Speaking Time Calculator
Paste your script and watch its spoken length update as you cut — tuned to presentation pace (150 wpm) for talks, videos, podcasts, and ad reads.
Common spoken-word budgets
Useful anchors at 150 wpm: a 30-second ad ≈ 75 words, a 5-minute lightning talk ≈ 750, a 20-minute conference slot ≈ 3000, and a 45-minute lecture ≈ 6750. Then subtract for everything that isn't words — demos, slides, questions, laughter — which is why seasoned speakers script short and rehearse with a stopwatch.
A worked example
A 650-word conference introduction comes back at 4 minutes 20 seconds (650 ÷ 150 wpm) — while the same script read silently would take about 2 minutes 44 seconds at the 238-wpm reading average. That two-to-three ratio between reading and speaking is the number to internalize: a script that "reads fine" in two minutes is a four-to-five-minute delivery, and pasting an article draft into a video pipeline without cutting is how ten-minute videos happen to five-minute topics. Edit here until the seconds match the slot, then rehearse.
What the word count misses when text is spoken
The estimate divides words by pace, so anything voiced longer than it is counted runs over. Numbers are the big one: "2,500" counts as two words but is spoken as "two thousand five hundred" — four syllable-heavy words — and a currency symbol is not counted at all yet adds "dollars" aloud. Spelled-out acronyms ("HTML") cost a beat per letter; URLs read aloud are slower still. A financial or statistics script can therefore run 10–20% past its estimate on numbers alone, so read the number-dense passages aloud with a stopwatch. In the other direction, the counter has no idea about everything that is not words: slide transitions, demo pauses, audience laughter, and the deliberate silence good speakers use for emphasis. The practical workflow is to script to the estimate, subtract your non-speaking time from the slot first, and treat a rehearsal recording as the only number you actually trust.
Frequently asked questions
What pace does it assume?
150 words per minute — the middle of the 125–150 wpm range usually recommended for prepared speeches. Conversational podcast speech often runs faster (160–180); deliberate keynote delivery with pauses runs slower. The estimate is your starting point; a rehearsal timer is the truth.
How many words is a 10-minute talk?
About 1500 at presentation pace — and less than you think once you add pauses for slides, laughter, and emphasis. Most experienced speakers script 10–15% under the slot and let delivery breathe.
Does this work for video and ad scripts?
Yes — voiceover and ad reads are word-budget problems: a 30-second spot holds roughly 75 words at this pace, a 60-second explainer about 150. Edit the script live here until the seconds match your cut.
Speaking vs reading time — why are they different?
Silent reading runs much faster than speech — around 238 wpm versus 150. A "2-minute read" is a 3-minute speech. Our sister site WordCntr.com focuses on the reading side; this page is tuned for the spoken word.
Estimates assume steady presentation pace; real delivery varies. Scripts are processed locally in your browser and never transmitted. See the methodology page.