Your Voice-Over Recording Length Calculator

Discover how long your voice over script will be when recorded, based on your personal speaking style and pacing.

Calculate Your Recording Length

Finding Your Perfect Pace

As a voice artist, you know that your speaking rate directly impacts the emotion and clarity of your delivery. Here's a guide to help you choose the right Words Per Minute (WPM) for your project:

60-100 WPM: Perfect for dramatic, emotional reads or when portraying elderly or authoritative characters. This deliberate pace gives weight to every word and allows listeners to absorb complex ideas.
100-140 WPM: Ideal for audiobooks, e-learning, and technical content. This relaxed pace ensures clarity while maintaining listener engagement, especially for material that requires comprehension.
140-160 WPM: The sweet spot for natural narration and most corporate projects. This conversational pace feels authentic and approachable to most listeners. (Our default: 150 WPM)
160-200 WPM: Great for commercials, explainer videos, and energetic content. This upbeat pace creates excitement and drives action while still remaining clear.
200-250 WPM: Reserved for high-energy spots, specific character voices, or youth-oriented content. This rapid delivery creates urgency but should be used sparingly and with excellent articulation.

Adjust the slider to match your natural pace or the requirements of your specific project. Remember, your unique voice and style are what bring scripts to life – the numbers are just a guide!

Getting the Most Out of Your Voice Over Script Timer

How to Use This Timer:

Enter Word Count: Type or paste the total word count of your script into the "How many words is your script?" field.
Set Your Pace: Adjust the "Your speaking pace" slider to reflect your typical Words Per Minute (WPM). You can also click one of the handy preset buttons (like "Audiobook" or "Commercial") to quickly set a common pace.
See Your Estimate: The "Your Estimated Recording Length" will update instantly, showing you the calculated duration in HH:MM:SS format.

Who is This Timer For?

This script timer is a fantastic companion for anyone in the voice-over and audio production world, including:

Voice-Over Artists: Quickly estimate the finished length of your recording for client quotes, script discussions, and scheduling your studio sessions.
Audiobook Narrators: Plan your narration workflow by estimating chapter lengths and overall project duration.
Podcast Producers & Hosts: Gauge segment lengths and plan episode structures more effectively.
E-learning & Corporate Narrators: Ensure your modules and presentations fit within allocated timeframes.
Video Producers & Content Creators: Sync your voice-overs with video timelines by knowing the expected audio length.
Scriptwriters: Get a sense of the spoken duration of your scripts as you write them. Hint: Use our script word counter to get an idea of the spoken word count before using this time estimator.

When Can This Timer Be Helpful?

Use this timer whenever you need a quick and reliable estimate of how long a script will take to read aloud:

Quoting Projects: Provide more accurate time estimates to clients, helping you price your work fairly.
Auditioning: Quickly check if an audition script fits within specified time limits.
Scheduling Studio Time: Book the right amount of studio time without over or underestimating.
Project Planning: Break down large projects (like audiobooks or e-learning courses) into manageable recording sessions.
Practicing Pacing: Experiment with different WPM settings to understand how pace affects duration and delivery style.
Time Management: Better manage your workload by understanding the time commitment for each script.

Remember, this tool is a helpful guide, not a strict time limit. Your unique voice and style will naturally affect the actual recording length.

If you're looking for a more detailed breakdown of your script's length, our script word counter is a great tool for that.

Also remember that this, and the other tools on this site, are in beta development, so your feedback and bug reports are invaluable to us. Please contact us to report any issues you encounter, and we'll do our best to fix them.