Zoom's file-format article defines the two on separate lines: CC.VTT is a "Text file that contains closed captioning for the cloud recording," while VTT is a "Text file that contains the audio transcription for the cloud recording." Same WebVTT extension, same recording, two different things.
That distinction is easy to miss because both files land in the same place and open in the same text editor. But they come from two different settings, they are produced by two different features, and Zoom's developer documentation gives them two different file types. If you are writing a download script, handing a file to a captioning workflow, or just trying to work out why you have one and not the other, the difference is the whole answer.
What Zoom's documentation actually says
The list is short and Zoom states it directly: "Zoom computer recordings and cloud recordings save in MP4, M4A, M3U, TXT, CC.VTT, and VTT formats."
Note the wording that follows it, because it sets expectations correctly. Zoom says that after finding your recordings, "you will see some of the following file formats" — some, not all six every time. Which files exist depends on what you recorded and which settings were on.
Both text-track definitions end with the same three words: for the cloud recording. Zoom describes CC.VTT and VTT as cloud recording artifacts, and there is a matching statement on the transcription side — audio transcription "only applies to cloud recordings, not computer recordings that are saved to your device."
Two separate settings produce them
This is the part most comparisons skip. In Zoom's advanced cloud recording settings, the two files have their own switches, described independently:
- Create audio transcript — "Select this setting to automatically transcribe your cloud recordings."
- Save closed caption as a VTT file — "The closed captions are saved as a VTT file that is accessible by users on the cloud recording detail page."
Nothing in either description says that enabling one produces the other. They are documented as two settings with two outputs, so if you need both files, both switches have to be on.
Zoom describes the transcription side in more detail elsewhere: "Audio transcription automatically transcribes the audio of a meeting or webinar that you record to the cloud. After the transcript is processed, it appears as a separate VTT file in the list of recorded meetings." The transcript is also editable — it "is divided into sections, each with a timestamp showing how far into the recording that portion was made," and you can edit the text "to more accurately capture the words or to add capitalization and punctuation, which are not included in the transcript."
That last clause is worth reading twice. Zoom says punctuation and capitalization are not included in the generated transcript. If a raw VTT from Zoom looks like an unbroken run of lowercase words, that is the documented behaviour, not a failed job.
The API draws the same line, harder
Zoom's Meetings API for cloud recording is the cleanest confirmation that these are not the same file. Its file_type field lists them as separate values, each with its own description:
- "
TRANSCRIPT- Transcription file of the recording in VTT format." - "
CC- File containing closed captions of the recording in VTT file format."
The file_extension enum lists VTT once, which is exactly why extension-based logic cannot tell them apart. The recording_type enum keeps them separate too, with both audio_transcript and closed_caption in the list.
There is one more API detail that has real consequences if you automate downloads. Zoom documents it like this: "A recording file object with file type of either CC or TIMELINE does not have these properties. id, status, file_size, recording_type, and play_url."
So the CC file is not merely a different file type — it carries fewer fields. A script that sorts recording files by file_size, or checks status before downloading, will hit missing values on CC objects specifically. The transcript file is not treated this way; CC is.
Which file you will actually end up with
Working from the statements above, three situations cover most cases.
- You recorded to your computer. There is no transcript. Zoom's limitations list for computer recordings names "Audio transcription" among the features they do not support, and the transcription article repeats it from the other direction. Local recordings give you the MP4 and the audio file; the text track is not part of that output.
- You recorded to the cloud and the recording is there but the VTT is not. Zoom notes that "once the cloud recording becomes available, the audio transcript may take additional time to process." The transcript is a later arrival than the video, by design.
- You are watching playback and see captions, but cannot find a file. The transcript is "automatically embedded within the audio and video file, but is hidden by default," per Zoom's own note. Seeing text on screen does not tell you which of the two files exists on the detail page.
Getting either file into SRT
Both files are WebVTT, and plenty of editors, players and upload forms want SRT instead. Converting is a format change, not a re-transcription — the timings and text stay as they are.
Try it right here
Runs in your browser. Your file is not uploaded anywhere.
This runs inside your browser tab, so a meeting transcript never leaves your machine — worth caring about when the file is a verbatim record of a private call. The same conversion is available on its own page at VTT to SRT, and the reverse at SRT to VTT if a platform demands WebVTT back. The rest of the browser-side toolkit is listed at all Clapr tools.
If you are still hunting for the video file that goes with the captions, converting a Zoom recording to MP4 covers where recordings are saved and what happens when one never finishes converting.
Three things that catch people out
The official docs disagree about transcript languages. Zoom's page on enabling audio transcription states that "Audio transcription only supports English." The transcription article on the same help centre says transcripts "are supported in multiple languages," lists 19 of them including Simplified Chinese, Japanese and Arabic, and documents changing the language so that "Zoom will reanalyze and transcribe the audio in the newly selected language." Two official pages, two answers. The language-list page is the more specific of the two, but check both before concluding your language is unsupported.
The May 2026 caption change is narrower than it sounds. Zoom states that "Starting May 18, 2026, users can no longer save or download closed captions," with captions remaining available during meetings "with up to 3 minutes of scroll back, and during recording playback." A separate FAQ page describes "a gradual rollout between May 24, 2026, and May 26, 2026." Read the scope note on that FAQ before you panic: "Transcript settings for My Notes, archival, and cloud recordings will continue to be managed in separate locations in the web portal."
Trimming a cloud recording rewrites the text files too. Zoom is explicit: "Trimming affects all associated audio and transcript files, overwriting the original." If you trim after downloading a VTT, your copy and the cloud copy no longer match.
FAQ
Is CC.VTT the same as the VTT file in a Zoom recording?
No. Zoom defines CC.VTT as closed captioning for the cloud recording and VTT as the audio transcription for the cloud recording. Its API keeps them apart as CC and TRANSCRIPT.
Why do I have a VTT but no CC.VTT, or the other way round? They come from two separately documented settings — "Create audio transcript" and "Save closed caption as a VTT file." Having one file on does not turn on the other.
Why does my Zoom transcript have no punctuation? Zoom states that capitalization and punctuation "are not included in the transcript," and that you can edit the transcript text to add them.
Why is there no VTT file for a recording saved on my computer? Audio transcription "only applies to cloud recordings, not computer recordings that are saved to your device," and Zoom lists it among features computer recordings do not support.
Can I convert a Zoom VTT to SRT without uploading it? Yes — the converter above runs in your browser. For a broader comparison of the two subtitle formats, see VTT vs SRT captions, and for more explainers like this one, browse the guides hub.
Quotations are from Zoom's support articles on recording file formats, cloud recording settings, audio transcription, saving closed captions and caption changes, plus the Zoom Meetings API cloud recording reference, as published on 16 September 2026. Zoom revises these pages often — check the official documentation before relying on any of it.
