Waveform video generator, on your PC
Bars that are the real spectrum of your audio, not a loop. Three backgrounds, three sizes, a title and AI subtitles. No watermark.
Updated: October 2026 · 6 min read
A waveform video generator that runs on your PC and adds no watermark: AppGrabbit. Drop the audio onto Subtitles with AI, click Get subtitles (1 credit; the AI transcribes on your PC), pick format and background on the preview (free) and Make the video builds a 1080p MP4 at 30 fps with bars that are the real spectrum of the audio, a title and subtitles with the spoken word lit up. 1 credit · the video: Pro
Real spectrum, not a loop
Many template “audio waves” are an animation that repeats and has nothing to do with what is playing. Here the bars come from a frequency analysis FFmpeg runs on your audio frame by frame: 64 bars in landscape, 40 in portrait and square, mirrored. Before the analysis the audio is leveled (a whisper and a shout look even) and goes through a gate: in silences the bars truly drop. That is why you can see when someone breathes and when they land a line.
Three backgrounds, three sizes
| Landscape 16:9 | Portrait 9:16 | Square 1:1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size | 1920×1080 | 1080×1920 | 1080×1080 |
| Bars | 64 mirrored | 40 mirrored | 40 mirrored |
| Subtitles | Classic, at the bottom | Center, mid-screen | Center, mid-screen |
| For | YouTube, web, presentations | Reels, TikTok, Shorts, Stories | Instagram, LinkedIn and X feed |
There are three backgrounds: Night (dark, light bars), Paper (light, dark bars) and Sky (blue, white bars). Each is a two-color gradient that drifts slowly, so the video does not feel like a still image.
What you cannot change, stated plainly
There is no free color picker, no other waveform shapes (line, circle, particles), no logo or background photo, and subtitles are always on. It is a decision: it comes out right in a minute with nothing to touch. If your brand calls for something specific, an editor with audio templates is the tool; the .srt you get here saves you the subtitles.
Specs
- Video — H.264, 30 frames per second, 1080p in all three formats.
- Audio — AAC; your audio, leveled.
- Font — Poppins, bundled in the app: it looks the same on any PC.
- Time — about 9 seconds per 51 of audio on the PC we measured it on; no length cap.
AppGrabbit against the other ways
| AppGrabbit | Web waveform generators | After Effects or Premiere templates | Canva | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waveform from the real audio | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ~ Depends on the template |
| Timed subtitles | ✓ Yes, from the AI | ✗ No | ✗ You add them | ~ Per sentence |
| Watermark | ✓ Never | ✗ On free | ✓ No | ✗ On free, in some |
| Free colors and shapes | ✗ Three backgrounds | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Your audio never leaves your PC | ✓ Never | ✗ Goes to their servers | ✓ Yes | ✗ Goes to their cloud |
| Cost | Get subtitles: 1 credit (5 free a month) · preview: free · Make the video: Pro $8.99/mo or 7-day pass $3.99 | Free with watermark, then paid | Adobe subscription | Free with limits, paid Pro |
Step by step
- 1Install AppGrabbit for Windows — Download the free installer (everything included). Windows will say it protected your PC because the installer is not code-signed: click More info, then Run anyway.
- 2Drop the audio onto Download › Subtitles with AI — mp3, m4a, wav, ogg, opus, flac… It has to carry speech: the waveform follows the whole audio, but the subtitles come from what is said, and with no speech there is no video.
- 3Click “Get subtitles” (1 credit) — The app transcribes the audio on your PC, word by word, and leaves .srt, .vtt and .txt in the Subtitles folder. The first time it gets the AI engine ready, once. With no speech, it tells you and gives the credit back.
- 4Pick format and background — Landscape (64 bars), Portrait or Square (40 bars). Night, Paper or Sky background: the bars change color with it. Optional title on top. Real preview, free.
- 5Click “Make the video” (Pro or the 7-day pass) — Out comes an H.264 MP4 with AAC audio: background, title, bars that follow the voice and subtitles with the spoken word lit up. It sits in the Subtitles folder and in the Library.
Frequently asked questions
Real: it is the audio's spectrum, computed frame by frame with FFmpeg. The audio is leveled first so a whisper and a shout look even, and a gate keeps the bars down in silences. It is not a loop that repeats.
You pick the background (Night, Paper or Sky) and the bars take the color that suits each. There is no free color picker and no other waveform shapes (line, circle): on purpose, so it comes out right with nothing to tweak. If you need that, an editor with templates.
No: subtitles are part of the feature, and the feature needs speech. Music-only audio is not converted.
Not today. You choose among three backgrounds (Night, Paper and Sky), a title and the format; bars and subtitles come by themselves. That is on purpose, so it is ready in a minute. If you need your own image, do it in an editor with the .srt you get here.
No. An hour of audio comes out as an hour of video; it just takes longer: about 9 seconds per 51 of audio on the PC we measured it on, plus the transcription (about 30 seconds per 10 minutes with an NVIDIA card).
Getting the subtitles (.srt, .vtt and .txt) costs 1 credit; Free comes with 5 a month. Previewing with format, background and title is free. “Make the video” is for Pro (USD 8.99 a month) or the 7-day pass (USD 3.99, no renewal). There is never a watermark.
Nothing. The audio is transcribed by Whisper (whisper.cpp) on your computer and FFmpeg builds the video right there. With a file of yours it even works offline, after the first time.
Related guides
A waveform that follows your voice, on your PC
Windows 10/11 · Get subtitles: 1 credit, 5 free a month · Make the video: Pro or 7-day pass