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Speech Time Calculator

Paste your script and instantly calculate spoken duration at 5 speaking rates (audiobook, conversational, presenter, energetic, auctioneer).

Provide your script

0 words0 characters

Paste your script above and we'll calculate the spoken duration.

How the math works

duration (seconds) = word count / (wpm / 60)

Industry-standard speaking rates: 110 wpm (audiobook), 140 wpm (conversational), 160 wpm (TV presenter), 180 wpm (energetic short-form), 250 wpm (auctioneer / ultra-fast).

Most YouTube and podcast scripts land at 140-160 wpm in practice. TikTok and Reels scripts often hit 180+ because creators speak faster to fit more value into 30-60 seconds.

About the Speech Time Calculator

Paste any script (or enter a word count) and see how long it will take to speak at five named speaking rates: 110 wpm (audiobook), 140 wpm (conversational), 160 wpm (TV presenter), 180 wpm (energetic / TikTok), and 250 wpm (auctioneer). Useful for video scriptwriters, podcasters, voiceover artists, and presenters who need to match script length to a target duration.

✓ Runs entirely in your browser. No signup, no AI cost, no data sent anywhere.

Hear the script read

Timed your script? Have it narrated.

Paste the script into Script to Video and an AI voice reads it word for word, with a scene for each beat and captions under every word. Pick a narrator from the curated voices and a delivery from calm to punchy.

A voice for the script.
Sarah, Brian, Lily, Daniel, Matilda and more, each one playable before you pick.
Three deliveries.
Stable, Balanced or Expressive.
Change it later.
Apply another voice and the narration is re-recorded while the visuals stay as they are.

Pricing

Plans for turning timed scripts into narrated videos

The speech time calculator stays free with no signup. Plans start at $9 a month: up to 10 minutes per video on every plan, and up to 40 minutes for stock-footage videos on Plus and Pro.

Lite

The easy start. Every tool, one creator.

$9/mo

or $99 a year, 1 month free

600credits every month

Use them on any tool below

Start 7 day free trial

7 days free with 350 credits. Cancel before day 7 and you won't be charged.

  • Post and schedule to 2 social accounts
  • Videos up to 10 minutes
  • 1080p export, never a watermark
  • 1 user

Every tool included

Solo

For one creator posting every week.

$19/mo

or $190 a year, 2 months free

1,100credits every month

Use them on any tool below

Start 7 day free trial

7 days free with 350 credits. Cancel before day 7 and you won't be charged.

  • Post and schedule to 4 social accounts
  • Videos up to 10 minutes
  • 1080p export, never a watermark
  • 1 user

Every tool included

Most popular

Plus

Long-form, your branding and a team of three.

$29/mo

or $290 a year, 2 months free

1,750credits every month

Use them on any tool below

Start 7 day free trial

7 days free with 350 credits. Cancel before day 7 and you won't be charged.

  • Post and schedule to 6 social accounts
  • Stock-footage videos up to 40 minutes
  • Brand Kit: your logo on every video
  • 3 team seats with admin and member roles

Every tool included

Pro

For teams and channels running at volume.

$49/mo

or $490 a year, 2 months free

3,000credits every month

Use them on any tool below

Start 7 day free trial

7 days free with 350 credits. Cancel before day 7 and you won't be charged.

  • Post and schedule to 10 social accounts
  • Stock-footage videos up to 40 minutes
  • Brand Kit: your logo on every video
  • 10 team seats with admin and member roles

Every tool included

Run out in a busy month? Add credits any time, from $5. Credits you buy never expire. See pricing

Every plan includes

  • Captions, music and studio-quality voices, free on every video
  • Full HD 1080p export, never a watermark
  • Post and schedule to 11 platforms
  • Video in 24 languages
  • API, MCP server and CLI for ChatGPT, Claude or any AI agent

Speech Time Calculator FAQs

Something else? Visit the help center

How many words per minute does the average person speak?

Conversational speech runs around 140 words per minute. TV presenters and podcasters speak slightly faster at 150-160 wpm. Audiobook narration is slower at 110-120 wpm. Short-form video creators (TikTok, Reels, YouTube Shorts) often hit 180+ wpm to fit more value into a 30-60 second clip.

How do I calculate speech time from a word count?

Divide the word count by your speaking rate per minute. So a 1,500-word script at 150 wpm = 10 minutes. Our calculator does the math automatically for five named speaking rates and surfaces all five durations side-by-side so you can compare.

How long should a YouTube video script be?

It depends on your target duration. At a conversational 140 wpm, a 60-second video needs ~140 words, a 5-minute video needs ~700 words, and a 10-minute video needs ~1,400 words. Shorts and Reels at 180 wpm fit 90-180 words in 30-60 seconds.

How long is a 1000-word script when spoken?

At conversational speed (140 wpm), a 1,000-word script is about 7 minutes 8 seconds. At slow audiobook narration (110 wpm), it's about 9 minutes. At TV-presenter pace (160 wpm) it's 6 minutes 15 seconds. At energetic short-form pace (180 wpm) it's 5 minutes 33 seconds.

What's a good speaking rate for podcast scripts?

Most podcasters land between 140-160 wpm. Slower than 130 feels sluggish; faster than 175 feels rushed unless you're going for a high-energy short-form style. Listen to a few episodes in your target genre and match the cadence.

Can this tool calculate audiobook narration time?

Yes. Pick the 'Slow narration' setting (110 wpm) which matches industry-standard audiobook pacing. ACX (Audible's platform) recommends 9,300 finished words per hour of audio, which works out to ~155 wpm including pauses. Our calculator gives the spoken duration only; add 5-10% for pauses, chapter breaks, and pickups.

Want to turn that script into a video?

Paste the same script into script to video and get a finished narrated MP4 with AI voiceover, scenes and captions in a few minutes. The duration you calculated here is what the finished video will run at the speaking rate you picked.

Want to actually make the video?

MakeAIVideo turns one prompt into a finished AI video: script, voiceover, scenes and captions, with music if you want it, ready in a few minutes.

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