Subtitle timing

Subtitle Minimum Duration: 5/6 Second, Maximum 7 Seconds

Netflix's general requirements set a minimum duration of 5/6 of a second (20 frames at 24 fps) and a maximum of 7 seconds per subtitle event. The two numbers exist for opposite reasons: a cue under the minimum flashes, and a cue over the maximum is re-read.

The minimum: 5/6 of a second

5/6 of a second equals 20 frames at 24 fps — about 0.833 seconds. Netflix's timing guide phrases the same floor as “20 frames (or 4/5 sec)”; the 4/5 figure is the 25 fps rounding of the same 20-frame rule. The minimum is reserved for very short cues of one or two words; longer cues should be extended wherever possible.

The maximum: 7 seconds

A subtitle held longer than 7 seconds makes the viewer re-read it and start watching the caption instead of the picture. Long speech is therefore split across several consecutive cues rather than left on screen as one block.

Why the minimum is not a reading-speed rule

The minimum guards against flashing, not fast reading. A one-word cue held for half a second has a low CPS and still fails, because the eye needs a moment to register a subtitle at all. Reading speed is a separate check — see the Netflix CPS limit.

Exceptions and broadcast differences

The BBC does not set a fixed per-event minimum; it recommends about 0.3 seconds per word as a floor, which scales with the text length rather than being a single number. Shot changes and speech rhythm can also justify dipping below a target — but only when there is no other way to make the edit work.

Work out how long a cue needs

Use the subtitle duration calculator to reverse the sum: give it a line of text and a reading-speed target, and it returns the minimum display time that keeps the cue inside the limit.