5 Free Cantonese Subtitle Solutions Compared in 2026: Free Quotas, Sign-Up, and Export Limits

Many people looking for "free Cantonese subtitles" tools first open their usual editing software, thinking the built-in subtitle feature should be enough; or they see the word "free" and sign up right away, only to discover halfway through that downloading subtitle files costs money, or the free quota is only a few minutes. These aren't bad tools—it's just that they didn't check upfront what "free" actually includes.

This article covers 5 Cantonese subtitle solutions you can start using for free, plus 1 transcript organization option after subtitles are produced. It only includes free conditions that can be found and verified, and concludes with a comparison table and recommendations based on needs. Data was verified in August 2026; quotas and prices may change at any time, so refer to official pages for the latest information.

What to Check Before Using for Free

1. Is "Free" a Quota or a Preview Range?

This is the easiest thing to misjudge. CantoSub AI's free version offers 30 minutes per month; Hey! Subtitles' free version offers 5 minutes per month plus a 5-minute welcome gift; Subanana's free account allows 3 files per month, with the first 15 minutes of results previewable per file. These are three completely different calculation methods—one based on total duration, one based on file count plus clip length. Confirm your usage pattern first, then choose a solution to save a lot of time.

2. Can Free Accounts Download Subtitle Files?

Subanana's free account allows uploading and previewing results, but downloading subtitle files is a paid feature. In other words, "being able to see it" doesn't mean "being able to take it with you." If your workflow requires SRT or VTT files for editing software, confirm this first.

3. Do You Want Spoken or Written Chinese?

Spoken Cantonese retains original wording like "嘅" and "咗", while written Chinese converts to standard Chinese. Subanana offers four output combinations: spoken/written each paired with Traditional or Simplified Chinese; CantoSub AI focuses on converting spoken to written Chinese. If your audience wants the original spoken feel, choosing the wrong output mode means redoing the entire subtitle.

4. Common Misconceptions: Thinking Built-in Editing Software Is Enough, Thinking Free Models Have No Cost

Most editing software has quite limited support for Cantonese, which is why many creators turn back to specialized tools. Another approach is using open-source models on GitHub; a Hong Kong YouTuber shared about 90% accuracy, but also mentioned that there are many free methods online and you need to be willing to spend time researching and handling things manually. Saving on tool costs comes at the expense of multiple times the processing time—whether it's worth it depends on how many videos you produce per month.

5. Treat Accuracy Numbers as "External Claims"

The numbers 98%, 96%, 95–100%, and 90% mentioned in this article come from external statements by various tools or tutorial articles, and testing conditions are not consistent. Actual performance is affected by recording quality, background noise, accent, overlapping speakers, and the degree of mixed Chinese-English. It's recommended to test and compare using your own recording.

1. CantoSub AI: Larger Free Quota, Good for Experiencing Spoken-to-Written Conversion

Free conditions: Free version offers 30 minutes per month (Source: Hey! Subtitles 2026 comparison article).

Key features and workflow: Focuses on converting spoken Cantonese to written Chinese, and supports custom vocabulary such as brand names and personal names. The process is roughly: upload audio or video, select Cantonese, generate subtitles, then proofread sentence by sentence. This article did not obtain interface screenshots of this tool; specific button names are to be confirmed.

Use cases and limitations: Suitable for creators who want to organize spoken content into written Chinese. The source also mentions the brand is relatively new, and the free and Basic plans do not include translation; Basic is about HK$78/month—refer to official pages for pricing.

2. Hey! Subtitles: Smaller Quota, Good for Verifying Accuracy

Free conditions: Free version offers 5 minutes per month, plus a 5-minute welcome gift (Source: same comparison article). Basic plan is about HK$72/month.

Suitable uses: The quota is small and hard to support regular output, but it's great for "same recording, compare different tools" testing to see which one's Cantonese recognition results are closer to your own way of speaking.

Limitations: Few free minutes; better as a second or third backup option rather than a primary production line.

3. Subanana: Preview Without Credit Card, Decide After Seeing Results

Free conditions: Free account allows 3 files per month, with the first 15 minutes of results previewable per file, no credit card required; downloading subtitle files is a paid feature.

Key features and workflow: Upload video or paste a public link (supports MP4, MOV, MP3, M4A, or public YouTube, Instagram links), select Cantonese in language options, AI automatically generates subtitles and aligns the timeline; after generation, you can edit sentence by sentence, unify terminology, then export subtitle files or output the finished video.

Use cases and limitations: Output offers four combinations: spoken/written each paired with Traditional or Simplified Chinese; mixed Chinese-English like "今個 quarter 個 target" retains the original English words. The official page also mentions a maximum of 8 hours per file and 30 GB, and claims 98% accuracy (official claim). The limitation is that the free plan cannot download subtitle files and requires an upgrade to obtain files.

4. Google AI Studio: A No-Cost Route, But You Handle the Post-Processing

Free conditions: The source article states it can be used completely free, supports Cantonese, and cites Google AI technology's speech recognition accuracy of 95–100% (source claim).

Key features and workflow: Directly upload video files; AI recognizes speech and generates subtitles.

Use cases and limitations: This is a general AI tool, not a subtitle workflow product. Output format, timeline alignment, sentence-by-sentence editing, and subsequent export all need to be handled by yourself. Free quotas and available features are subject to Google's official pages; this article cannot confirm whether the same conditions will be maintained long-term (to be confirmed). Suitable for people willing to figure out the workflow themselves and who have more time.

5. youtuber.ai: Opens Directly in Browser, Good for Already-Published YouTube Videos

Free conditions: The source article states it can be used for free, operated through a web page, no software installation required.

Key features and workflow: Upload files or paste YouTube links; AI processes them into text and subtitles.

Use cases and limitations: Most convenient for YouTube creators who have already published videos and want to add subtitles retroactively. The source is the service's own article, claiming 96% accuracy (source claim); for the free plan's file length limit and actual output format, it's recommended to confirm on the page before use (to be confirmed).

Beyond Subtitle Files: Transcripts That Can Continue to Be Used

If what you need isn't just a subtitle file, but to turn interviews, courses, or meeting content into searchable, summarizable data you can continue to query, you can also look at Tinrec. The free version provides a basic quota so you can experience recording, importing, summarizing, and transcribing.

How it works: real-time recording transcribes as you record; the desktop version directly captures computer system audio without needing a meeting bot to join, and can handle online meetings on Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, etc.; it also supports uploading existing audio and video files. After transcription, it generates summaries, chapters, key points, and action items, and allows AI Q&A around meeting content, generating reports and tables, then exporting to common formats or tools like Notion, Google Docs, OneNote, etc.

For team use, the team version provides independent team spaces where data belongs to the team, with member invitations, role and seat management, usage analytics, audit logs, and an audio recycle bin (currently retained for 30 days). To be clear: roles determine who can manage the team and settings; seats determine whether members can record, upload, edit, and export; members who are active but have no seat can view, play, and read team data but cannot upload, edit, or export.

Limitations to note: Tinrec is positioned as meeting notes and collaboration, not a dedicated Cantonese subtitle generator. Product information mentions Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and multilingual meeting transcription, and also supports mixed Chinese-English content organization, but there is no independent description for spoken Cantonese output (e.g., "嘅", "咗"); it's recommended to confirm actual results with your own recording (to be confirmed). Also, no tool should be considered 100% accurate; important content should still be checked against timestamps and recordings.

Free Feature Comparison Table

Tool	Sign-up & Device	Free Quota or Preview Range	Key Features	Main Limitations
CantoSub AI	Registration required; online use	Free version 30 minutes/month	Spoken Cantonese to written Chinese, custom vocabulary	No translation on free and Basic; brand is relatively new
Hey! Subtitles	Registration required; online use	5 minutes/month + 5-minute welcome gift	Cantonese subtitle transcription	Small free quota, hard to support regular output
Subanana	Free account no credit card; online use	3 files/month, first 15 minutes previewable per file	Spoken/written × Traditional/Simplified four outputs, mixed Chinese-English, long file support	Downloading subtitle files requires payment
Google AI Studio	Google account required; online use	Source claims completely free (quota to be confirmed)	Upload video for automatic recognition and subtitle generation	Not a subtitle workflow product; format and timeline need self-handling
youtuber.ai	Web use	Source claims free (limit to be confirmed)	Upload files or YouTube links to convert to subtitles	Free conditions and output format need self-confirmation
Tinrec	Registration required; web, desktop, mobile	Free version provides basic quota to experience recording, import, summary, and transcription (minutes subject to official website)	Bot-free online meeting recording, summary chapters, action items, AI Q&A, team spaces	Not a dedicated Cantonese subtitle tool; no independent description for spoken Cantonese output

Sources: Hey! Subtitles 2026 Cantonese subtitle tool comparison article, Subanana official Cantonese subtitle page and homepage, youtuber.ai official article, 99AICreator free AI subtitle tutorial article, and Tinrec product information. Data verified: August 2026.

Which One Is Right for You?

Just want to test the waters and hope for a larger quota: CantoSub AI's free version offers 30 minutes per month, the most generous free hours in this roundup, suitable for subtitling a few interviews or short videos first.

Want to see results before deciding whether to pay: Subanana's free account allows 3 files per month, first 15 minutes previewable per file, and no credit card required—best for the "try before you buy" mindset; just remember downloading subtitle files is a paid feature.

Not planning to spend any money and willing to handle post-processing formats yourself: The Google AI Studio route is worth trying, but factor in the time cost and confirm the current free quota yourself (to be confirmed).

Already have YouTube videos and want to add subtitles retroactively: youtuber.ai's paste-link-and-process workflow has the fewest steps, suitable for already-published content.

Already using editing software and don't want to open another tool: First confirm the software's actual support for Cantonese; if results aren't ideal, use a specialized tool to supplement subtitles and keep the editing software for editing work.

Subtitles are just an intermediate product; the focus is transcripts and post-meeting organization: Consider Tinrec to put recording, transcription, summaries, action items, and team data in one workflow; but if your core need is purely Cantonese subtitle files, specialized tools are still a more direct choice.

The real value of free plans isn't how much money you save, but letting you confirm three things before committing to a whole video: how the quota is calculated, whether subtitle files can be taken with you, and whether the output is spoken or written Chinese. Once these three questions are answered, usually only one tool is left to learn.

References

• 2026 Complete Comparison of Cantonese Subtitle Tools: Free Solutions, Editing Software, SaaS Platforms Reviewed — Hey! Subtitles
• Cantonese Subtitle Generator 2026 | Subanana
• [Free Tool] Cantonese Speech-to-Text App, Use in Browser! Just Upload Files or YouTube Links. 96% Accuracy — YouTuber AI | Spend time on creativity, leave the AI to do the hustle work.
• Free AI Subtitles | Supports Cantonese and Many Other Languages, Completely Free! | 99AICreator
• AI Subtitles, Speech-to-Text, and Meeting Notes | Understands Cantonese | Subanana