Subtitling · German
German subtitling and captioning
Professional German subtitles and captions, timed to the frame and positioned around shot changes. Open captions, closed captions and SDH, in whatever format your platform needs.
About German subtitling
Premium German subtitle solutions
We produce German subtitles and captions for audiences across Germany, Austria, Switzerland and German-speaking communities worldwide — for television, film, corporate video, eLearning and social.
German is a demanding language to subtitle. Long compound words and sentence structures that hold the verb until the end mean a literal translation rarely fits the line length or the reading speed. Our subtitlers condense without losing meaning, which is the whole craft.
Every project is handled by native German subtitlers working to professional timing standards, with templates created and checked in-house rather than farmed out.
Which do you need?
Open captions, closed captions or SDH
Three different deliverables that people often ask for by the wrong name. Here is the short version.
Open captions
Burnt inSubtitles burnt permanently into the picture. Nobody can switch them off, which is exactly what you want for social feeds that autoplay muted.
- Always visible
- Font, size, colour and position to match your brand
- Delivered as a finished video file
Closed captions
SwitchableA separate file the viewer can turn on and off, and that can carry several languages at once. The standard for YouTube, Vimeo and the streaming platforms.
- Viewer controls them
- Multiple languages from one video
- Indexed by search engines
SDH
AccessibilitySubtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing: dialogue plus speaker IDs and the sound effects and music cues that carry meaning.
- Speaker identification
- Non-dialogue audio described
- Meets accessibility requirements
How it works
The subtitling process in a nutshell
Subtitling is not translation with timecodes bolted on. Each stage exists because skipping it shows up on screen.
Template
We transcribe the original and build a timed template, setting where each subtitle enters and leaves against the picture.
Translation
A native German subtitler adapts the dialogue to fit the line length and reading speed — condensing where the language expands.
Timing
Every subtitle is cued to the frame and repositioned around shot changes, so nothing straddles a cut or covers on-screen text.
Quality check
A second linguist reviews the file against the video for accuracy, readability, timing and house style.
Delivery
Your files in the formats your platform needs, or a finished video with the subtitles burnt in.
Our standards
The specs we work to
Readable subtitles are a matter of measurable limits, not opinion. These are the defaults we apply to German unless your style guide says otherwise.
Maximum per line
37 for broadcast delivery
Maximum on screen
Bottom-weighted, centred
Reading speed
Lower for children's content
Minimum duration
Seven seconds maximum
German runs roughly 10–20% longer than English, so hitting these limits is where the subtitler earns their keep. We condense, we do not truncate.
Deliverables
Professional subtitle formats
We adapt your existing translations into subtitle format or create subtitles from scratch, in German, English or any other language.
Standard text-based
Compatible with most platforms and players.
Broadcast & professional
For broadcasters, post houses and streaming delivery specs.
Burnt-in video
A finished file with the subtitles baked into the picture.
German specifics
Mastering cultural adaptation in German subtitling
German is spoken across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and each market has its own vocabulary and conventions. Swiss Standard German, for instance, drops the ß entirely — a detail that a local audience notices immediately.
The language also asks a lot of the subtitler structurally: compound nouns run long and the verb often lands at the end of the sentence, so you cannot split a subtitle wherever it happens to fill up. We break lines at natural syntactic points, which is what makes them readable at speed.
On top of that, German draws a clear line between formal and informal address (Sie and du). Getting that register wrong changes how your brand sounds, so we agree it before a single line is timed.
Subtitling rates
Professional German subtitling
Best when you handle the video yourself and just need the caption file.
- Timed template
- Native German subtitler
- Quality check pass
- SRT, VTT or your format
A complete managed service, delivered ready to publish.
- Everything in Subtitle file
- Burnt-in video or multi-language captions
- SDH on request
- Dedicated project manager
Priced by runtime, language pair and turnaround, and backed by our Price Match Promise. Send us your video for an exact, no-obligation quote.
Trusted by global brands
It was a pleasure to work with David and the team at GoLocalise. David gave me lots of help and advice, guiding me through my first subtitling project. He really knows his stuff! The experience was completely pain-free. I would not hesitate to recommend GoLocalise – outstanding work at a good price.
We have used GoLocalise on a regular basis for projects in a number of languages. The service we receive is great. The team is always friendly and professional. The voiceovers we receive are of a very high quality and the turnaround is extremely quick. We are very happy to recommend GoLocalise to other businesses.
We’ve worked with the GoLocalise team on countless video projects and have always had the same consistent, great experience. Not only are they responsive and quick on turnaround, I can always trust the VO will be done right – they are always 100% clear with communication and ensure their talent is prepared to record by asking necessary questions upfront before recording. Highly recommended and will definitely work with them on future projects.
They’re reliable, adaptive and obsessed with quality. And while you can never be 100% guaranteed of perfection, you can be sure GoLocalise will go the extra mile to get it right every time. Whether that’s hiring extra resources, hopping on multiple calls or even changing their internal processes, they’ll do what it takes. We’ve worked with them now for over 5 years and we are truly thankful to have such a strong localisation partner for our business.
Related services
The rest of your German project
Most common questions
In practice the words are used interchangeably, but there is a distinction. Subtitles assume you can hear the audio and translate what is said. Captions are written for viewers who cannot hear it, so alongside the dialogue they identify who is speaking and describe sounds that carry meaning. That fuller version is what we call SDH.
Ready to subtitle your content in German?
Send us your video and we’ll come back with an exact, itemised quote.
Professional voice over services for your audio and video productions
Voice over
- State-of-the-art studios
- Neumann microphones
- On-hand sound engineers
- 1,000+ voice actors
Translation
- 600+ languages and accents covered
- Tailored to your needs
- Stringent quality control
- Dedicated project managers
Subtitling
- Experienced subtitlers
- Industry-standard software
- Burn-in and graphic editing
- Open and closed captions
Transcription
- Improve accessibility
- Reach a wider audience
- Boost SEO and video views
- Maximise video engagement