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Reading Speed & Time Calculator

When quoting for voiceover work, it's often handy to know how many words per minute you can read, or the opposite, how long it will take you to voice a specific script. This handy calculator will work out whichever combination you need. 

Help!

There are two main ways to use the script calculators on this page: 

To calculate finished audio durations, work out your reading speed for the script in question and apply that directly to the calculator, for example 240 words per minute. If you don't know your reading speed, use the second calculator!

To use the calculators for quotations, i.e., how many studio hours you need to record/quote for, you should set your reading speed according to the number of words you can practically deliver per minute. For example, a pro-vo could deliver 1,800 words per hour on long-form VO, which equates to 30 words per minute. This allows for engineering, interpreting the copy, making mistakes, delivering alternate reads and so on, and in this case set your reading speed to 30 words per minute. 

How to Use The Calculators

1: I know the number of words in my script and I want to know how long it should take me to record.
How many words per minute can you record?
If you record 0 words per second, then you will record:
  • 15 words per half-minute
  • 30 words per minute
  • 1,800 words per hour
  • 26 seconds per line (assuming 13 words per line)
  • 546 seconds per page (assuming 13 words per line and 21 lines per page)
2: I want to paste in my script to calculate the word count and how long it will take to record
361 words
How many words per minute can you record?
Not sure? Click Start Timer, record the text, and click Stop Timer when you reach the end. We'll calculate your WPM for you.
Start Timer Stop Timer Reset Timer
If you record 0 words per second, then you will record:
  • 15 words per half-minute
  • 30 words per minute
  • 1,800 words per hour
  • 26 seconds per line (assuming 13 words per line)
  • 546 seconds per page (assuming 13 words per line and 21 lines per page)
3: I know the number of pages, lines and the average words per line. Calculate the word count and the amount of time this should take to record
How many words per minute can you record?
If you record 0 words per second, then you will record:
  • 15 words per half-minute
  • 30 words per minute
  • 1,800 words per hour
  • 26 seconds per line (at 13 words per line)
  • 546 seconds per page (at 13 words per line and 21 lines per page)
4: I know my reading speed and how long I have to record. Calculate how many words I can read in that time
How many words per minute can you record?
1: I know the number of words in my script and I want to know the reading time
How many words per minute can you read?
If you read 3 words per second, then you will read:
  • 110 words per half-minute
  • 220 words per minute
  • 13,200 words per hour
  • 4 seconds per line (assuming 13 words per line)
  • 74 seconds per page (assuming 13 words per line and 21 lines per page)
2: I want to paste in my script to calculate the word count and reading time
361 words
How many words per minute can you read?
Not sure? Click Start Timer, read the text, and click Stop Timer when you reach the end. We'll calculate your WPM for you.
Start Timer Stop Timer Reset Timer
If you read 3 words per second, then you will read:
  • 110 words per half-minute
  • 220 words per minute
  • 13,200 words per hour
  • 4 seconds per line (assuming 13 words per line)
  • 74 seconds per page (assuming 13 words per line and 21 lines per page)
3: I know the number of pages, lines and the average words per line. Calculate the word count and the reading time for me
How many words per minute can you read?
If you read 3 words per second, then you will read:
  • 110 words per half-minute
  • 220 words per minute
  • 13,200 words per hour
  • 4 seconds per line (at 13 words per line)
  • 74 seconds per page (at 13 words per line and 21 lines per page)
4: I know my reading speed and how long I have to record. Calculate how many words I can read in that time
How many words per minute can you read?