Subtitle Line Length Checker
Find subtitle lines longer than 42 characters or your own limit, with index and timestamp.
Long lines are hard to read
Viewers need short lines to read subtitles comfortably. Many broadcasters' and streaming platforms' style guides recommend at most 42 characters per line. Long lines look crowded, can't be read in fast scenes and may be cut off on some TVs.
What the tool does
The checker counts the characters of every line and lists those over your limit with the cue number and timestamp. The default limit is 42; change it for children's content or other style guides.
Quality control
Translators and subtitle editors can run this check before delivery to reduce revision requests. Your file is processed in the browser.
How to use Subtitle Line Length Checker
- Upload the subtitle file to check.
- Set the maximum characters (default 42).
- Review the list of lines over the limit.
- Fix those lines in your subtitle editor.
Why use this tool?
Checks compliance with professional subtitle standards in seconds and catches mistakes before delivery.
FAQ
Why 42 characters?
It's a common limit used by many broadcasters and streaming platforms for comfortable reading.
How many lines should a subtitle have?
Usually no more than two.
Do tags count towards the length?
No, formatting tags are removed before counting; only the visible text counts.
Related tools
Subtitle Word Counter
Count dialogue lines, words and characters in subtitle files, excluding timecodes.
Open toolSubtitle Cleaner
Remove styling tags, hearing-impaired notes and music symbols from subtitles.
Open toolSubtitle Converter
Convert subtitles between SRT, VTT, ASS, SSA and TXT while keeping the timing.
Open toolSRT to Text Converter
Extract only the dialogue from subtitle files as plain text, without timecodes or numbers.
Open tool