate again or edit in Advanced Edit. A bad transcript leads to a bad translation.

Translation fails to start. Check your credit balance and internet connection. I couldn’t find an official explanation of specific error messages, so I won’t guess at causes.

Where translation fits a YouTube workflow

A simple order: edit, generate captions, proofread, translate (text only to start), export an SRT for each language, then upload. New to the publishing side? Filmora for YouTube Beginners walks through it from the first edit to the first upload.

Text-only or voice dubbing? A decision table

Your situation	Better fit	Why
Talking-head video longer than 5 minutes	Only Translate Text	Wondershare says Lip Sync only works on videos under 5 minutes, and text-only costs 5 credits per minute instead of 16.
Short promo or product clip under 5 minutes	Translate Voice and Text (try it)	Lip Sync is listed as available for short voice and caption translations.
Your target language isn’t in the voice list	Only Translate Text	Wondershare’s guide says text-only covers all recognised languages, while voice translation has a smaller list of 14 targets.
Your on-camera personality and voice are the brand	Only Translate Text	Viewers still hear you. This is an editorial judgement, not a Wondershare claim.
Tight credit budget, many videos	Only Translate Text	It costs less than a third of voice and text per minute.
Audio-only content (podcast clips)	Either. Check the language list.	Wondershare’s FAQ says audio files such as MP3 and WAV can be translated.

Credit budgeting: worked examples

All of these use Wondershare’s published rates: 4 credits per minute for Speech-to-Text, 5 per minute for text-only translation and 16 per minute for voice and text. They’re estimates. Wondershare doesn’t say how partial minutes are rounded, so leave some headroom.

One 8-minute tutorial, Spanish subtitles: 8 × 5 = about 40 credits for text-only translation. If you also generate English captions first, that’s 8 × 4 = about 32 more.
Same tutorial, subtitles in 3 languages: 3 × 40 = about 120 credits, assuming each language is a separate job.
A 3-minute promo dubbed into French: 3 × 16 = about 48 credits.
Four 12-minute videos a month, one subtitle language: 4 × 12 × 5 = about 240 credits a month for translation alone.

Compare the totals with the credits included in your plan, which are listed on Wondershare’s site. Our plan comparison explains the differences between plans.

A workflow for a multilingual YouTube channel

This is a practical routine built from the documented features. It’s editorial advice, not a Wondershare procedure.

Lock the edit first. Translating before your final trim means fixing the timing in every language.
Caption and proofread the original language. Fix names and numbers here, so the mistakes don’t get translated.
Translate one test language using text-only, and have it reviewed.
Export an SRT for each language with Export Subtitle File, and name the files clearly, for example video-es.srt and video-fr.srt.
Upload one video with several caption tracks. This is usually simpler than running separate channels for each language. YouTube accepts .srt files (YouTube Help).
Check your analytics after a few weeks before adding more languages or trying dubs.

Subtitle QA checklist (print this)

The source captions were proofread before translating
Product and brand names left untranslated where needed
Calls to action make sense in the target language
No line is too long to read in the time it’s on screen
Captions don’t cover on-screen text or faces
For dubs, the voice timing doesn’t overlap the next scene
The SRT file name and the YouTube caption track show the right language
Someone who speaks the target language has signed off

FAQ

Can Filmora translate subtitles?
Yes. Wondershare documents an AI Translation feature with an “Only Translate Text” option and a “Translate Voice and Text” option.

How many languages does Filmora translate?
It depends on the page and the feature. The AI Translation guide says 23 source languages, 14 targets for voice and text, and all recognised languages for text only. The auto caption page says Dynamic Caption translates to 30+ languages. Check the list in your app.

Can I export translated subtitles as SRT?
Yes. Right-click the subtitle track and choose Export Subtitle File, according to Wondershare’s FAQ.

Does translation cost credits?
Yes. Wondershare lists 5 credits per minute for text only and 16 credits per minute for voice and text.

Does Lip Sync work on long videos?
Wondershare says Lip Sync is available only for videos under 5 minutes.

Can I translate a podcast or audio file?
Wondershare’s FAQ says AI Translation also works on audio formats including MP3, M4A, WAV, WMA, OGG, FLAC, AIF and AIFF.

Is Auto Match something I need to turn on?
Wondershare’s Windows guide says Auto Match is on by default, to line subtitles up with the timeline.

Should I translate before or after proofreading?
After. Mistakes in the original captions get carried into every translation.

Honest take

On paper, Filmora’s AI Translation covers the useful basics: text-only subtitles, an optional AI dub, editable results and SRT export. Text-only translation is the cheaper, safer starting point. Voice and text costs more than three times as much per minute, and Lip Sync only works on short videos. The confusing language counts across Wondershare’s own pages are a good reason to check your exact language pair before committing. Either way, human review is still essential. To see the editor as a whole, read our Wondershare Filmora review.

Get Filmora from the official Wondershare site and check the current plans and AI credit details there.

More Filmora captions guides

Sources (checked October 2026)

Wondershare: AI Translation for Windows (the two translation types, steps, Auto Match, 23 source languages, 14 voice targets, all recognised languages for text, Lip Sync under 5 minutes)
Wondershare Support: AI Video Translation FAQ (“up to 23 languages” list, audio formats, Advanced Edit, Export Subtitle File)
Wondershare: Auto Caption page (Dynamic Caption translation to “30+ languages”)
Wondershare Support: Speech-to-Text languages (45 languages and dialects)
Wondershare Support: How to use Speech to Text (optional translation target, cloud processing)
Wondershare: AI credit rules (16 and 5 credits per minute for translation, 4 per minute for Speech-to-Text)
YouTube Help: Supported subtitle files (.srt accepted)

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